I’m a list maker. I love lists and I love to mark things off of the list when I complete them. If I do something not even on the list, I’ll write it on the list just so I can mark it off.
I also hate the list. The list never ends. I feel strangled by all of the things I must do and find it hard to rest until everything is marked off….only to begin a new list and repeat the madness.
So….I started something new that is making me more productive than the list. It’s called “The One Thing”. I’ve been consistently doing this in 2 areas that I’m working hard to improve. Work projects and clutter.
1. Work. Every day (or the night before) I decide what is the one thing that I really need to complete and I do it the very first thing. I don’t trick myself by doing something I would normally do or by picking something easy. The criterion is simply…what is the one thing that will have the biggest impact. Sometimes it’s fun and sometimes it’s not. I have noticed that by doing the “one thing” first, it’s easier because I have more energy and I have not put it off all day and made it even bigger than it truly is.
2. Clutter. I am removing one thing every day from my closet. Each morning when I get ready, I usually put on at least 3 shirts before deciding. If the shirt isn’t good enough for that day, then it’s not good enough for any other day either. To the pile, then goodwill it goes. When I’m finished with the closet (including all clothing items and shoe)…..and that will take a while……I’ll move to every drawer and cabinet in the house. I have attempted many times to do this all at once but that usually finds me either moving stuff from one drawer to another or day drinking!
Yes, this is easy to do. Yes, it probably seems obvious too but the discipline of doing it every day is actually making me happier and somehow feeling lighter.
What’s the one thing you need to do today?
