If you have a special day or occasion coming up, take some time to sit down and write out a thank You letter to Hashem!
Last Wednesday I started feeling like my head was whilrling with way, WAY too many things going on for the next six days. I had a Shabbos ufruf to make, get two kids ready for yeshiva high school dormitory, my 20 year old’s birthday on Sunday, making sure my two younger kids had all their books, notebooks and clothing for the new school year, and closing loose ends for my son’s wedding happening this Monday. On Sunday we would be having four children starting three different schools, including 1st grade, at three different locations, and four different times, which had to be carefully coordinated.
Even though I had my to-do lists with everything written down, I still did not have peace of mind. The coming days seemed like one big foggy whirl and it was making me NERVOUS. The thing about to-do lists is that sometimes they get too long to the point where we don’t know where to start, which can lead to overwhelm and confusion.
When this happens, there’s something else you can do, that really clears the mind and gets you to flow through the day instead of running while looking over your shoulder to make sure you didn’t miss anything. Mapping out your day by writing out in order everything that has to happen that day provides a very handy visual to work with in order to get through a hectic time.
The thing about to-do lists is that sometimes they get too long to the point where we don’t know where to start, which can lead to overwhelm and confusion…
So for example, Sunday, August 29 looks like this for me:
7am – wake up, daven, exercise, make breakfast
10 am – bring 5th grader to school
10:30 am – buy envelopes, tie, fruit, take out cash, buy birthday card for 20 year old
11:15 am – finish vendor envelopes for wedding
2 pm – take 6 year old to 1st grade orientation
3:30 pm – return dress to store, buy bride’s buquet
6:30 – pizza party for 20 year old birthday son
8pm – get kids ready for bed and remind everyone of the schedule for wedding day
9pm – work with hubby to get everything ready for wedding: lay out clothes, finish all vendor payment calculations, finish packing everything we need to bring to the wedding, write thank you letter to Hashem for wedding.
to do list
Once I had Wednesday – Monday mapped out like this, I was able to calm down. I now had a visual that I could look at ahead of time and follow on that day. Basically, it was my brain on paper, written out in an orderly fashion.
Last but not least is the Thank You letter to Hashem. If you have a special day or occasion coming up, take some time to sit down and write out a thank You letter to Hashem about the occasion. See in your minds eye exactly how you would like things to unfold and then thank Hashem for every detail. This also gives clarity about the day and FOCUSES you on exactly how you want things to go. So important.
Wishing you a Chodesh Tov and may we all be busy with joyous occasions galore!
