Perfect Day Ahead...
You set a plan. You have decided this will be the most predictive day of your life. Every detail is planned to the half hour, lists of tasks you have to check off using your favorite ballpoint pen, even having taken the time to dot your eyes. You finally got to use that cute stationery notepad that has sat on your desk staring at your disorder for months. The to-do list is a promise, a dedication, you swear you won’t devise a single moment from that list
Your friend calls after a break up. Task one took longer than it should have. You forgot about a deadline. Your child is sick at school. Your computer is glitching so bad you can’t even work. Your printer is out of ink.
All these things have effectively thrown off your perfectly planned day. Speaking from experience, after having such high and detailed expectations for completion of tasks, the moment it goes this ary it feels far more like a failure than any other ‘disorderly day’ would have. You began with such good intentions, but for some reason or another it collapsed beneath you. You lose that sense of control.
Maybe the key to a productive day isn’t planning every minute. Maybe it’s just not possible to set a strict routine because of how quickly they spiral away from you. It’s true, productivity doesn’t work the same for everyone and it’s toxic to expect it to. Planning your day can feel stressful and sometimes counterproductive all the while. If you’re someone like me, visual examples of how you can plan your day might be helpful, so I compiled some ‘to-do’ examples that combine both self-care and productivity.
At the end of the day, you just can't always take control of your productive moments. Sometimes it's better to set vague intentions and rely on general guidelines as your to-do lists. If specific planning works well for you then by all means do it. I'm just speaking for my fellow people who struggle to plan and then freak when a plan doesn't go accordingly after they've had it in their head. I think it can provide a lot of balance in your life if you just try making cute little lists plus you get the satisfaction of checking something off when you've completed the tasks.
Next time in the work-life diaries we're gonna stop by the local digital coffee shop, The Founders Foam, and see what sorts of things we can take away about balancing life, mindfulness, and meeting yourself where you're at while grabbing a delicious brew ☕
