No more “to-do” lists

I love lists. I make a must-have list when I go shopping. Since the invention of the Kindle and ebooks (and more so now that I’m on Goodreads), my reader automatically keeps a convenient list of books I’ve read in the app. And, until recently, I’ve been an on-again-off-again user of to-do lists.

Ahhh… the to-do list. A must-have in the productive person’s toolkit. Somewhere you write down all the stuff you want to get done and the check it off as you complete it. It’s fun and satisfying to make those little check marks… until they don’t get checked off any longer. Then they just stare at you and make you wish you’d never “gotten organized”, because life got in the way and those unchecked boxes are a reminder of all the stuff you haven’t done. Much better to not have the physical list when all it does is provoke guilt.

Now, if you are the type of person who finds to-do lists useful, the previous paragraph probably doesn’t apply to you. But for a person who thinks like I do, to-do lists are a disaster. It’s a language issue, I think. I have a hard time conceptualizing things (maybe) being done in the future. I like my actions to happen in the now and continue on until completion. Even when I’m not taking physical action on a project quite yet, it is either going on or it isn’t. I function best in the present continuous tense.

I now do an Am-Doing-List™ instead. It looks a lot like a to-do list. The biggest difference is that when I write “I AM DOING”, it is a commitment. A declaration. A statement of intent (BTW, you can intend an input but not an outcome).

All the items on my Am-Doing-List™ follow this format:

• My reason for doing it (desired feeling) (“I LOVE feeling energetic and sexy…”)
• Area of life that I want to improve (“… so I am eating lots of healthy foods“)
• Specific actions that I believe will accomplish the improvement (“An example of healthy eating is consuming 5 servings of produce daily “)
• Date by which I will begin the action (“Starting on or before August 1, 2023“)
• Depending on the nature of the action, I may incl
• Date by which I will accomplish the action, if applicable (does not apply in this situation, as it is an ongoing commitment. If it were an action that can be completed, the statement would look like “and completed no later than August 30, 2030“).

A few guidelines:

• All items on the list are verbs in the present continuous tense (action+ing).
• All items have a date by which the action begins.
• Items are removed and replaced upon completion, if they are something which you are no longer committed to doing, or when they become habits (optional).
• Things on the list can be items on which you have not yet started, but must have a start date (I am doing x (thing) starting on or before y (date)).
• Items can and should be changed or updated as new information becomes available. (Things outside of our control happen. Emergencies arise. People become ill. Things we thought would work, don’t. If it’s important to do something, adapt and carry on.)

I’d love to chat with you about how to implement this in your life! I also love thoughts and suggestions, so please comment!