A Wholesome To-Do List To Help You Be Productive While Happier
This worksheet/to-do list helped me improve my productivity as well as my mental health. I include a completely free printable template in Canva.
At the beginning of 2021, I was facing the crisis of my life. I became depressed and stuck, having problems finishing even the easiest tasks. Everything felt like a burden, even cooking or dressing up.
How I was able to win this fight is a matter for another topic, but one of the things I learned was how to make a to-do list with respect to my mental health and enjoying life. My To-Do Lists became more of a life worksheet.
What Was Wrong With My ‘Classic’ To-Do Lists
I always made to-do lists to calm my mind by ensuring I wouldn’t forget to do something that needed to be done. Therefore, I only put the tasks that stressed me to some level, which I didn’t want to do right away.
I was so hung up on the to-do’s that I felt like I was procrastinating whenever I did something else. Soon I realized I never intentionally make time to do things I actually enjoy.
I finally understood that my day needs to be balanced, and my mind needs to feel accomplishment even when it’s used for pleasant activities.
What Does A Wholesome To-Do List Contain
My to-do list now has these categories: To-Dos, Want-To-Dos, Affirmations, and Big Picture Want-To-Dos.
Let’s describe each category real quick.
To-Dos
The classic part — what do I need to do today to have a productive day and leave something for me to benefit from tomorrow.
Want-To-Dos
These are the things that I want my days to contain. Things that I enjoy doing, seeing, talking about, or eating
I believe there should be at least as many want-to-dos on the list as there are to-dos. Or some reasonable proportion. I was always wondering why I was so miserable and unproductive, and then I realized I never took enough time to enjoy my life and do the things that make me want to actually be alive. And it can be such small things.
Some examples of mine:
Have a nice cup of coffee.
Spent some time on Twitter.
Read my favorite book.
Listen to my favorite podcast.
Have a piece of my favorite fruit.
Dance.
Do my skincare routine in peace.
Affirmations
Affirmations are a powerful way to shift my mind into a productive state. I see them as sentences that do two crucial things:
- Calm my mind and assure the body that we are safe to live our day.
- Remind me of my values, goals, and the general way I want to live my life.
Reading affirmations on my to-do list literally takes seconds, and I can feel the gentle hug my brain gets when it hears them.
When writing or picking your affirmations, you need to experiment and see what resonates with you. In my opinion, a good affirmation is one that makes you feel positive emotions.
It is also important to revise them from time to time. When we do the self-improvement thing right, we are changing very fast. And so do the things that resonate with us.
Some examples of mine:
I love my friends and I care about being a great friend.
I love my family and will always work hard to be a great daughter.
I enjoy working hard towards my goals.
I am making the best choices I can every day.
I love learning new things.
It is safe for me to make mistakes.
I have enough time for everything.
Everything happens in perfect timing.
I love people and I enjoy being as kind as I possibly can.
I am doing better and better every day.
Big Picture Want-To-Dos
Any exciting outcome is built by repetitive, annoying, seemingly brainless and also hard activities. It is easy to get lost in the small every day tasks and get disconnected from the big picture.
But keeping the end vision in your mind will make you love (or at least tolerate well) anything life throws at you.
My Big-Picture Want-To-Dos have two following parts.
‘Every Day I Want To’
Things I want to do and have in my days. Whether I’m a millionaire and never work again, or I’m in crisis. I just simply want these simple routines and things in most of my days. (This is a shopping list for my Want-To-Do list.)
Of course, I don’t ‘have to’ have all of these every day. Any reasonable amount is fine.
Some examples of mine:
Enjoy a cup of coffee.
Watch a funny video /show.
Dance.
Run, walk far or swim.
Visualize my dream life.
Make time for a meal I love.
Have a piece of my favorite fruit.
Meditate.
Be in a nice, clean room.
Read.
Write.
‘In My Life I Want To’
Big picture goals/bucket list. This is the list of things I know I want to achieve in life. Things I enjoy working hard towards.
Every day, I want to see this list to remind my brain we are not doing anything ‘just because.’ It is simply a text-based form of a dream board.
Our brain is always so preoccupied with our immediate well-being and survival that it’s hard to blame it for not always remembering our values, dreams, and goals. And it takes very little time to remind it every day.
Some examples of mine:
I want to visit Argentina.
I want to live in New York.
I want to learn to dance Bachata.
I want to be a consistent writer and connect with the community.
I want to become a calm, organized person, that always knows where her stuff is.
I want to learn to sing (not hoping to sell out a stadium, just to join in on carols with dignity).
I want to become a person to always bring good vibes into any room.
You can also download this as a printable or edit it as a template for free using Canva.com and this link.
