All in a Day's Work

Excuse me, can I take a peek at that To Do list? Hmm… interesting. This is for today? Wow, you are motivated. I think you might actually finish everything.

By next July.

If your To Do list tends to be as long as your arm—i.e., it’s got more than four or five items on it—you might want to rethink your approach. You and everyone else only end up frustrated when items on the list aren’t finished, so you’re basically setting yourself up for failure.

Turn your days into a series of successes with to do lists you can actually finish, and you’ll be much happier in the long run. When making a list, include only what you can accomplish in a 24-hour period. It might be that instead of saying you'll organize the house, you'll start working on the linen closet. Put the big items on a long-term list, to checked off once all the small steps leading up to it have been done.

Change comes more easily when we manage our expectations, and our daily to-dos. How can you make sure you set yourself up for success each day?