To Do, How Flexible Are You?

by Kris Pitcher

I thought it was timely that John Lennon's "to do" list was hitting the market place just as I had been thinking about that very topic. Well, not John Lennon's to do list, but to do lists in general.

I'm the kind of person who makes two kinds of lists. I make lists of things I need to get done. That would be your typical to do list. I also make lists of things I've already done...so I can cross them off. Admit it, you've done that! OK, maybe it's just me, but I've come clean and now you know my (only) neurosis.

The most important thing about the list/s is they are flexible. You can start your day with the best intentions of getting your list completed and well, let's just say things can get dynamic.

Most days I go into work with a list of things I'd like to accomplish. Then I open my email...and you know how the rest of the story goes. Someones got an emergency, another person has a crisis, someone else has a deadline. And my list goes out the window while I triage everyone else's needs.

We need to be able to successfully triage our own lists too. And be OK with it. When we can let certain things on the list go, or wait, and not freak out about it...we'll be alright. Having rigid expectations about your list will leave you in a constant state of disappointment. And who needs that?

Be flexible with your daily to do's. Our lives are dynamic, and we need to be able to adjust our expectations around that. Your list can be dynamic too. And no, you don't have to write things down you've already done just so you can cross them off in order to feel you've accomplished something. Geeze! That would be crazy!