Take our challenge – Procrastination

These days Mums have more on their plates than ever before, if we aren’t thinking about which club we need to pay for we are jotting down shopping lists, sorting the social calendar and managing the family finances, probably while holding down a job. While this is all empowering and fabulous…

If we don’t strike the right balance it can be stressful and distracting and can ultimately impact on our mental health.

I am going to set you a challenge.

All you need is commitment and a note pad and pen and I promise by the end of the challenge you will feel accomplished, less stressed and more organised moving forward.

We all have those jobs that we put off to do another day. That day becomes a week and before you know it, it’s been added to the never ending list of things you need to do and just adds to the stress. Should you have submitted that meter reading, booked that appointment at the dentist or checked for a better deal on your car insurance? You could be putting your health at risk.

Research shows that:

“Putting off important tasks can result in greater stress as you rush to meet (or miss) a deadline. Stress, in turn, is linked to various health issues. People who procrastinate are more likely to sleep poorly, have higher levels of anxiety and depression and lower immunity.”

Lets take this challenge together to work on that list and relieve some of that pressure for you.

The Challenge

Stationary & To-Do List

Between now and Monday of next week find yourself a nice notepad (permission to purchase new stationary!) and write your to-do list down. It doesn’t matter when you’re reading this, just take however many days until the next Monday and take your time).

Write yourself a list of all the jobs you’ve been putting off.

Do this over the next few days so that every time you get that sinking feeling when you remember something you’re supposed to have done write it down. Hopefully you’ll instantly feel a weight off your mind just seeing the list evaporate from your mind and on to a piece of paper.

If you have shopping items, write these on a separate list. I’ll be willing to bet that when you look at the to-do list over the next couple of days you won’t believe how much you have been putting off.

Flick forward a couple of pages and write the months of the year, starting with January, over a couple of pages, leaving lines or spaces in between. You’ll see why later.

Prioritise

Once you have your list of things ‘to-do’, re-write the list or assign each task a number, give the highest priority number one and so on.

MONDAY:

Starting on a fresh week look at your to do list and aim to complete at least one task per day. It’s important to keep to just one task per day so that you don’t again feel you’ve failed if you don’t complete more than one. If you can manage more then great! But don’t set yourself up for failure. One task per day should be manageable.

Move on down your list day by day, physically ticking off or crossing through each task as you have done it.

Plan for the future – Monthly Planning

Look at your list. Do these things tend to re-occur monthly or weekly? Eg, does your car insurance re-new every September? Find your page with the months of the year written down and write ‘car insurance’ in August. Do you submit an online meter reading every month? Write ‘submit meter reading’ under every month of the year.

If you don’t allow your to-do list to add up again then you’ll find you’re more organised and less stressed. 

Keep your note pad handy at all times with a pen, keep it in your bag or have it out on a table. Every time you think of something else, write it down.

Just remembered the car needs an MOT in March, write it down in February so you remember to book it in. This monthly list should be a work in progress, you’ll find you’ll get a reminder letter in the post which will jog your memory, write it on your planner. You’ll be able to move it in again next year without the stress of trying to remember.

This challenge will move into a yearly planner and will help you to plan ahead moving forward. See it as a work in progress over the next few months and maybe in January start a fresh with a year ahead plan, perhaps move some of your monthly lists to your family calendar.

Make a promise to yourself

Keep an ongoing monthly to-do list and keep on top of it.

Write everything down, get it out of your head, free up some head space.

I promise if you follow these simple rules you’ll never panic about the things you are putting off, or potentially forget something important again.

I have given you some simple ideas to incorporate into your every day life. Start with this simple to-do list method and if you like it we can move on to more in depth planning ideas. Bullet journaling is a natural extension of this planning but in a bit more detail.  If you’re interested in bullet journaling we can move on to that later. I love my bullet journal, especially my ‘Birthdays’ page, (see the image below), but I also use it for me-time, planning books I would like to read, films I’d like to watch, or places I would love to visit. Don’t forget to look after yourself Mama.

Here’s the plan again in brief:

• To-Do List
• Prioritise
• Tick off one task per day
• Plan For The Future
• Make A Promise To Yourself

So, you’ve read the plan….. Are you up for the challenge?!

I would love to hear your feedback, you can find me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook  or you can comment below here. If you think this simple to-do list plan will help others please do share.