How a Ta Da List Can Shrink Your To Do List
Considering one of my favorite classes to teach and things to work on with my coaching clients is accomplishing goals and conquering overwhelm, you might think my To Do list would be one of my favorite things.
I have two other lists that I actually think are more powerful.
The “What I Accomplished Last Week” List
Every Sunday I list everything I got done the week before. Not because I am list crazy. But because I want my brain to be focused on success when I set out to plan the coming week. Starting from a place of overwhelm and negativity puts your brain into a survival state and your amygdala takes over. This is your fight/flight/freeze center. I want my cerebral cortex running the show when I am planning my week. This area is responsible for creativity, strategy, logic, and reasoning. And that can’t happen if I feel like I’m overwhelmed with an unfinished – and ever expanding – to do list.
The “Ta Da” List
This is where I list all of the things that I thought about, wished for, envisioned that just showed up. It happens all the time and it’s great to remember that things happen lots of different ways and it is not always through sweat and tears. Emails that drop in my inbox just at the right time. New clients that were referred to me requiring no sales or marketing effort. A free coffee at Starbucks. Whatever. I jot them done as they happen and when I have those days (we all do!) where it seems nothing is going right, I pull that out and it quickly reminds me that I never know what great thing is just around the corner.
What I have found is the more I remember to put things on my Ta Da list, my To Do list gets better. Mostly, I think it’s because staying in a more positive frame of mind, I don’t feel the need to make sure every tiny thing (and giant far-reaching thing) are on my To Do list. It reminds me that sometimes things take care of themselves. Sometimes good stuff happens. And this is a powerful move. Just like the “What I Accomplished Last Week” list, it keeps my brain in my center for strategy and logic and creativity and that helps everything get done more easily.
Try it for a week and see what you think. You may find yourself feeling a lot better about that To Do list.
If you want a copy of my Weekly Recap sheet that I use with my clients, email me at Jan@JanBeckmann.net. I’m always happy to share resources!