Ponder the difference:
A ‘to-do’ list is full of the un-achieved goals. The stuff not yet tended to. The myriad of piles still unsorted. A ‘To-do’ list is meant to be motivating…to show you how much further you still have, and how close you are to the finish line.
A ‘to done’ list, on the other hand, is made as things are done. Did you just wash the dishes? Add it to the “To Done” list. Did you just water your plants? Add it to the “To Done” list. This list grows as things are accomplished, giving you a sense of what you have already achieved.
My tendency is to see life as a ‘to do’ list…all those things I have not accomplished or achieved yet. Problem is…talk to anyone who keeps lists and they’ll say there’s always more on the ‘to do’ list. So no wonder I live with a cloud of unfinished life stuff hanging over my head.
What if I created a life “To Done” list? How would I then feel about things like achievement and success? What would be on my “To Done” list that I would be especially proud of? On my list would be the faces of all the kids in the daycare I worked at in college, the children’s home in Kenya, the preschool in Minneapolis. On my list would be the projects, papers and presentations prepared in school. On my list would be game nights, Good Friday road trips, late night phone calls and text conversations. On my list would be trips to Africa, to Europe, to various places around the country.
Yeah…things are different if I’m working off of a “To Done” list.