I was thinking today about everything that I needed to do, and was debating making a list of it all. After all there’s a lot to get done. We’re behind on laundry and no matter how much we clean, little 5 and 7 year old feet track in more and more mess immediately after; seriously I have leaves on my kitchen floor that I have no idea where they came from. Life is hectic and chaotic. But every time I have made a to-do list in the past, it never seemed to work. In fact I would find myself more stressed and overwhelmed. Even if I would check off one of the items at the top of the list the sheer amount remaining on the list would be daunting and have me feel like I would never get it all done anyways, so why bother? I don’t know, maybe it’s just my brain that works that way. If I were to write down everything that needs to get done right now, I would fill up a page or two, front and back. I don’t know about you, but that’s the reality at our house. We both work full time and we both have our own lists of things that need to get done. Throw in kids, pets, and homeschooling and it just keeps piling on.
Today an idea popped in my head to make a micro list. Companies, when working on big projects, will actually break it down into smaller, attainable(key word here), goals. This way you have something smaller to focus on, once you finish the smaller goals you move on to the next one, next thing you know you are done and the project is finished. Why shouldn’t we use this same concept in our own lives? Being parents and maintaining your house is hard enough. Being parents and maintaining your house while you both work full time and one of you is in school while the other homeschools the kids? That feels impossible. So why shouldn’t we use the same ideas that big companies use regularly to accomplish their own goals? Instead of letting everything pile up until the weekend, your only 2 days off, why not break it up into smaller, micro goals? Imagine getting to a point where you reach the weekend and actually get to enjoy it instead of catching up on everything you’ve fallen behind on? I don’t know about you but I’m really looking forward to being able to do that one day.
If this sounds like your life then I challenge you to start your own micro lists with me today. I’m starting with 3 things on the list.
- Finish all of the adults’ laundry (kids’ laundry will be a different day)
- Wipe down all of the counter tops and put dishes away
- Sweep kitchen/dining floor
Three items that I believe I can attain after work, before the end of the day. I don’t know about you but looking at a small list like this actually makes me feel hopeful, like I can get this done. I know there’s more that needs to be done in the background, decluttering, organizing, you name it. But for today, lets focus on our micro list and see how we feel about it afterwards.
Little Piece of Quiet 