I love to write lists, weird right?? To do lists, grocery lists, goal lists, accomplishments, etc. you name it and I will create a list for it. My mom would make fun of me and my list writing, but honestly it helped me stay organized. At least that is how it all started. It started as a way to remember what I wanted to accomplish for that day, week, or year. Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about how and what will get marked off my list and most of the time when I woke up I had forgotten all I had thought about when I was supposed to be sleeping.
I recently read an article in Real Simple Magazine called “How to be less busy” where the author uses the demon from the book “The Phantom Tollbooth” by Norton Juster, as the analogy for the article. The demon of petty tasks and worthless jobs who tricks the main character into believing that if you only do the easy and useless jobs you’ll never have to worry about the important ones which of course are more difficult. My to do lists have become those petty tasks. To check off the box as complete seems even more worthless as I continued reading the article. The author's one point that really hit home was “Stop trying to do everything on your list before you can have any time for what you truly want to do.” (Catherine Hong)
I have been running around checking off my to do lists in an attempt to catch up and get it all done. What I have realized is, it will never be all done. I have been chasing down check boxes as accomplishments on my to lists instead of playing and having fun. I have recently dubbed Sunday as Sunday Funday. It cannot be all work; the day must be more play than work. The days can switch off between Saturday or Sunday. So far we have managed to get in some new bike riding locations, a trip to the Hershey RV show and have some future fun planned including a trip to Hershey Park to ride some roller coasters. If you find yourself in a rut, check in with family and friends for recommendations for your next adventure, then start planning. Set the date, work on the budget, if necessary and get outside for some play time. No list required.