Challenge Update: The first two days of this challenge were weekend, Saturday and Sunday, and I don’t usually work with much of a to do list on the weekend anyway so it didn’t feel much difference. I did worry a bit about how I would keep up with things that I “need” to do without having them written on my planner; what if I forget to return a phone call or send an email or prepare dinner or something else important?
Important is an interesting word, isn’t it? Webster says it means something “momentous; of great consequence; having a bearing on some interest, measure or result by which good or ill may be produced.” Our choices are important, even the ones that seem mundane. However, it’s easy to create unnecessary (mental) stress by assuming that our actions have a great importance than they do. Really, what is so important in my life that the world will fall apart if I forget it? The things that are truly important – caring for my babies, being with my husband, serving God – are the structure of my life, not items on a list. So if I forget some task, leave some item undone, let something slip, my world will not be damaged. It may even become simpler and richer.
Start Building: What can you leave undone on your list? What will the consequences be? What is some task or item you have hanging over your head? Consider choosing not to do things as much (or more than) you choose to take them on. Say no more; it isn’t negative. It creates space in your life for the things that do matter, the things that are truly important.