9 Ways Chronically Ill/Injured People Benefit from a To-Do List

Healthy to-do- lists help organize, schedule, and corral our lives and thoughts.

Daily to-do lists are not created equal. Some lists are filled with so many tasks that it is impossible to get them all done in one week much less one day. 

Some lists are not written in any kind of order – listing the “must-do” right alongside the “would be nice to do.”

Some lists are not written for you. They state the goals and priorities of others or what you think others want you to do.

Finally some lists are too vague. Penning the word “exercise” doesn’t give you an indication of how to tell when you are done exercising.

Healthy to-do lists are what you need. They are do-able, precise, personal, and state what really needs doing today. And they must be S.M.A.R.T. A  healthy daily to-do list is not  a wish list, dump list, or bucket list.

Here are two links about writing effective to-do lists.

1. 10 Tips to Create To-Do Lists Like a Pro!
2. How to Make Your To-Do List Doable

Healthy to-do lists  . . .

• help organize,
• schedule, and
• corral

A LIFE bursting with things to do.

It also helps corral, schedule, and organize A MIND bursting with thoughts.

But when I am ill or in pain, especially for a long time, I don’t have much on the to-do list nor is my mind bursting with thoughts. My main physical and mental goals are getting well, getting through that day. Can you relate?

But by using a healthy to-do list, you and I can do more than get through the day.  A well-written, healthy to-do list  is short. It takes into consideration the available energy for that day. It is okay and best to have only a few items on the list.

A healthy to-do list is beneficial in the following ways.

1. Gives you something to look forward to
2. Structures your day
3. Determines YOUR priority for the day versus what others demand/expect of you
4. Takes your mind off present ills
5. Helps you create boundaries in your life
6. Creates a sense of accomplishment
7. Is a way to chart progress
8. Automates your life so you don’t have to remember what to-do because it is written down
9. Challenges you to do more or to do something out of your comfort zone

Want some ideas on what to put on your list? Look at the above benefits.  What would you like to do that would give you that benefit? Then choose one or two for today’s to-do list.

Your Turn . . . How have you found to-do lists beneficial (besides the obvious of getting things done)?

Related Posts . . .

• 6 Things Chronic Pain Taught Me
• Does Making a List Really Make a Difference?
• Done is Better Than Perfect
• even sickies need a to-do list
• How Realistic is Your To-Do List? Are You Doing What’s on God’s To-do List?
• Live in the Day: a To-Do List