"Done" List

If you are anything like me, there are times when perfectionism can creep into your life making it difficult to complete even the smallest of tasks.  You find yourself making mental (or actual) to-do lists that seem never ending!  The enormity of the situation overwhelms you, and the to-do list is ignored in favour of a glass of wine and/or a bar of chocolate.

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Last week was one of those weeks for me.  We are still in the midst of a major bedroom update, there is one bedroom which is literally full of furniture, our office is piled with bedding, and the landing houses lamps, lamp shades, and accessories waiting to go into our room.  All of this combined with the fact that I haven't exactly had time to keep up with our usual cleaning routine, creates a feeling of total chaos.  It's times like these, where I tend to go into "shut down" mode, and I adopt a "why bother?" mentality.

As I was thinking through all of this last night, I remembered something I did a while back to help me to combat the sense of impending doom I feel any time I spot a cobweb in our house...

A "Done" List.

Throw your to-do list out the window. It is too long, and burdensome, my friend!  Instead, write a list of all the things big or small, that you accomplish in a day.  It could be as simple as "Loaded the dishwasher", or "Folded the laundry", or "Quality time with kids". (Let's all remember what's important here!)

As you add more and more things to the list, you will feel empowered in two ways:
1) You will realise how much you accomplish in your normal day to day activities.  You do things that you might not even think to put on a "to do" list!
2) Focusing on all the things that you have done, rather than a list of the things you haven't done, may give you the feeling that you have "earned" the right to a little bit of a break.

Who am I kidding? All wives/moms deserve a little break from time to time!   Check out your "done" list at the end of the day, grab a glass of vino, put those feet up and revel in the freedom of a day without a to-do list.  Who knows?  Maybe you'll even do it again the next day!

So...Who's going to scrap their to-do list for at least one day this week?  What other tactics do you use to keep from feeling overwhelmed by all of the housework?