Conquering Your To-Do List

How many times have you tripped over that mess by the front door? Is the drip, drip, drip of the bathroom faucet keeping you up night after night? What about that kitchen cupboard that never seems to stay closed? I don’t know about you, but I never seem to be completely free of those minor household irritations. I can only tolerate them for so long before I have to take action to preserve my own sanity.

Putting up with tolerations over a long period of time can be incredibly draining. The good news is that eliminating those pesky tasks takes less time than you may think. In fact, we often spend more time and energy procrastinating about them than it would take to complete them.

But first, we need a plan of action. Here’s what works for me and will likely be just as effective for you:

1.  List tolerations:

First, make a list of what’s bugging you. Just writing those down will help you feel better because it will free you from constantly having to think about them. Some of these things are on top of your mind and will come to you quickly. To get them all on paper, I suggest you walk around the house, room by room, so you will be reminded of what needs to be fixed or replaced.  Once you have a comprehensive list, you need to decide which items require hiring someone and which ones you can do yourself.

2.  DIY:

For those you plan to tackle yourself, schedule time in your calendar over the next week or two to spend working on a few of them. Consider it an appointment with yourself and honor it as you would any other appointment with a friend, business associate or other professional. You may want to schedule either an evening, part of the weekend, or a full day depending on which works best for your energy level and ability to focus. If you are easily distracted and work better when you have someone keeping you company and/or providing a helping hand, ask a friend or family member to join you. Perhaps you can do the same for him/her on another date. The social aspect can make it more fun and naturally builds in some accountability, so you are less likely to back out at the last minute.

3.  Hire help:

For the items that require outside help, determine who you will hire. Ask friends for recommendations or do an online search and ask for references. But avoid over-researching your options, which delays decisions and stalls the process (paralysis by analysis). Then, schedule time to make the phone call(s). Consolidating several small jobs in one day will be more cost effective than calling a handy-man for individual projects, so you need to be organized and armed with your list.

4.  Enjoy the results:

As each little job is completed, cross it off your list and notice how you feel. If you are anything like me, you will feel lighter and have more energy and clarity. It can be therapeutic and quite gratifying. You may even notice you are more relaxed and able to truly enjoy your home and your family.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed when we’re faced with a long list to projects to complete. Break it down into manageable tasks and get the help you need. As you chip away at it, you will feel a greater sense of control and peace of mind. What are the top 3 things on your toleration list?