In Defense of my Absurdly Long To-Do Lists
Sometimes it’s good to have too much detail.
I didn’t realize that my to-do lists were out of control until I left my bullet journal sitting out one day. I was working on my computer and my Mom just happened to pass by. She saw everything that was written down on the page and made the assumption that I was having a pretty busy day.
That’s a fair assumption to make.
But was it true?
See, I started out bullet journaling the same as most other people. I would fill the pages of my moleskine notebook with drawings, doodles, thoughts, journal entries, and more.
But then I started listing. And once I started, it was difficult to stop.
What started out as a way to keep myself reminded of daily tasks became a way to track everything in my life.
And when I say everything, I mean it.
But while I’ve toyed back and forth over whether my lists are “normal” or not, I’ve come to the conclusion that they are. Or at least they are in my anxious brain.
They help me keep track of my daily tasks
I grew up using a planner. When I was in high school, our school gave us an academic planner at the beginning of the school year to keep track of tests and assignments. It was only natural that I would keep planning as I moved on to college and my working life.
Now, I check my to-do list every evening after I eat dinner to see what else I need to do that day. It’s helped me forget important things like trash night or grooming appointments for my dog.
They create little wins in my everyday life.
There’s a reason why I say that my to-do lists are absurdly long. The reason is because I add pretty much every single one of my day’s activities to my list. Work? Check. Walk the dog. Check. Call Grandma to thank her for the birthday card? Check. Skincare? Check. Daily Prescriptions? Check.
I know it seems like a lot, but it feels so good to check things off and look at all the things I accomplished during the day. It just feels good to look at all of my wins, especially when I might be feeling down or not be having a great day.
Sometimes, it’s just the little things.
They keep me motivated, even when I’m not feeling it
While my anxiety and depression are pretty much under control, Winter is a hard time for me. I feel less motivated and I just want to sleep all the time. But my to-do lists help to keep me motivated. I’m a lot more likely to go to the gym when I could just as easily skip it, when it needs to be checked off my to-do list.
It’s not always the case, but it helps me to get things done when I know that it’s on my list and it’s waiting for me.
Do you keep a planner? I’ve always been a paper planner girl but recently I’ve been diving into digital planning and it’s a real game changer. But more on that later! :)
