To-do lists are a great time management tool, but when it comes to my to-do list, it's not
just a list of tasks that need to get done.
My to-do list is aligned with my core values.
Are you ready to uplevel your to-do list game?
Let's get started.
I'm Heather Evans.
For the best advice on self-care and personal empowerment, be sure to subscribe to my channel,
and click on that bell to get notified when I release a new video every Monday and Thursday.
Almost everyone I know has some form of to-do list that they use or have used at some point
in their life, everything from notes scribbled on the back of a napkin to really complex
Excel spreadsheets that document where things are in the process.
To-do lists are a great way to begin the process of managing your time, and when it comes to
time management, I really see that as managing our self-care.
Let's dive in a little deeper into how you can make your to-do list work for you and
ensure that it is aligned with your core values.
If you haven't yet defined what your core values are or you want to revisit your core
values, be sure to check out my recent video on how to find your core values.
I'll include a link for that in the corner above and in the description below.
You've got to be crystal clear on your core values in order for this to-do list to really
work for you.
Now, you might have your own method of creating your to-do list.
You can put it on a piece of paper.
I have been using a tool online called todoist and that really works well for me.
I'm not somebody who generally likes to write things down on a piece of paper or in a notebook
or a journal.
Taking things online is much more effective with me because I can take it with me wherever
I go.
My core value centered to-do list is made up of three different components.
At the top of my list, you're going to see three non-negotiables.
Now, these three non-negotiables are things that are easily achievable each day, and they
are tied to my top three core values.
So at the top of my to-do list, you're going to see: being in service, deep connection,
and self-care.
These are my top three core values and I have to be taking action on those three things
every day.
When I accomplish something in each of these three areas, I know that I'm living my core
values.
When I'm living my core values every day, I'm living my truth, and when I live my truth,
I'm aligned, things can begin to flow, my stress decreases, my anxiety decreases, and
I feel much more empowered.
The next thing I want you to do with your to-do list is create two different sections,
and you can order these any way you like.
But I have a personal life section and I have a career work life section.
The reason I keep these two things separate is because I don't want one infiltrating the
other.
I want to create a healthy boundary here, and I've had to-do lists in the past where
everything is on one page and I start getting really distracted as I go through my day.
I'll be at work and I'm booking doctor's appointments.
I'll be hanging out with my son and I'll be making lists or checking my to-do lists for
work.
That's not what I want.
That's not a healthy way to approach my self-care and it's not in alignment with my core values.
So what I want to do is I want to separate these and create a healthy boundary between
my work career life and my personal life.
With my to-do list, I get super specific with the task that I want to complete.
The more specific I am, the more likely it is I'm going to accomplish the task.
For example, under personal life I could put "meal prep."
Sure, meal prep, there's a whole lot of things that go under meal prep.
Instead, I might write out, "Plan meals for the month of December, vegan only," and then
in todoist, I can include a date that I want to accomplish that task by.
Underneath that I might have, "Schedule shopping trips based on meal plan for December," and
then I'm going to put a date that I'm going to schedule my shopping trips on.
You can get as specific as you like, but one thing that doing this provides us is a level
of certainty about what's going to happen.
It also provides us a lot of direction with the task that needs to be accomplished.
I also want to point out that when it comes to including things on your to-do list, I
want them to be tied to your core values.
One of my core values is being healthy, being well.
I want to feel good, right?
I know that when I plan my meals out and I know that when I schedule my shopping trips,
I am much more likely to fulfill that core value of eating well and being healthy.
I want to know, do you use a to-do list?
Tell me about it in the description below.
On my working career to-do list, I might just write the project name.
Well, guess what?
There's a lot of things that go into manifesting that project and bringing it to life, so the
more specific I can be about the task related to a specific project, the more likely it
is I'm going to achieve them.
And again, my work is tied to my core values, so any time I'm writing down something that
I need to do and I'm being really specific about it, I'm also tying it to one of my core
values.
My work is about being in service, it's about fostering deep connection, so everything that
I'm doing, I know that that's the intention behind it.
My core value serves as the foundation for anything that's going to go on this list.
When you align your to-do list with your core values, when you can achieve your three non-negotiables
every day, you're going to end each day feeling successful.
You're going to end each day feeling more in alignment with your truth because your
core values are your compass.
To help you out with this, I have created a to-do list template.
You can download it by clicking on the link in the description below.
I hope you found this video helpful, and let me know if you are planning on changing up
your to-do list game.
If you like this video, be sure to subscribe to my channel and click on that bell to get
notified when I release a new video every Monday and Thursday.
Stay ignited out there.
I will see you soon.
Bye.