This morning, while talking to Bethanny (the names have been changed to protect the innocent), she revealed that her ‘to do list’ was at least 18 miles long and that she was beginning to hyperventilate just at the thought of reading it. Where to begin? Where to end? Overwhelm had clearly set in! And reality, too. Truly, just how much can one woman tackle?
What to do? Declutter your to do list, that’s what to do!
If your to do list is enough to send you into an anxious swirl of self-defeat, spiraling downward out of control, then follow Our Lady of Feng Shui’s instructions and declutter your way to clarity. (She is Our Lady of Weight Loss’s cousin. Lovely lady, she is!)
Step 1: Draw a line down the center of a piece of paper.
Step 2: On one side of the paper write ‘to do.’
Step 3: On the other side of the paper write ‘not to do.’
Step 4: Write out all you have to do on the to do side of the page. If you begin to hyperventilate at the length and difficulty of the list, just take in deep breaths and have faith that at the end of this exercise, you’ll feel better, and will have lightened your load, considerably!
Step 5: Take a good look at your ‘to do’ list and first ask yourself. “Really? Do I really have to do that???” And if you really don’t, move it to your ‘not to do’ list immediately! Feels good, doesn’t it?
And then take another good, hard look and take any item that someone else could do for you and move it to your ‘not to do’ list.
Maybe something like laundry. You can either find another able body in the house to do it or send it out! Is food shopping taking up too much of your time? Order on-line or call-in a standing delivery to your neighborhood market!
This morning, I put the outgoing mail on my ‘not to do’ list. Instead of schlepping it to the post office, I asked someone else to do it for me, and they said, “Sure, no problem. It’s on my route, anyway.”
You feel lighter, already, don’t you?!
Before I leave you to declutter your to do list, here is one of my favorite quotes that souls the anxious soul.
“It is not necessary that you leave the house.
Remain at your table and listen.
Do not even listen, only wait.
Do not even wait, be wholly still and alone.
The world will present itself to you for its unmasking,
it can do no other, in ecstasy it will writhe at your feet.” ~ Franz Kafka
Spread the word … NOT the icing,
Janice
———————————-
Curious about coaching? Janice Taylor can help you live your best life! Write Janice!
Follow Janice on Twitter and/or Facebook!
Join the Our Lady of Weight Loss’s Kick in the Tush Club: Beliefnet Chapter.
Visit: www.OurLadyofWeightLoss.com
Read Previous Post
