My Brain On Life
Change is a daily occurrence. Life is not ever going to be the same as it was yesterday. We have big life changes like marriage, babies, and career changes. Before my daughter was born I could remember so many more details than after she was born. I blamed it on pregnancy brain, then new mom brain, but now that she is over 20 I have to come to terms that it was neither of those things. What happened was life, specifically, becoming a mom. That huge life change pushed details, like important numbers and what to buy at the grocery store, out of my head to make space for all the details of being a mom. Can you relate?
Overcoming LIFE Happens Brain
One of my biggest frustrations is forgetting things. That is why I over-pack for vacation and it’s why I always put my keys in the same place. With tasks like paying bills, processing orders for my etsy shop, or creating a weekly menu, I find having a checklist keeps me from having the frustration of forgetting an important step and it saves time.
The problem with checklists is that it takes time to create them. It might seem easier just to do the task or pack the bag without taking the time to create a checklist. I believe not having it can ultimately cost us time. How many times have you wished you could clone yourself so you really could get it all done?
How to Clone Yourself
If there were two or even three of you the house would be spotless all the time, the laundry would always be put away and you could drive the kids to school every day. Right? While we cannot really clone ourselves we can find ways to accomplish the most important “TO DOs” with the least amount of frustrations. I can think of two ways that checklists enable us to create “clones” of ourselves so we can get it all done.
- Checklists allow you to delegate to someone else aka your “clone”. I know you are cringing at the thought – no one can do what you do better than you can do it, right? But what if they HAD to do it? What about when you are on vacation or if you were caring for someone sick? Having checklists in place will give you peace of mind when you cannot be the one to do the fabulous things that you do.
- Writing down each step of a task has another time-saving side effect. When I write it out, I usually discover some low-hanging fruit. Something I can pluck and either permanently delegate or maybe even decide it is no longer necessary. Sometimes we just do things because that’s how we’ve always done it; that does not mean it is still the best way to do it.
Bonus: Hand your “clone” or spouse, friend or child your checklist and ask them to read through it carefully and ask you any questions they need to until they fully understand each item on the list. This is a great exercise for making sure what was once just in your head makes sense. It’s also good opportunity for brainstorming improvements to your checklists.
Checklists LIVE
So checklists help you live a more organized, less forgetful life, they enable your “clones” to help you, and checklists have a life of their own. What I mean is don’t think that once you create a checklist it will not be set in stone. Life is full of change, so your checklists will change, too. Your morning routine when you have a 12 month old child is totally different from when you have a 12 year old child, right? Keep that in mind as you develop your library of checklists.
A Library of Lists
I like to keep my checklists in Evernote. You can use a word document and share them with others using dropbox or another sharing application. Here are some ideas of checklists that you might want to start building:
Morning routine
Evening routine
Homework checklist
School Shopping
Christmas Shopping
Diaper Bag Restocking
House-cleaning
Weekly planning
I could go on and on and I just might, eventually. In another post I’ll share some of my checklists with you, so you can edit them and make them your own. I may need your help with a couple on this list. I haven’t packed a diaper bag in 19 years! If you have a checklist for that, please send to me in email or post a link to it in the comments.
In another future post I’ll teach you how to create your own checklist. I hope you are finding this series helpful especially if you don’t think it’s possible for you and your clones to be organized.
Blessings,
Lauree
…keep dancing the dream
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