The Done List

I don't really do to-do lists. First of all, I fail at them. They never really get finished, mostly because I'm over-ambitious when writing them in the first place. I'll put things like "reorganize downstairs closet" on a list on a Tuesday when my kids need bathed and I'm baby-sitting for friends. So of course I never get to cross everything off.
Frankly, that makes me feel like a failure. And worse yet is the fact that I now have this physical evidence - this list - to prove my failure. Its indelible. It can't be denied. Failure.
So I do 'done' lists instead. Okay, laugh...no, no, its okay, I'll wait....you done? Oh, no, okay....too damn bad. My Done List works really well for me. First of all I don't have to start it until mid-morning, which is a plus in itself. And I can put stuff on it that just fits my priorities alot better than the usual 'to-do' fare. Things that, at the end of the day, its just important that I did, like "read to Sam for 30 minutes" or "wrestled with Anna on floor". Would you put them on a to-do list? Probably not. But at the end of the day, if your children are your priority, they are very real accomplishments.
The great thing about The Done List is as you add more to it you feel better & better, and more & more motivated to keep adding. So I review it at lunch, mid-afternoon, and after dinner. Its amazing how much gumption to keep going it provides. For anyone with depression, trust me - its a real ambivalence killer.
So here's today's list, just as a random example:

Morning stretch
Took the dog for a walk
Had "me time" on computer before kids got up
Unloaded & reloaded dishwasher
Made eggs for breakfast - yay!
Played "kitchen" with kids for 1/2 hour
Emailed husband
Ran dishwasher
Took kids to see free movie - Tale of Desperaux
Took kids to lunch at McD's - let them play in tunnels for 45 minutes.
Read Anna 3 books, put down for nap
Read to big kids - 45 reading minutes for summer reading program
Made sloppy joe's & salad
Colored with kids
cleaned up in kitchen
Talked with Sam about the dog and being nice
Got Anna up, comforted
Checked in on a troubled friend
Washed berries
Went to therapy - breakthrough: stop feeling guilty for making decisions that are best for you.
Got kids ready for bed
Blogged

Now I realize this is a list that, to someone who is very hung-up on stuff around a house getting done, may seem incomplete. But when I think about MY top priorities in this life - this represents a well-lived day. And when I look at it, I feel good about my accomplishments, a success. And I've got the evidence to back it up.