⛅ I really, really like lists
There are only 6 weeks left in 2021, which means 6 weeks to plan and get ready for the family-filled, action-packed holidays that are Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Don’t get me wrong, even with all the extra hub-bub in the office and at-home, the holiday season is awesome, but it does sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. There’s so much to do and an ever-shrinking window to do it in.
So what did I do this year? I made a list. You see, I LOVE making lists. I love it so much that it’s on my list of favorite things to do, right up there with buffets, playing video games, and having sex. There simply isn’t a better means to quell chaos than a good list.
After just 5 minutes, my newly formed list of holiday to-do’s contained about 30 critical activities needing to be done at various milestones before the end of the year, things like painting the guest bedroom, moving the coffee business out of the dining room, and decorating the house for Christmas.
Now, there’s no universe where my anxiety-prone brain would be OK tackling a list of 30 things. Especially not big things. So, I broke the list down into sub-lists based on which activities needed to be done each week. And boom.
Suddenly, my thoughts went from a whacky, wavy, inflatable arm flailing tube man (aka utter chaos flapping about in the wind) to just 5 actions each week, or less than 1 per day.
That I can handle.
Lists are great if:
You historically struggle with procrastination
You’re feeling overly anxious about getting things done
You struggle to do the things that you said you were going to do
Actually, lists are almost always great
If you give me a list and a deadline, I can move the world. — Me
Archimedes can take his fulcrum and shove it up his butt. Lists are the way.
Best,
Jason