The Ta-Da! Month

I already wrote about the fact that I let myself get too busy in May.

I made commitments I shouldn't have.

Or at least probably wouldn’t have...

... if I had known the unexpected things that would pop up.  

But we never know, do we?

That's why we need to plan margins in our schedule.

That's what I failed to do for May.

Forget the margins.

Margin-less May

So...

What about June?

Will I do better?

What will I do differently?

I decided to try something quite different in June.  I remembered my experiences with a Ta-Da! list and thought it could be fun to make a month-long one.  

It felt like the perfect kind of “opposite” from what May had been like.

My to-do lists had been impossibly long.

It was definitely time for something different.

Sure I still had to make some lists of obligations and things that I dare not forget, but I decided to shift my focus whenever possible. I would watch for chances to do things that I could be excited about.  Things about which I could say Ta-Da! at least to myself. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a whole month’s worth of Ta-Da! items?

Each evening I would add to the list.  It could be only one thing each day - but lots of days had more than one item.

What kinds of things?

All kinds of fun things - and even a few not so fun

Like that phone call I’ve been needing to make - check!  Ta-Da!

The appointment I’ve been putting off - Got that scheduled! Ta-Da!

The left-over project from May that was ALMOST done but not quite…  Got ‘er done! Ta-Da!

I sorted through photo files that have been languishing.  Ta-Da!!!

I rode my bike - NINE miles one day - and lots of shorter rides.  Ta-Da!

I sat out in the sun for my 15-minute dose of Vitamin D.  Yay!

I thought about an old friend. I should get in touch with her sometime.  But wait!  Let’s do it now.  So I did.  Ta-da!

Did my usual morning routines in record time.  Ta-Da!

Had a lovely visit with a new neighbor.  Ta-Da!

Walked downtown with hubby on his business errand.  Yay!

Did some porch-sitting.  Cha-ching!

Worked ahead (in advance!) to prepare my report for the upcoming board meeting.  Smart move!

Finished the HUGE project I’ve been working on for months.  Ta-Da!

So far I’m liking this experiment.

I’m thinking ahead to other Ta-Da! lists.

Sometimes they nudge me to stretch myself at bit toward becoming all that I can be.

Sometimes I even surprise myself.

Ta-Da!

My Ta-da List

I am a list maker. I WISH I were also a list finisher. I might get the prize for leaving the most lists unfinished in the world. But still I use them. I guess I keep thinking that my to-do list will motivate me or at least keep me from forgetting something important - but they seem to fail on both counts. In fact, a to-do list often discourages me when I see how long it is and how slowly I am progressing.

However, I happened upon another idea - a great idea that I use once in awhile. Instead of making a to-do list, sometimes I make a ta-da list! With this list, I write down the things that I DID rather than what I must do. Then I can say "Ta-Da!!! Look at what I did!!!" The psychology works in a positive way. With this list, I WANT to see it grow - so I try to think of even little things that might take just a few minutes, but they count. Instead of rationalizing and whining, instead I feel excited about finding one more thing to do so I can write it on the list.

I had a flexible schedule today so I decided to do a ta-da list and it has worked wonderfully! It has already grown longer than I would have imagined. I did some piddling things that have been awaiting my attention - loose-ends, you know - like filling the soap dispensers and putting new pages in my planner notebook. Ooh, and I took a few minutes to unsubscribe to a whole bunch of e-mail newsletters that I no longer need. Ta-da!

I threw in a couple medium-sized projects. For example I've been wanting a bookshelf in the great room - so today I set out to search for it in storage. I found it and polished it and got it in place. I even arranged the books on it! Ta-Da! Perfect!

I also tackled something that has been hanging over my head - a major glitch in the checkbook. I found it, fixed it and finished it! Ta-da! I'm having so much fun that I might even take on the business account as well.

Another biggie was that I've been wanting to set up my big computer - because there are a couple projects that need to be addressed there. So once the momentum of my ta-da list began building, I decided to give it a shot - and at least get started. I cleaned off the desk I wanted to use, set up the computer and ta-da! I'm in business. One project is done and the other is in process. I didn't know if I could get my equipment to do what I needed, but I experimented and discovered how to do it. The files are transferring even as we speak. I mean, even as I type - on a different computer. Wahoo!!! That project had been stressing me for months because it was so daunting - and now it's done! Ta-Da!!!

My list is pretty impressive. I almost can't believe that I could have done so much in one day. It's like I'm a different person, no longer the plodder, but actually a finisher. This has done wonders for my confidence and sense of accomplishment - not to mention encouragement for the rest of the week.

...

P.S.
Sometimes I think of something that I've always wanted to do but never seem to get it done.
Sometimes I struggle to figure out how to do it.
Sometimes it gets messy - like my first attempt to grill a PB&J...
Sometimes it doesn't turn out great.
But sometimes it does.
Sometimes it is worth the effort.
Ta-Da!!!