to do list (let’s go, me!)

Photo by Caitlinator

I have really been working to stop procrastinating.  I’m trying to tackle tasks as they come up, instead of being scared to death by the big picture.  I decided I need to have a To Do List here, so I can encourage myself to get things done.  I’m going to start by checking in with my Procrastination List from about a week ago:

• Clearing off my desk. Done!
• Filing papers.
• Doing laundry. Not “done” (is it ever?), but definitely attended to.
• Getting tax papers in order.  (Of course, I filed an extension!)
• Getting my Girl Scout financials in.  (They were due June 30th.  I was the Service Unit Manager at the time… basically, the one in charge.)
• Planning our trip to Europe.
• Mowing the lawn.  (Luckily, it is pretty much dead right now.)
• Writing my first book.
• Going to the gym.
• Getting my car into the shop.  Done!

Well, it’s a start!  What else needs to be done?  Marcia Ramsland, the author of Simplify Your Time: Stop Running and Start Living!, says you should only have 10 things on your list at a time, and that they should all be things that can be done in 15 minutes or less.  So instead of “Write my first book,” it should say, “Write a paragraph of my book.”  (Ha.  Like I could do that in 15 minutes!)  Only after one task is accomplished are you supposed to add more tasks.

Here is my new and improved 10-item list.  Because this is addressing procrastination, each item on the list has to be something I was avoiding up to this point:

1. File papers for 15 minutes.
2. Get tax papers in order.
3. Mow the lawn.
4. Plan a general itinerary for Europe (which countries / which weeks).
5. Gather all bank statements for Girl Scouts bank account.
6. Do 15 minutes of writing.
7. Write up an exercise plan for the gym.
8. Talk to Billy re: ClubSport orientation sessions.
9. Cancel cable television.
10. Get a new faucet for the kitchen.

Whew!  That should be enough to get me going for at least a year month week or two.

• {Procrastination} released: We actually got the Europe map out and sat down to hash out the countries each of us most wants to visit.  I also churned through some reconciliations at work the first day they came in!