Celebrate the things you have done!

Good morning, afternoon, evening!  In my last post we talked about strategies to help you stay focused on one task at a time. Has anyone been reciting the phrase “One bite at a time”?  If you have no idea what I’m talking about you can check it out *here*.

If you’ve been following along then you have  been forcing yourself to start a task and attempting to focus on just one thing at a time.

Today we are going to talk about lists.  It can be so disheartening when you start the day with your list in hand, feeling optimistic, only to find at the end of the day that you haven’t gotten as far as you wanted.  But today we are going to celebrate all the things you have done even if they aren’t on the to do list.

(If you find this is happening to you regularly you may want to adjust your lists to have a realistic number of things on them.  Maybe start with your top 3 priorities and everything else is a bonus.) 

Sometimes at the end of the day when you are exhausted but haven’t done anything you wanted it’s easy to wonder “What did I even do all day?”

When this happens it is SO important to look back on your day and list the things you have done instead of focusing on the things you haven’t.  Think of it as a reverse to-do list!

Here is my example:

• Got dressed

• Got the kids dressed

• Did school with the kids

• Made lunch

• Broke up many fights

• Gave hugs

• Chatted with someone online

• Went for a walk

• Chatted with my husband

• Did dishes

• Cleaned up a spill

• Put a band aid on an owie

• Answered a million questions from the kids

• Watered the garden

• Picked up ingredients for supper

When I look at it this way I suddenly don’t feel so bad and actually can cut myself some slack.  Look, some days just don’t go as planned and that’s ok.  Some day’s my kids play beautifully together and sometimes they don’t.  Sometimes I have the energy to do ALL THE THINGS.  And lots of times I don’t.  So I try to keep that in perspective and feel assured that a good day will come along for me to get a few extra things done.

So when you are feeling defeated then take a few minutes to sit down and feel good about all the thing you have done.  Give yourself a pat on the back and try again tomorrow.