What happens if your results do not equal your intentions?

When your to-do list is so long that you can’t accomplish all of your tasks, or you start out accomplishing the tasks on the list when your attention needed to change to a more pressing matter, what do you say to yourself? Do you scold yourself for not accomplishing all the tasks on the list? Do you feel frustrated, inadequate, like your day was a waste? All thoughts that lead to emotions that don’t serve you well. Let’s change that around!

How to feel good about a day that didn’t go according to plan:

• Give yourself permission to be human. Fact: humans are not perfect at anything.
• Write a Ta-Da list (all the things you did accomplish) instead.
• Are you being reasonable? Do you have a to-do list that is not possible to complete in the amount of time you allot? If the list was impossible, quit setting yourself up for failure.

Things to think about when making your list next time:

• Evaluate your priorities. Prioritize by most important to least important. Focus on the things that need to get done first. The kids need to get picked up from their after school activities, the dishes can wait.
• Are there any tasks that you can delegate? If you don’t trust others to do it, you can delegate less important tasks until you develop more trust. We can’t do it all, all by ourselves.
• Learn to say no. You don’t have to say yes to everything people ask you to do. It is ok to say no. If this is difficult for you, you may need to look at the reason behind your thinking.

You may find Steven Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People a valuable tool. Habit Three, Put First Things First might be particularly beneficial.