I hate to do lists. They stress me out. I get super OCD if I don't complete a task and all day long I freak out about all of the things that I am not crossing off.
I think this stems from when I was a kid and on Saturday mornings we woke up there was a GIANT LIST (okay maybe 6 things) of chores that we had to complete before we could do anything fun. Now that I am a Mom myself I don't totally disagree with this but it was not something that I said Yipppie to each Saturday morning.
I prefer goals. I think goals and daily to do lists are two totally different things. To me a goal is something that I will strive to achieve and I am more likely to complete and accomplish. Its less pressure than a to do list in my opinion.
A few weekends ago Ian and I started discussing weekly goals and I thought it would be a great idea to actually write them down and place them on our fridge. That way it would not only be a good reminder but it would help keep us both accountable. So far so good!!
My weekly goals:
- Get ready for trip. I tend to do everything last minute and since we will be gone for an entire week I have to get organized and packing!
- Run 4-5 miles Monday-Friday. I am doing a mud run in a few weeks and really need to step up my game. BIG time.
- Make yummy/more thoughtful dinners. I tend to do everything on a bed of lettuce. Let me explain...I will make chicken..on a bed of lettuce. Shrimp..on a bed of lettuce. Veggie stir fry..on a bed of lettuce. You get it. Last weekend Ian had a mini meltdown and said, "NO more salads!" Geeesh okay Mr. Hungry Man got it. Noted.
- Exercise daily.
- Low stress. I asked him what that meant and he just looked at me..Ya I can be a little bit much sometimes I am aware of this.
- Go to bed before 9:30.
Does anyone else write down their weekly goals or are you a daily to do list kinda person? I would love to know!
50 comments:
I write things on my 'to-do' list just so I can check them off. There is something about the satisfaction of checking off!
Good luck completing your list. I hope you are having a great Tuesday!
I am the EXACT same way about To-Do lists... As a matter of fact, I'm stressing right now! Ha! Excellent point about the "goals," but I think I am hardwired to treat it in the same "pass/fail" way as a To-Do list... I definitely admire {and envy} your perspective! :)
I'm such a list person. It makes me feel so good to check things off. Not so much when I don't do anything on the list!! Maybe I should start saying it's my list of goals.
My purse is filled with scrap papers with to do lists on them. If I wasn't ADD/ADHD I'd have a list every day that would be completed every day :) As long as I get things done eventually, I'm a happy lady
I'm a CONSTANT list-maker. Like...compulsive. But then, I save the scariest things on my list for last and glare at those ugly little uncrossed lines all day until I'm too tired to finish my list. Sigh. I think weekly goals would be a nice change.
I will say that when I'm stressed, lists are comforting. They make me feel organized even when I'm not.
I do. I don't always follow through... because I am a professional procrastinator... but I tend to pick a few things and work towards getting them accomplished.
I need to start eating more things on a bed of lettuce and make less yummy dinners as may jeans are getting super tight. :)
Haha, I feel what you feel about to-do lists for goals. So I'm definitely a to-do list kind of girl. I do one everyday putting the items in order of importance so that I get the pressing stuff done first. This way I don't feel bad if I don't get all the way through it the list by the end of the day!
I call mine goals as well.. To-do list sounds ugly and daunting. Goals are something worth achieving. I set small goals daily and larger goals for long term. And sometimes when I get really crazy, I schedule down to the hour of when goals should be achieved.
When I have a lot going on I like to make a list. I don't have to finish the list in a particular day it's just to do in the near future. I will also make sub lists off my main list. If I need to make phone calls I'll make a separate list of all the calls. I really like crossing the things off my list and I have to write them because I will forget because it seems as if life is just getting busier and busier!
I'm with you on the running thing! I need to get to it-
♥
I am so into lists. I have them all over my life. I rely on SpringPad... I keep grocery lists, christmas gift ideas, and music lists on there. It has been great!
I'm huge on to-do lists. I'm just always afraid that if I rely too heavily on the list, I might forget something I forgot to write down. I don't like writing down goals as much, but it's something I should really consider doing more often.
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My hubby is a list person. I am not a list person. My hubby loves to make lists for everything -- but they stress me out.
I could do a weekly list sort of thing though.
Sometimes I am a list person and sometimes I am not. It does help me keep on track to have a list and if I am planning something out of the ordinary like a trip or a dinner party I definitely have a list!
Great list! I have some of those same things on mine... like going to bed earlier! And running a lot more!
Just a few days ago we bought one of those boards and stuck it to our fridge... yesterday morning I went on a "to-do list" frenzy and packed the thing out with things that need to get done. So far it's worked! I'm also prepping for my baby's arrival (any day now) so I'm in nesting mode & feel the need to turn our apartment upside down and inside out before she gets here. Once she's here there'll probably be one thing on my to-do list and one thing only: Survive. =)
That's a good idea Lindsay! I do something similar but I do it with post its. Then when I accomplish a goal or something off of my list I rip it off and tear it up. That's a good feeling too because once it's done, it's done! It's really worked for me. Those are good goals! A mud run sounds really cool
I write goals for myself and the what I'd like to help my kids accomplish (ex. tying shoes) at the beginning of the school year. I do love the idea of weekly goals. I am lover of list of any kind. : )
I love your blog! So cute! I'm a lister... I'll admit it. But I agree that i like the term 'goals' better. Great suggestion. Keep up the great work and I can't wait to try that mask you wrote about the other day. Good stuff :)
i love your goals, getting ready for a trip is a must! i'll be cheering you on for your running, i do that every week, you can do it girl! goals are very important and help me to feel accomplished by the end of the day
Just another thing to add to the list of our similarities. Yes, I am very much OCD about making (and checking off) lists. I have been like this my whole life. For instance, at night I make a list of things that HAVE to get the next day. Especially now that I have three little ones, I can't rely on my memory to remember things without writing them down. :)
i love goals! I think it's better than a todo list :)
I write to-do lists and then ended up losing them anyways...haha. I really which you could pass your running motivation onto me. I use to run and then fell out of the habit and having the hardest time finding enthusiasm for it again. It's a great goal to have though!
Oh, i like the idea you have of weekly goals. That sounds better than a daily list of chores. I too woke up every weekend to never ending lists, wait make that every morning before school even we had a million chores to do! I don't know what happened but I think it made me hate doing anything at all in the morning!
I'm going to try this weekly "goal" list!
Thanks!
Hey hun, I am a list person, I cannot get through a day without a list! I love the idea of the goals as well though, and keeping them so visible is a great reminder xx
Hehe, I think goals would be much less stressful, you're right! The probably is sometimes things get so busy that if I don't cross things off a list I will totally forget about them. ;) But these goals sounds awesome! And I think your bed of lettuce idea is really smart- I can trick myself into eating salads!
What good priorities you have!
I have both... lists and goals. Sometimes lists stress me out but it stresses me out more when I forget to do something. Even if I wont be able to cross it off right away, at least getting it on paper makes me feel like it WILL get done and I can think about other, more immediate things.
AAaand, goals kinda stress me out because I can put 'tie shoes' on a list but goals take more time and effort so they just stare me in the face every day.
I have to make lists...I will forget everything if I don't!!
Lindsay
That sounds like our place growing up. Every Saturday morning was tidy up time, except when we started playing sports. I can remember working like a drover's dog as a young child. It would kill my kids.
I was also anal about writing lists before kids but when they came along I just about had a nervous break down too if I couldn't cross something off the list. I really do need to start doing it again though just so I can set some realistic small goals again otherwise it becomes a mountain that I just can't climb.
Anne xx (Just love 'the bed of lettuce' meals LOL.)
i think this is a great idea and i think maybe i need to start doing this myself!
I don't like doing lists. I always freak out and get stressed if I don't do anything on it.
I do lists ALL the time! I feel like that's the only way I can hold my accountable. Otherwise, I would poke around and waste time on the internet or whatever. Lists make my life more organized!
I do "to do" lists all the time! At home, at work. I put a little square next to each thing so I can check it off! But I also get OCD if they don't get checked off. Ha!
I love to-do lists. And I've recently been making a goal for myself each morning for the day. Even if it's something simple. It's a great way to accomplish things.
Go to bed before 9.30... that's one of our goals, so we can get up earlier in the mornings, before work. Great idea to do weekly goals, I've only done daily/weekly to do lists... and they can be depressing if not completed. I will try the goal approach, it sounds so much more positive :)
Your to do list is achievable. I like third one, -make yummy and thoughtful dinners. It kinda spoke to me, I'm always doing quick dinners like half an hour kind. So like you, it's everything with a salad, but isn't salad good for you? haha..
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I only have work to-do and grocery shopping lists. If I were to make them for everyday activities I'd be so much more organized!
I LOVE that idea of listing them where you can see them every week. I usually write something down in my planner, but it's not always there for me to look at. I might try this... and having hubby do it too! Great idea!
I have a "To Do" list each week in my agenda.... but they are more of errands and tasks. I should start to document the larger goals/ideas so I stick to them!
I have a list for everything! I think it's the only thing that keeps me on track with my daily life =)
ah I LOVE this post (surprise surprise? haha) because I'm such a fan of setting goals. It could be anal retentive but I do a set of yearly goals and half yearly goals. I am one of those 'if you believe in it and have an action plan you can achieve it' so everything gets written down to make it real :) - unfortunatley I'm also a to do list girl! haha but only at work. I find not having one I get much to distracted - go you good thing with your running goal though.
Anna xo
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Ha, this is interesting! I'm the exact opposite. I don't think of myself as a goals person. That concept is overwhelming to me! However, I keep a continual to-do list. I have a collection of notebooks of them that date back to high school. Crossing off tasks are so satisfying to me! When I've crossed off enough on one page, I turn to a new one and rewrite those that didn't get finished and begin adding new. Feels more like moving through my life with a plan, which is more my speed!
Oh to be a man ;)
Weekly goals! Hmmm...what a GREAT idea for the chalk board wall I'm building :)
I wish could I follow my goals at times. I finally got another planner to jot down everything I need to do on a daily basis and some short and long term goals. Hopefully I can keep up with it. And as for the store it'll open middle of October.
I live for goals lists :) LOVE your goals list! And love that its on a whiteboard in the house too!
I love that you have your goals displayed! I'm sure I'd be much more motivated to do all the thigns I know I should be doing if I could see them written out every day.
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I love this! I feel like I am somewhere in between a to-do list girl and a goal setter girl...if that at all makes sense! The thing is that I am not always consistent with either, so I have been thinking a lot about how I can better organize myself during the week. This might just do it :) xoxoxo brynn
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