My Dad was a self-employed plasterer/drywaller most of his life. My brothers used to help him at jobs on occasion. One time, my brother Duane felt a little overwhelmed by the work ahead of him and asked, “Dad, where do I start?” And the reply was, “You start at the beginning.”
Mary Kay, the cosmetic queen, used to say that you eat an elephant one bite at a time. Break whatever it is you’re faced with down into small bits and work at it slowly. That’s how things get done. Keep the end in mind, I believe that was Stephen Covey’s words.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been feeling overwhelmed these days. Mostly it’s because of expectations I have for myself and my life, and I feel I’m not meeting them or accomplishing all I wish. So the retreat time I took away was to refect on what it is exactly I want to do, what is my purpose, and who will be joining me in that journey.
So, how do we go about tackling a seemingly overwhelming life to-do list? Step back, take time, meditate, find clarity and decide what is most important in this moment.
One of my favourite to-do list activities comes from Abraham-Hicks. They call it the placemat process (because Esther Hicks wrote her list on a restaurant placement); I call it the Universal Manager’s to-do list. Take a piece of paper and draw a line down the center. On the left side write “My To Do List for Today” and on the right side write “Universe’s To Do List”. On the left, write only those things that you wish to accomplish today that require action (a phone call to a client, an errand, that sort of thing). On the Universe’s side, write all those things running around in your head whether they are short-term or long-term activities and goals. I have found two things happen when write this daily lists:
1. It takes a lot of pressure off of me because I know I need to focus on only a few things and the Universe will take care of everything else in good time.
2. The Universal list seems to get accomplished much faster than I anticipate! Because I’ve let go and put it in the hands of my Universal Manager. I have faith it will get done and it always does, in a timely manner. It’s important to note though that these items must be things I truly want. It must be in my vibration, it must be authentic for me.
Try this activity… you can learn more about it in the Abraham-Hicks book Ask & It is Given (or the audio book processes)
Scrapbooks for the Soul
