Cross It Off Your ListWritten by Liz Sumner, M.A.
This is for people who can't seem to get everything done. Those of you who efficiently take care of every detail ahead of time don't need to read any further. As a recovering procrastinator I have a great deal of experience with To Do lists. I've embellished them with multi-color highlighters, experimented with assorted list-making software, anything to keep from actually doing tasks. Along way I've learned a few tricks you may find helpful. Make List Don't just let have-tos rattle around in your head making you crazy. Actually write down all things you're worried about getting done. Then you won't have to spend energy constantly remembering them. I like to start with one main list of everything on my mind in no particular order and then make subsequent lists. Another way is to use sticky notes. You can organize them into categories afterwards. Then I see that Rake Leaves, Move Lawn Furniture, Winterize Garden, and Do Yard Work all go together and aren't really four different things. Prioritize Ask yourself is it really essential? Is it something you want to do? Is result something you want? Does somebody else think you should do it? If that person is government, your doctor, or your boss it should probably stay on hot list. But if not, consider setting it aside for now. You could end up with lists called Must, Would Be Nice, and Who Cares. Sometimes act of placing an item on one list or another helps you determine its importance. Anything left on Who Cares list at end of this process gets crumpled up and tossed. First Things First Which items are time-sensitive? Are deadlines looming that you mustn't miss? Are downstream events dependent on completion of certain items? It's generally at this point that my anxiety level has subsided enough to unbundle general headings into smaller pieces. For example Do Financial Stuff gets broken down so that Pay Current Bills goes on one list and File Bank Statements goes on another.
| | Breaking Your Relationship Pattern, Part 2 Written by Rinatta Paries
The first step toward being able to attract and create your ideal relationship is to clear way for it by eliminating baggage from your past. This baggage refers to any resentments, hurts, or fears you have toward anyone who either was a role model or who participated directly in a relationship with you.Lots of people carry such baggage for a long time, some even for a lifetime. The sooner you can truly let go of this baggage, less likely you are to recreate bad situations in current and future relationships. Dropping this baggage is what I call "getting complete." How do you get complete? Completion is not a sense or an emotion or even a state of being, but a process. This means there are steps and practical actions that will get you to completion. What stands between you and having a great relationship is acting on these steps. At most basic level, completion is an exercise in communication. Imagine you could finally say everything you needed to say to everyone you needed to say it to, no holds barred. Wouldn't that give you a great sense of relief and freedom? In essence, getting complete is getting to communicate everything to everyone, without spending your life looking for everyone from your past or having to deal with less-than-receptive people. Once you are complete with a situation, next time you face a similar situation you will be free to choose your actions rather than being run by fear, pain, anger, etc. You may flash back to old situation, but you will not react based on it. You will no longer have anything but a minute negative emotional response when looking back on hurtful situations. For majority of time, you will feel genuine forgiveness toward others and yourself.
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