Many days I wake up, and my first thoughts are: I need to get my assignments done, get a workout in, respond to my friend’s messages, go to the store, find a summer job, contribute to my orgs, call my mom, make myself food, plan my trips home, drink enough water, make connections with my professors, find what I am passionate about, and it just goes on and on and on.
These things are important; they make me productive and cultivate success in my life, but I have noted how sometimes they can become all-encompassing. I can often find myself being sucked into the cycle of self-isolation and will ignore everything else in my life in order to perfectly check off my to-do list.
Although achieving my everyday goals is important, I need to remember that it is just one part of me and does not define who I am. I am working towards creating balance in my life and gaining the ability to know that I am enough regardless of my productivity or lack thereof on any given day.
I know this can be easier said than done, but the thing I have found to help the most is writing every last thing on my mind on paper. It allows me to be less controlled by the millions of directions I could go toward at any moment. Doing this helps me because when I write down my to-do list, I slow down my whirlwind of thoughts and look at what I have to do more objectively.
Writing out my list helps reduce anxiety and increase the balance of my life. My list allows me to decide what is most important instead of mindlessly trying to complete everything in a panic.
One of my favorite teachers in high school would remind my class daily that we were “not our to-do lists;” I think everyone should take a second and remind themselves of this very wise sentiment.