Organizing 101: The To Do List

First of all, sorry I did not get Food Friday up on Friday. I went out of town with my husband and the baby (the older one stayed with grandparents) and planned on blogging while hanging out in the room. We were there for my husband to attend a conference and I knew I had a lot of dead time. Turns out, it was $10 a day for internet access!!! Everything was expensive at the hotel and it quickly reminded me why I'm not a fan of the higher class hotels - give me a Comfort Inn or Holiday Inn Express any day and I'm much happier. At least the room was nice.

Now, on to the weekly organization tip. If you are like most people, your to do list is much longer than you can ever accomplish. Back when I had my first child, I read a book (sorry, I can't remember the name of the book) that said to pick your hot button item of the day and do everything in your power to accomplish that one item. This is the one thing you have to get done or something that will make you feel like you accomplished something. Then, prioritize everything else on your list and see what truly needs to be done. Many times, several items on the list can actually wait a few days and by taking them off, you can remove some of the stress from your life.

The idea behind the hot button item is that you accomplish something important each day and you have that sense of finishing a task. As a mom of young children, some days, my hot button item is as simple as getting the dishwasher unloaded. Other days, it is getting a project completed, paying the bills, etc. I do feel good though when I get something marked off my to do list each day. It feels like a bonus when I get a few more items marked off as the day goes on. I try my best to get my hot button item finished early on so as the day goes on, the craziness of life does not get keep me from accomplishing something.