Healthy Habit #7- Plan!

Today I challenge you to Make a To-Do List Each Day!

Why?  There are a few really good reasons to write your list down.  First, it gives us a sense of direction.  It organizes our responsibilities into achievable tasks.  As with most of the healthy habits, it is stress relieving.    When we have a list to work from our time is managed more effectively and when we plan ahead more is accomplished.  "The thirty smartest minutes of anyone's day is their planning time"


Here's how to attach this habit to your daily life.  First of find a time of the day that is quiet and calm to sit down and plan.  Make this a regular part of your day.  You might want to make a master list of everything you see that needs to get done to get you started.  Then transfer 3 items over to your daily to-do list during each planning time.  This way you are not putting more on your list than you can reasonably manage.  Order your list by priority with the most necessary item on the top of the list.  If you don't get to all three items, don't forget to transfer them to the next day.  If you find yourself transferring items each day, you may be planning too much than you can realistically fit into your day!  Try to bunch similar items together-like errands all on the same day.  Plan for 1 day a month to stay on top of appointments like the dentist, pediatrician, etc..
Here's an iphone app to take your to-do list with you everywhere your phone goes:
Remember the Milk-To Do List Tracker

I would imagine all the working mamas in the group have some wort of planning time each morning or night.  In my family we have designated certain days of the week to consistently maintain our to-do list.  For example on Wednesdays my husband works on upcoming event music, confirms event times with the staff and packs the trailer for the weekend while I have a mommy and teddy day.  On Thursdays, I pay the bills, write the contracts and work on the bookkeeping while my hubby has a Teddy and daddy day.  On Fridays we go grocery shopping, my hubs works in the yard while I clean the bathrooms if we get a nap from teddy and we try to schedule any appointments for teddy in the afternoon.  I never pick more than three things for us to do on any given day.  We don't separate business to-do's from personal to-dos because we would never get all of the lists done each day!  We are also constantly evolving the schedule based on the seasons and based on teddy's sleeping patterns which are constantly changing.  Finding time to complete the daily housework is always a challenge.  I am going to use my to-do list to figure out a good way to get those items complete each day.  What works for you?  What do you need to work on?