At the end of each week I write a “Ta-da” list.
It’s a quick review list of all the things I have done that week. It usually only takes me 5 min to write. I start in the same order that I start my to-do list, which is write the self care activities first (I call it Connection tasks), and then the work tasks, and I also include important family related tasks.
As I wrote the one for last week, I was fascinated to notice that, yet again, I had forgotten all the many things I had done work and family wise that week.
I think I do this because it’s easy to just focus on what I’m not doing. After all, there are always more tasks to do, and the list is never completed.
I think this is also because from childhood we are conditioned to associate productivity with worth.
I’ve been writing such lists for nearly a year now.
Yet, every week I’m still surprised that I had not realized how much I’d done and achieved that week until I wrote it down.
As I reflected on last week I wrote: no wonder I felt tired and a bit overwhelmed!
I recommend trying it, as it really shifts your focus from beating yourself up about all the stuff you’re done doing, to patting yourself on the back for having done many things.
Here’s what I did last week
- My connection activities for the week: Drumming in the woods x2, pool swim and river swim, 5rhythms dancing session, family pizza night.
- Monday: Taught a postnatal massage course in London (a 15h day)
- Tuesday: Took a day of mostly rest on Tuesday (still did a bit of work that really needed to be done)
- Wednesday: Had an admin day, planned things that needed to happen later that week (a mother blessing and a closing the bones photoshoot), answered emails, had a couple of zoom meetings, got my car clutch repaired, and attended a 90 min online course session.
- Thursday : A long antenatal appointment with a client, some admin work, prepped equipment for photoshoot.
- Friday : Photoshoot (took half a day), and downloading pictures and videos, and packing all the equipment for mother blessing.
- Saturday: Ran a mother blessing.
- Sunday: Rested and hung out with my family.