Focusing on your "Done List"

We each wear a lot of hats and often find ourselves moving from one to-do list to another. Using a list to keep track of things you need to get done is a great strategy for staying on track, but it can also become overwhelming when you rarely reach the bottom of your list.
 
I use a couple different strategies which help me keep positive even when my list doesn’t get completed:

• Add things you have already done even if they weren’t on your original list.

​This is a great way to help yourself see all that you accomplish, even if you got off track, or if your list grew after you got started. A great example is when you’re cleaning out your chicken coop bedding, and then realize you have a sick chicken, so you set up an isolation area, run out of bedding and have to make a quick trip to the farm store, and remember you also need to pick up chicken feed, and meds while you are there, So, write each of those things on your list and mark them off as completed. This will help you see the true picture of everything that you’ve gotten done.

• Prioritize your to-do list.

​Sometimes I end of with a list that completely fills a page, with no hope of finishing my list even if I gave myself the whole week. There are different ways you can prioritize the things you know need done over the ones you just need to get to eventually. I like stars, 🌟 I will put a star next to the ones I want to prioritize. This will give me my starting point and a way that I can feel good about getting the most important things finished without feeling overwhelmed with my whole list. Another strategy is to number them from most to least important. Then at the end of your day use what you didn’t finish to make a new list for the next time you are working on your farm.
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• Focus on your “Done-List.”

This is the most important skill in my opinion. I think successful people recognize when hard work has been completed, and then they celebrate it. There is no benefit to being hard on yourself for not getting enough done. But by focusing on what you have completed let’s your brain feel all those positive chemicals that encourage happiness.

If you find that you are nagging on yourself for not completing enough of what you initially planned, then write a completely fresh to-do list filled with all the things you actually got done and then check off each one. Heck, give yourself a star for each one while you’re at it. 🌟

These three things will help you keep organized and more positive about all your hard work. Focusing on all that you accomplish, even when you have tons more to do, it will allow you to keep that satisfied momentum going a lot longer. Try it out and let me know how it works for you.
 
-Terri