I have created a To Do list in the form of a spreadsheet. I created the sheet because I found myself unsatisfied at the end of a day or week after working all day and still not feeling satisfied. Something was missing. I was out of balance. So with the help and suggestion of a friend I created a way to keep a record of how I was spending my time.

I was also spending a lot of time on one task such as trying to get an aspect of a website to work properly. I needed a way to give myself a time limit to get such a task done and move on.

So I created my spreadsheet to do just that.

Down the left side in the first column (A) I have listed major tasks such as:

Affirmations or gratitude

Meditation,

Exercise

Create art for sale

Create art for pleasure

Write

Outings with friends

Updating blogs

Journals, etc.

In a row across the top I have:

Time Frame

How many times

Daily

Weekly

Body

Mind

Spirit

Work

I also have a column marked “Done”

Remember that rows (horizontal) are marked by numbers and columns (vertical) are marked by letters. Where the rows and columns cross I put an X to designate if the task is to be done daily or weekly. I also mark if it is for body, mind, spirit or work. For instance: in column A row 18 I have written “create art for pleasure.” I have put an X in the columns for “weekly’” “mind,” and “spirit.” In column C; “time frame” I put “2 hours.” In column D; how many times (per week) I put “twice.

Once I have done this task I put an X in the column marked “done.” To make things easier for me the column “Done” is in red. This draws my eye to it at first glance and I cam immediately see what I have accomplished for that day and what needs to be done.

My sheet has 8 pages: one for each day of the week and one master page. As I tweak this spreadsheet; add, remove and refine, I make the changes to the master sheet first. Then copy and paste to the rest of the sheets. This is only done once in a while as needed.

I don’t keep the records forever. Right now I am deleting the X’s in the “done” column at the end of each week. Right now I only need to look back on what I did for that week. Then I start over. Perhaps later I will keep records for a month or more.

I put the spreadsheet on my desktop and open it first thing in the morning. I refer to it several times per day. This reminds me that I am not to spend the entire day in work mode. That I must take time to call a friend or that I have put off my exercise routine and now may be the perfect time to get away from my computer for a while.

As I learn to balance the whole of me I will need the to do list less and less. But for now it is an excellent tool for me as I spin my many plates and try to keep them all in the air.