DAILY CHECKLISTS

I've created and used daily checklists several times in the three and a half years since becoming a mama.  I'm sure they would have been helpful in my pre-mamahood days, too but I had quite a bit of disposable time in those days and rarely fought to fit in the things that I needed or wanted to accomplish.

After a several month hiatus, I started a new checklist in August.  As always seems to be the case, my daily checklist included a mixture of self-care items, household chores and things that I like to do daily just to help me feel like an accomplished human being.  I wrote more about my big goals for a daily checklist in this post.

There are two big differences between this list and ones that I've created in the past.

1.  Checklists are recreated monthly.  

In the past, I would type up a list and print several copies with the plan to use it indefinitely.  This didn't leave room for new, short term projects or for changes in priorities.

For each of the past three months, I have written a new checklist at the beginning of the month.  While many things remain the same from month to month, I've also added and removed or altered a few things each month to keep the checklist relevant.

2.  Checklists are made and kept inside my daily planner.    

This one simple change has helped me to stay on track more consistently than I have in the past.  Previously, my checklist would be on a separate piece of paper that could (and would) easily get lost in the paper shuffle around the house.

Now that I have it in the same place as all of my other daily and weekly planning - in a book that I use for several purposes each day - it is difficult to ignore or forget and hard to misplace.

This month's list includes flossing, taking my vitamin, making my bed, putting the dishes away in the morning, putting the laundry away in the morning, doing a daily devotion, having a plan for dinner (which usually reminds me to set out meat to thaw or other prep steps to take early in the day), getting Brian's coffee ready for the next morning, running a load of laundry before bed, starting the dishwasher before bed and making some sort of forward progress on the blog.

Other things that have been included in the past couple months: reading, writing, 10,000 step goal, making progress on the blog move.

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My list is set up in a general morning to night order.  On days when I am on my game, I have the first seven or eight things done by mid-morning.  The last few usually aren't accomplished until just before bed.

I use Get To Work Book as my planner / calendar.  I have the July 2015 to June 2016 edition which is no longer in stock, but the January to December 2016 edition is currently shipping.