3 Things That Need To Be On Your To Do List Every Day
Instead of bombarding yourself with a massive detailed list of all the things you need to do in a day and becoming overwhelmed, try doing the opposite.
Creating micro lists can help you to keep things as simple as possible. Because the simpler this list is, the more likely we are to achieve it.
There are 3 things that need to be on your to do list every day. Whether you’re having a day of binge watching Netflix, or working on your side hustle these 3 things should feature on every one of your to do lists.
1 – Some Form of Self Care
We are becoming increasingly more aware of the need for self care and how important it is to practice. Which is such a wonderful thing.
We are learning that we can’t keep giving from ourselves without actually giving to ourselves at some point too.
But not only are we more aware, we are more encouraged to do so and it is becoming more and more accepted.
Years ago you were a ‘good mother’ if you sacrificed every little thing and became a martyr for your family. Now we know that this just leads to unhappiness, resentment and burnout.
Which is why it is so important for you to include some form of self care on your to do list every single day.
It doesn’t have to be complicated or elaborate.
Often we will overcomplicate the idea of self care to the point it becomes more of a task and something we’d rather avoid, which is the exact opposite of what we are going for.
If you find you struggle for ideas when put on the spot, come up with a go to list of self care tasks you can do at anytime. Then, refer to it each day and choose which self care task you want to do that day.
It might be as simple as watching the latest episode of your favourite TV show (with a bag of Maltesers right?) or taking yourself out for a coffee date, or maybe even booking yourself in for a massage.
Whatever it is, make sure you have some form of self care on your to do list every single day.
2 – Something Productive
So, we all have those days when we feel like the best thing to do would be to crawl back into bed and sleep. Or curl up on the lounge and binge watch your favourite Netflix shows.
And sometimes that really is a brilliant idea.
But… we should aim to do something productive each and every day.
If you’ve ever had one of those days where you just laze about, you’ll understand that feeling of ‘oh I should have been doing something else’ or ‘I could have gotten so much done today’.
And then the guilt kicks in and it feels pretty cruddy.
If you have one productive thing on your to do list every day, and you make sure you complete that one productive thing, then you’re covering yourself for that guilty feeling that might kick in later.
All you need to do is just complete that one productive thing and you’re already in a better position than what you were that morning, and that’s a pretty good thing.
So make sure when you create your to do list, you include just one super productive thing you can do that day, and know that if you only manage to complete that one productive thing, then you’ll still be okay with your day.
3 – Something To Improve Your Health
Making health changes can be overwhelming, and again, it seems to be one of those things that we can easily over complicate.
With all the ‘rules’ of how to eat (low carb, high fat, no gluten, no dairy, intermittent fasting, 6 small meals a day, smoothie for breakfast, fat for breakfast, protein for breakfast, no sugar, no refined sugar….) it’s easy enough to just throw in the towel and have pancakes with ice cream for every meal of the day (no… just me?).
Rather than trying to make massive changes or feeling guilty for that delicious piece of cake you devoured, just add one small health improvement to your to do list every single day.
It might be that you start your day with a super green smoothie so that you know you’ve at least got a few serves of fruit and veggies under your belt for the day. Or maybe you go for a walk while listening to a podcast and get yourself moving. Or perhaps you go to a yoga class, or learn how to cook a new healthy meal.
Whatever it is, doing one small thing each day to improve your health is going to have a massive impact on your overall wellbeing. Smaller tasks are easier to stick to and easier to create habits from.
Which means in 30 days you’re going to be in a much better position by making small healthy choices every day than if you were trying to overhaul everything, eat perfectly and be in perfect health… then giving up.
When you break it down, our to do list should be this simple. As long as these 3 things that need to be on your to do list are there each day, then you’re doing pretty darn well (and you can enjoy your Netflix binge, guilt free!!).
I love this article. These are 3 actionable and well thought out tips to help you become healthier and feel better – physically and mentally. Nice work. Now if only we can put the candy down…
1 thing at a time, I suppose.