Sort Your To-Do List

How do you manage all the housework and homeschool at the same time?! 

Here's a tip that's been working well for me. 

Keep a to-do list. 

When something comes to your attention and it needs to be done, write it down! 

Don't necessarily do the thing right then. 

Just write it down. 

I write everything down all day long! 

It all goes on the same list on my phone.  

That way, I don't have the burden of remembering anything/ everything that I have to do, because it's all written out. 

I can move on with my regular routine and refer to my list later when I have more time. 

Next, as I go through my day and refer to my list, I naturally sort the list, moving the things I really want or really need to do next to the top of my list, and letting the other stuff that can wait fall to the bottom. 

The sorting happens as I delete, add, and refer to my list a few times everyday. 

I can refer to this list when there's free time throughout the day and the decision about what to do next has already been sorted out. 

Today, the main goals that had risen to the top of my list included: 

Call the lab back and pay my bill

Read the next debate chapter with Avril 

Make bone broth 

Refill the soap container in the downstairs bath 

Clean the bird cage and bird perch

Now, I've done about one million other things today in addition to these half-dozen things. I'm constantly doing all the usual stuff like dishes and laundry and all the usual homeschool... 

but these were the things that came to mind, that weighed me down, that I really needed to remember to do and needed some help to deliberately focus on getting done and/ or fitting into all the in-between moments. 

As I complete an item on the list, it gets deleted, and that's an awesome feeling, watching the top of the list disappear. 

Now that I'm done with the extra stuff I decided to do today, I'm putting my feet up and enjoying the feeling of accomplishment. 

The things I decided to do today are all done! 

Obviously, there's more regular work to do today like dinner prep and clean-up and more laundry, but that's all the regular stuff. 

More items are being added to the list all the time...

But I've decided that all those items can wait until tomorrow or even the next day. 

Note: Another major benefit of keeping and constantly sorting your to-do list is that over time with more and more experience, you learn what you actually can and can't reasonably do in one day. 

I've learned to give myself a break for all the stuff that amounts to "too much" and can't be helped until tomorrow. 

So sort your to-do list. 

It's a mental and emotional game-changer.