Photo by Florian Klauer on Unsplash
Another week and seven brand new days to get started on crafting the creative life you long for!
I’m a recovering perfectionist and often feel that I can’t start a playful project if I have other things cluttering up my to-do list. The problem is that your to-do list (laundry and dishes and errands, oh my!) will never be finished. Sound familiar? Newsflash: even on the day you die, you will probably still have unanswered emails and a bathroom sink that needs scrubbing. So why keep chasing an impossible dream of checking everything off your list before you let yourself dive into the fun?
Trick your brain into getting the satisfaction of crossing items off of your to-do list while at the same time not burning through all the minutes of your day that could be spent creating something that makes you feel alive. Here’s my trick to try: Make a to-do list with only one to two items a day and post it somewhere you can see it. These items should be things that you think you can accomplish in 15-20 minutes or less, like writing a thank you note and putting it in the mail or folding a load of laundry. Each day, take care of these items and cross them off your list. After that, rest easy knowing that you have been “productive” and that you now have permission to move on to the things that make your heart feel glad to be alive.
We never need to earn time to play, dream or make (it's our birthright), but if you mentally struggle with taking time to do something outside the box like I do, this trick is worth trying. Excited to hear how it goes for you!
I’m a recovering perfectionist and often feel that I can’t start a playful project if I have other things cluttering up my to-do list. The problem is that your to-do list (laundry and dishes and errands, oh my!) will never be finished. Sound familiar? Newsflash: even on the day you die, you will probably still have unanswered emails and a bathroom sink that needs scrubbing. So why keep chasing an impossible dream of checking everything off your list before you let yourself dive into the fun?
Trick your brain into getting the satisfaction of crossing items off of your to-do list while at the same time not burning through all the minutes of your day that could be spent creating something that makes you feel alive. Here’s my trick to try: Make a to-do list with only one to two items a day and post it somewhere you can see it. These items should be things that you think you can accomplish in 15-20 minutes or less, like writing a thank you note and putting it in the mail or folding a load of laundry. Each day, take care of these items and cross them off your list. After that, rest easy knowing that you have been “productive” and that you now have permission to move on to the things that make your heart feel glad to be alive.
We never need to earn time to play, dream or make (it's our birthright), but if you mentally struggle with taking time to do something outside the box like I do, this trick is worth trying. Excited to hear how it goes for you!
