More snow this past weekend!

After posting the other day about the goals I completed in February, I started thinking about why I feel the need to post a list each month of items I check off a list.  What is the purpose?  And several reasons came to mind.  

First, it keeps me accountable!  If I fail to post each month about goals I finished I doubt any reader is going to contact me and ask about it.  But it matters to me.  If I start something, I want to finish it.  Just making the plan to post each month about the items I finish is enough to motivate me to continue working on things and crossing them off my list.

Secondly, finishing something makes you want to finish something else.  The feeling you have when you complete a task or chore starts to snowball into the desire to finish the next thing.  That feeling of accomplishment and pride in a job well done is such a rush and motivates you to start working towards the next goal.  It’s a bit like making healthy choices.  When I choose to exercise in the morning, I’m given an adrenaline rush which increases oxygen and blood flow throughout my body, giving me an alertness I otherwise wouldn’t have (isn’t our Creator amazing?).  It not only helps me focus and finish tasks for the day, but it makes me want to make the next healthy choice.  If I walk in the morning, I’m more likely to eat healthy foods for lunch.  Because my body feels better after eating healthy foods at lunchtime and isn’t sluggish, I have the necessary energy to complete my work for the day and finish strong.  One good decision gives us the motivation to make the next good decision.  

And third, when James and Anna are reading through their mother’s thoughts in years to come, I hope it encourages them.  Getting things done is a struggle for everyone – there is always so much more to do than the time we have to do it.  But learning how to make small goals – thinking about the end result you desire and taking steps to get there – is such a valuable lesson.  Maybe they’ll see my struggle for getting things done in the words here and walk away with a plan of action that might help them.  

While life really isn’t just about whether we complete our to-do lists or not, we do have a responsibility to do the work right in front of us that the Lord gives us to do.  For me, keeping our home is part of my work so making goals to help me complete that is what’s working right now.  

How do you set goals to help you accomplish tasks or projects?  At home or at work?  Share what works for you and it just might help someone reading!