Lists, Lists and More Lists

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I am a list maker. I mean, I am a compulsive list maker. I literally make lists of the lists I need to make.  List making helps me accomplish three important things at once: being in control, focusing on what's important, clearing out all those "to do's", all mixed into one.

The reason I have become a big list maker is because my head can get all scrambled with a million thoughts of things I need to do swirling around inside, making me feel out of control. If you haven't figured it out yet, I put quite a bit of emphasis on our need to feel in control. Especially if we are struggling with an addiction such as overeating, drinking, etc. because nothing will make us break down and turn to our addiction like feeling out of control.

So your challenge today is to make lists at every opportunity you see to make them. To get you started and hopefully give you a better idea of what I mean, I'm going to give you a....you guessed it! A LIST of all my running lists I have right now.

  • A master packing list (everyone needs one of these!!! Especially if you have kids). Packing for vacation isn't nearly as stressful as it used to be when I have a master list of everything I could possibly need.
  • In addition to this, I have a toiletry bag list as well. This is my bag with all my little travel size things like shampoo, condition, deodorant, etc. I go thru the list to make sure everything is stocked and filled before I pack it up.
  • A gym bag list....and this is just a subcategory list of the one I have for my "gym right after work" list which includes dinner/snacks, drinks, etc. for my son if we're not going home first.
  • A "staple" list. This is a list of all the grocery store items I know I'm probably going to need every time I go to the store. Not only does this save time when I'm making my week to week grocery list, it also ensures that I'm always prepared with all my healthy convenience foods for the week. And I think we all know the importance of being prepared when it comes to food!
  • A daily goals list. This is my newest and one of my favorites. I actually am using an app on my iPhone called "Good Day". It lets me list my goals and then rate how good I did each day on a scale from 1 to 5 (which I REALLY like, opposed to just a black and white "yes" or "no"). Right now my daily goals list includes.
    • My Son (Quality time with my son)
    • "Good Deed" (Do a good deed for someone for no reason)
    • "Don't eat late in the evening"
    • "Exercise 6x week" (I really love that I can rate it too so if I don't push hard, I don't feel right giving myself a "5" just because I worked out)
    • "Career" (Something that helps me meet my career goals)
    • "Check Off a 'To Do'" (Do something I don't HAVE to do today, such as paying a bill that's not due for two weeks, cleaning my car, etc. Anything that could wait but I do it just to get it done)
    • "Healthy eating"
  •  I also have a running "do eventually" list. This one is probably the most important for my sanity. If something is just nagging at my brain that I know I need to do soon but not necessarily now, I put it on an ongoing list in my iPhone's reminder list and I set a date/time to be reminded or a location. It gets it out of my head which frees my brain up for more important, constructive things. 
  • My list of what's important to me to help keep me on track and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. My son, my health, my career (can't be an out of shape trainer!!), my loved ones who are always watching, etc. Some of the things that used to be on my list before I lost the weight were some of the following:
    • Not get winded walking up the stairs
    • Not worry about breaking wobbly chairs
    • Fitting into regular clothes and having more choices....You get the idea. Anything that motivates you toward your goals. 
  • And my final list is actually a dual list. I have them side by side in the back of my planner. The first one is titled "How I Feel When I've Had a Successful/Productive Day" and the second is "How I Feel When I've Had an Unsuccessful/Unproductive Day". I actually listed these out on days when these feelings were real and fresh (after each of the aforementioned days). Just having them there to read the contrast of how I will feel when I arrive at the end of my day if I've done the right things or the wrong things for myself, helps keep it so much more real in my head.
Look around your life. Where can you get your head a little straighter with a list or two....or twenty?

Tammi

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