I have this monthly to do list. It’s up to thirty-eight items right now because I just cleaned my desk. Post-It notes have been transferred to an Excel spreadsheet. Some items are repeats, like “‘write a post for biographyjar ” and “find one item for charity.” I color code my spreadsheet. This month, blue means I am done. Green means I did it but it’s a repeat item, like my biojar post and charity item. I don’t know why I used gold in one spot, but it doesn’t matter. I’m pretty sure gold means I tapped the wrong spot on the screen.
I recently found something helpful to add to my to do list. I now put a “stress” number beside my entries. Items go from “1” or almost no stress to “5,” my high stress number. You may notice that most items start at 2 or higher. That’s because I really don’t want to do my to do list. Nope. I want to go to the basement and work on my puzzle and listen to books or TV.
But these items got on the list for a reason. They are my ought-to items, and if I don’t list them, I am likely to skip them.. “Advertise” means tell somebody about your latest blog posts, and putting it in a list prevents posts from falling into cyber black holes. Besides, the mystery of TikTok videos must be solved.
Here’s why I like the stress numbers: Life is much easier if I bat out my “5” entries first. These are the tasks that stress me. Leaving them hanging leaves my stress hanging. Yet it’s human nature to go toward the easy stuff. “Sort socks” comes in at a 1. There’s no stress in sorting socks, especially since I don’t care too much if they all match. Fuzzy night sock matching is optional. Disney princesses match even when they are two different princesses. But sorting the socks is not my best move. I have plenty of socks. I can seize two similar socks out of the unmatched sock bag in seconds.
I’ve got an insurance company I should call, however. There’s no way around that and it needs to be done. The idea is to go straight for my 4 or 5, to call the woman at the detestable Symetra insurance company before scheduling the dog grooming appointment. Ginger probably prefers being shaggy anyway.
Todays biographyjar recommendation: Put stress numbers beside items on your to do list. You don’t need an elaborate evaluation system. Just feel your gut as you read each item to yourself. Any items that come in above 5 should be done immediately. In fact, an item that makes you think, “Where’s the medical marijuana!?!” or “I wonder if my therapist is still in Bora Bora?” should never linger on a list. Channel Arnold Schwarzenegger when you see those items and think to yourself, “DO IT NOW!!”
Then settle in to do the fives and fours with a good cup of tea or coffee. I have a bag of ginger snaps here as well. Hugs from the blue room.
