Our typical day is filled with things to do. Sometimes it looks like that’s all there is to life.. DOING THINGS! And when you finish doing things… you have more things to do!

It can be overwhelming. In the kind of complex world we live in, there is no shortage of things to do. There’s things to do at work, at home, on the way home, on weekdays, on weekends and even on vacation.

The To-Do list seems to get bigger and bigger with each passing day. Why? Because some things never get done and the rate at which new tasks pop up is more than the rate at which you can complete them. Do you relate to that frustrated feeling you have when you look at your To-Do list at the end of the day and notice the number of unfinished tasks? It’s the kind of feeling that can potentially drain your energy and then you have MORE unfinished tasks at the end of the next day.

Here’s a quick tip to help you feel good. Make a “DID-IT” list.

Take a break from work and list down all the significant things you DID today, this week or this month. You’ll be surprised at how much you’ve accomplished.

Once you’ve completed the list, go through it slowly and notice how you feel. Give yourself a pat on your back. Treat yourself to an ice-cream or something. For a change, focus on celebrating what you’ve completed rather than regretting about what’s incomplete.

Accept the fact that HOWEVER much effort you put in, there will ALWAYS be an overwhelming number of tasks screaming for your attention. And unless you’re one of those who’s on a Life Simplification Mission, your workload will only increase over the months and years. Time to make peace with that reality.

I’m not saying keep focusing on what you did and ignore what’s to be done. I’m saying draw energy from the feel-good state you will get into by celebrating your accomplishments and use that energy to add more to your DID-IT list.

After all, in the sunset phase of your life, when you won’t have more energy to do any more things, it’s your giant DID-IT list that’s going to bring a smile to your face.

P.S. I’ve been wanting to write a post on this topic for the last 2 years. So I looked at all the posts I’ve written so far, felt good and that gave me inspiration to write this one. It took all of 18 minutes.. that’s all. One more entry into my DID-IT list!

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