THREE SMALL GOALS

I'm a list maker. I'm a box checker. I'm a lover of productivity.

I recently had a very uncomfortable pregnancy. I recently moved. I recently had an unexpected surgery.

These little details add up to someone who expected to have things happen more slowly than usual and was fine with that, but eventually got really discouraged that the "need and/or want to do" stuff was adding up much more quickly than she was able to tackle it.

My home, which I knew wouldn't be decorated as quickly as usual, felt impersonal, and that frustrated me. My ongoing "to do" list, which I generally find handy, was overwhelming. My house was cluttered and dirty, which stresses me out when not taken care of on a daily basis. My stack of papers to deal with was growing taller by the minute and that was discouraging.

Basically, I've been really overwhelmed by all I need to do and discouraged that I have no time for the stuff I want to do. Something had to change or I was going to lose it.

A couple weeks ago I grabbed a little white board and wrote "THREE SMALL GOALS" across the top. Each morning I write down three things that I must get done that day. Some are things where time is of the essence, others have been waiting to be done for months. Some are about cleaning and organizing, others are about paperwork and scheduling.

Can I just tell you how great this has been for me?! A list of three things is easy to make. Three is a manageable number of things to do at this point in time. Being able to cross three things off proves productivity. Being productive makes me happy. A happy wife and mom means a happy home.

I still have my ongoing "to do" list because I need a place to write down all the things that need to get done and Tim uses it for ideas when he's wanting to help with stuff around the house without having to ask me for ideas, but the having a short list has saved my sanity. Even if the house is a wreck or our living room is completely undecorated, I can remind myself that I did get something done over the course of the day. Three somethings, to be exact. And in the midst of all that productive happiness, I often end up getting some extra things from my regular list crossed off.

Do I ever fail to complete my three small goals? I have a couple times. One day I didn't do a single thing on the list. However, that was also the day a friend spontaneously took the three older kids out for a chunk of the morning and I napped in the afternoon. Another day I totally forgot to do something until the kids were in bed, but it was something I needed them to be awake for. I didn't mind my uncrossed list either time. Mature of me, huh?

I decided not do do my three small goals on weekends. Of course, I refer to my ongoing "to do" list and we still get stuff done, but things are just more relaxed.

The walls of my house are still bare. I haven't figured out how to arrange the furniture in a couple rooms. There is a laundry basket in my room filled with random things that need to be dealt with. The kitchen counter has a pile of paperwork to go through (hmmm ... maybe I'll throw it all in that laundry basket). There are some things on my "to do" list that have been there for months.

However, I'm way more relaxed because I know I'm making progress, even if it's slow. I think I'm balancing my forest tendencies with three trees a day.