My tatty little list

This past week was the first week in I don’t know how long I've felt like I've been on top of things, like I wasn't just floating from one day to the next without any real clue as to what my day might bring, what I might get up to at lunch time or after work. The first week I've felt in control of what was going to happen and that I wasn't just “winging it”. 

And all that was down to a list I quickly scribbled on a post-it note last Sunday evening. I stuck it to the back of my phone, seeing as though that’s the place I was likely see it the most, with the intention of using it as a rough guide to get me through the week. It wasn't very detailed and just said stuff like 

“Tuesday: The girls over for dinner,

Wednesday: Gym after work,

Thursday: Cinema after work”. 

Never did I think that I’d use it as much as I did, nor did I think I’d actually stick to it as much as I did.

This time last week I did not realise how much of a help this one piece of paper would be in getting me out of the rut I now realise I was stuck in.

I don't know about you but I always find myself in a catch 22 situation: I don’t like to do nothing after work (I'm fortunate enough to be home at 5:30 most days) as it seems such a shame to while away the last of the summer evenings sitting at home brooding about the fact that I don’t know what to do but that’s exactly what I seem to have been doing. And if I think of something that vaguely interests me I think to myself “yeah I’ll do that tomorrow”.....but you guessed it, tomorrow never comes. And before I know it a whole week has passed without me having achieved much over and above going out to work and coming home again.

But all that changed this week with my tatty little list. I know that some of the things on the list are not everybody’s idea of fun, heck going to the gym isn't my idea of fun either but the virtuous feeling I get afterwards totally makes it worthwhile. And making lists to follow may be too rigid for some people and not work as effectively as they do for me.

But after quite a few months of not having a to-do list, or anything resembling order in my days it was a great feeling to have something visible and tangible to give my days some structure. 

And the best thing is that I didn't have to stick to everything I'd hastily noted down. If I didn't feel like going to the gym this morning, for example, then I didn't have to. But writing it down a week ago had planted the idea in my head that I was going and I had a week to get used to the fact that I’d be taking an hour or so out of my Sunday morning to go, and it meant I could plan the rest of my day around it. 

The only down side to having been to the gym this morning was that I could not face going bowling this afternoon (something else which was on my list) as my arms were aching a little too much from the *huge* weights I was lifting this morning :-)

So seeing as though the tatty little list worked so well for me last week I'm going to make a point of sitting down each Sunday, even if it's just for five minutes, to make loose plans for the coming week, just as a fall back in case nothing else comes up.

And to make things even better, there is a great tutorial over on the iheartplanners blog which shows you how to pretty-up your to do list. Go ahead and take a look. 

Get ready to say goodbye to the dreary hand-written, ink-smudged list of old. I guarantee that these darling, pink-printed to-do lists (or whichever colour you choose to print them in) will make even the most boring and mundane tasks seem that little more bearable.

Check in again real soon to read my review of the first book in my 3 in 30 book challenge. One down two to go. I'm thinking ahead to next month so if you have any recommendations for a book I should read just go ahead and leave it in the comments section below. I promise that if it's not one I've already read I will add it to my list.