It’s On the List!

Hello readers! I apologize that it’s been a while. The good news is, since this blog entry is all about my New Year’s list (and probably won’t resonate quite as much in February) I felt compelled to squeeze this entry in before January was over.

A few days before 2021 began, I set some goals. Yes, I realize we all probably did because that’s what we do. New Year’s comes along and we make our resolutions to diet, lose weight, work out more, be better people, all of thee above. And I’m sure I’m not unique in that about three days into the new year, I’ve broken every resolution. Well as 2020 was winding down (and may I say, it couldn’t have come to a close fast enough), what I finally realized about myself (which I can’t believe took forty years for this epiphany) is that I’m a list person. And because I’m a list person, to accomplish my goals – I need a list. Plain and simple.

I also need that list to be something I can actually read (I have horrible handwriting) and that I don’t lose. So I channeled my millennial friends and made the list electronic on my phone with checkmarks I can check and uncheck. There’s a smaller subset to the list for weekly and monthly undertakings, but my real New Year’s goals are listed as daily tasks. And yes, these tasks do include things like working out and drinking more water because I’m cliché and I’m totally okay with that.

The good news is, we’re nearly one month into the year and I’ve stuck by this list every day. That’s right. Every. Day. My inability to go to sleep before checking each and every item off my daily list leads to almost guaranteed success of accomplishing all the things on said list. My husband teases me mercilessly. Once I complete something he knows is on the list, he says “check, check” in sort of a peppy, mocking tone. I tell him he shouldn’t poke fun since that list is the reason he now has clean underwear and socks on a daily basis.

And with that rambling backstory, I now present to you, THE LIST.

1 – 3: Shower, floss, and apply hair oil. It’s sort of sad that showering had to be put on this list. But it’s a pandemic and, with more time spent at home, I think we can all admit we’ve skipped a shower or two. After the shower I now apply the hair oil I purchased eons ago and never bothered to use. I love the feel of it in my hair. And the coconut smell. I will say, I can’t blame my historical lack of flossing on the pandemic. Despite being a self-proclaimed teeth person, I’ve just never been much of a flosser. That is unless you count the six days leading up to any dental checkup. During that time I take it upon myself to floss daily because someone once told me that if you floss for at least six straight days before an appointment, the dentist can’t really tell you’re not a flosser. I’ve found this to be largely untrue but it doesn’t stop me from the “habit.” But now, assuming the dentist office isn’t closed due to Covid restrictions, my next dental appointment should go smashingly well once they realize what a dedicated flosser I’ve become.

4 & 5: Instagram posts and impressions. I try hard to promote my books, but with a full-time day job, squeezing in time to continue writing, all while trying to make sure I don’t neglect my family (or my house), social media promotion often takes a backseat. But Instagram is one of my favorite platforms. I love seeing all the pictures and it’s where I can positively interact with other authors and readers. So my daily list now includes one post on Instagram per day and contributing a minimum amount of likes and comments so I can ensure I’m supporting and taking an interest in the content of others and not just focusing on my own posts. Having Instragram on the list is an easy way to make sure I set a little time aside each day to spend time on a platform I enjoy.

6: Reach out to a friend or family member. I hesitate to admit to this one because I can envision one of my friends or family members reading this and thinking I reached out just to check something off my list. But there’s a reason I added this to the list. There are so many times while I’m working, in the shower, or cooking dinner that I think about someone and tell myself I should really call them or I should send them a text. But then time gets away from me and I often don’t make the gesture. Having this item on my list triggers my memory of those I thought of during the day and then I carve out time to make that connection. So if I reach out to you, please know it’s totally sincere. But yes, once I do, I am going to check it off. 😉

7: Write 500+ words per day. There are two schools of thoughts on this. Some say you should write every day, even if you don’t feel like it. Others say you should only write when you’re in the mood so your writing doesn’t come across as uninspired. I’ve often leaned towards the latter, but then I’ve used that as an excuse not to write and have gone for weeks and even months without writing a single word. Forcing myself to write every day has been a good thing. Over 23,000 words written in less than a month is definitely a record for me and gets me that much closer to my goal of releasing at least two books in 2021. Has all of the writing been inspired? Nope. But that’s what editors are for.

8: Drink at least 75 ounces of water. Those of you who read my earlier blogs may recall that drinking more water was one of my New Year’s resolutions last year. That lasted … oh, a matter of days. But thanks to the list, drinking at least 75 ounces of water per day is easy. I have a 24-ounce, insulated cup so I ensure I drink at least 3 ½ of those. It’s been easier than I thought and I definitely feel more hydrated.

9 & 10: Joint chews for Rogan and vitamins for me. My hunting dog, Rogan, is getting a little long in the tooth so we recently put him on joint chews. The problem is, prior to the New Year, I didn’t always remember to give them to him. And while for myself I had high aspirations for taking my daily vitamins, including for hair and nail support, I took those about as often as I flossed. But now, every morning Rogan gets his chews and I take my vitamins every night with dinner. I will say, I’ve been feeling less tired. I haven’t noticed much difference in my hair and nails, but hopefully that’s coming soon.

11 – 13: Make bed, pick up house, and cook dinner. Like flossing, making the bed had to be added to the list because, in the words of my teenage daughter, “Why make it if you’re just going to get back in it in a few hours?” Big disclaimer, both my mother and my grandma always taught me the first thing you should do to start your day is make your bed. It just didn’t stick. But now that I do this daily, I must admit there is something to be said about getting back into a well-made bed. Since I’ve been working from home for the past ten months, it should have been easier to fit some of these tasks in at lunch or in place of commuting time. However, many mornings I chose to sleep longer instead. In the evenings, I would work longer than intended and time would get away from me. But, since my need to check things off the list apparently overrides my need to sleep, adding these to the list has helped me get up earlier to accomplish them. And even if I have to work later, I still take a break to make these things happen. And finally, with grocery shopping included on the weekly list (admittedly, it’s online shopping with front porch delivery), I’m never without something to make for dinner. The kids are starting to get in on helping me, so that’s also lightened the load. By the time my husband gets home from work, we get to enjoy dinner as a family and then settle in for the evening with a picked-up house. It’s really a great feeling.

14: Twenty minutes of exercise. This one cracks me up because anyone who knows me even a little knows I loathe exercising. Prior to 20021, I’d never gotten into a routine and had an exercise bike I hadn’t set foot on. I even smirked a little when I added this to the list, figuring even being a list person couldn’t help with this one. But I was wrong. I’ve worked out at least twenty minutes every day since the list was created and have been upping the intensity. In the next couple of weeks, I plan to increase this to thirty minutes. Sometimes I’m dragging myself out of bed to fit in some morning exercise, other times it’s on my lunch break, and on very chaotic days I don’t have time to squeeze it in until just before bed. But regardless, I do it, and I always feel great afterwards. Plus, it guarantees I accomplish list item number one – the shower!

15 & 16: Feed and water the dogs for breakfast, then dinner. I can see heads exploding right now thinking that feeding my poor dogs had to be added to the list so I didn’t forget. But no worries, that isn’t the case. Rather, there were days I couldn’t recall if I had already fed them, so I’d do it again. Or my kids would feed the dogs, then me, so it was leading to some chubby pets. Now I’ve made it clear to the family that it’s on my list to take care of. That doesn’t mean I don’t delegate it. But even if I do, as soon as it’s done, I can check it off the list and avoid overfed doggies.

17: Load of laundry. Let me just say that I was done spending my weekends doing six loads of laundry just to try and play catch up from an exhausting week. Now I commit to one load of laundry per day. I typically throw laundry in the washer in the morning, put it in the dryer during my lunch break, then fold it while dinner is cooking or before we settle in for the evening. Everybody helps put it away, which is nice. And now I rarely hear anybody complain that they can’t find what they wanted to wear. Of course, once I finish a load, if something is dirty that somebody really wants to wear that next day, they know where the washer and dryer are.

18 & 19: Nightly facial cream & lash boost. A nightly skincare routine has never been my thing. I’m spent by nine p.m. And if I fall asleep on the couch watching T.V., the last thing I want to do is get up and mess with skincare. But now, even if I do fall asleep on the sofa, I recall this lovely list I’ve grown to both love and hate and I stumble to the bathroom to apply the age-defying cream (a Christmas gift … don’t ask … but I am 40, after all), and then a lash boost liner that I’m hoping gives me those longer lashes, as advertised. So far on the lashes … meh. But I do notice a difference in my skin.

20: Bible and prayer. Regrettably, I fall in and out of this habit over the years. It’s easy to let other things get in the way. But I’ve always felt better when I’ve had a routine of reading the bible and praying daily. I don’t read for a long time. I typically commit to at least two chapters per day. And some days the prayer may be short. But it is nice to end the day with something positive, no matter how my day went.

And that’s it. My daily electronic list that I uncheck each morning and start over. Sometimes it can be daunting. Sometimes it’s deflating that the clock starts over and my previous day’s accomplishments don’t count. But I’ve found this list really works for me. If you’re a list person, I encourage you to give your own list a try. And if you like my blogs, I have good news. A new blog entry is on my monthly checklist, so you can expect to see a blog from me on a monthly cadence (something else that had previously been a goal, but now I feel confident I can accomplish it because, hey – it’s on the list!).