TO-DO or TO-BE - What will bring you greater happiness?

The “To-Do List” is the driving force of our day.   Something to keep us focused on the important things we need to get done.  It is a barometer of how busy or important we are. It is used to manage our procrastination.

Yes, procrastination and avoidance.  It can’t just be me who has the same tasks not done and people not responded to which appear on the list every day? Sometimes for weeks. Then these people not answered and the tasks left undone develop their own sort of dread power that can make cleaning the lint out of your dryer or scrubbing your trash can look like a desirable distraction.

But this blog post isn’t about how to be more efficient because deep down you already know the how’s & why’s of your avoidance simply boils down to that you just don’t want to do something.
 
All procrastination is about fear or avoidance of a perceived pain.

Looking foolish, rejection, failing, succeeding, not knowing what to do, a sense of pointlessness or simply being clueless. There are a million tips out there to get you started.  You can just Google them – or add that to your To-Do List.

I’m more interested in a “To Be” List.

Getting clear on why you are doing what you are doing and where do you want it to take you is a far more meaningful exercise.

The endless striving and pushing forward and stopping to wonder if you accomplished enough is a great exercise in futility. Instead of thinking what you have “To Do”  - notice why you don’t want to do a lot of the stuff that is dragging you down and making you shop, drink or seek any distraction.

How about a “To-Be” List or a "REAL" "To-Do" List which is about consciously accessing your joy every day, doing things that are so easy you can’t believe you get paid to do it or creating things that make your heart sing like Lady Gaga and Bradly Cooper in a Star is Born.

What if the present was perfect and doing less gave you more?

What if we didn’t fill the void with actions and developed a soulful relaxed approach to life?

One friend who was working a full time job with overtime, developing her own business, renovating her home, managing the contractors, and trying to keep her life on track said, “I even rush when I speak like racing to the full stop!”.   She was in such a chronic state of exhaustion both mentally and physically, she couldn't think straight and kept wonder why getting things done seemed much more difficult than it should have been.

Stop the To-Do List
  ...or just make it the top 3 priorities you do first thing in the morning that you know will help you make progress.

Here are some “Coaching Tips” to help you focus on how “To-Be” and be happy:

1)Let go of past slights. People do hurt us and it’s our responsibility to process it and let it go or it can become a vengeful item on your “to-do” list!

2)Build in a reward into every 90 minutes and notice how you feel and the joy it brings - A good cup of coffee or your favorite tea, eating what you believe to be healthy or not, feeling the wind on your face, noticing the change of season. It’s all about mindful noticing.

3)If you are feeling overwhelmed learn to say “NO”.  No justification nor explanation is needed. No is a complete sentence.

 4) Drop perfectionism. You are MORE than good enough.

 5) Learn the art of day dreaming. Let your subconscious show you the way.

If you are still struggling,  book my FREE 30-minute Sunny Life Coaching session and see how you could seriously upgrade your life!