In the last week or two, I have been relearning the benefits of the Ta-Da list.
It should not be confused with the To-Do list, though they are related.
The To-Do list lays out all the things that you need to do.
The Ta-Da list enumerates all the things you have accomplished, whatever you choose to commemorate.
The To-Do list is a vital tool
It (possibly) saves lives at work
I recall trying to manage my first week of internship before I started to use a daily list: Total Disaster.
I learned to use my To-Do list to keep track of all the necessary details: check morning labs, order tests discussed at rounds, check on results of said tests, call consultants, check the chart in the afternoon for their recommendations in case they didn’t call, order labs for tomorrow morning, finish notes, prepare sign-out. And that was just for starters.
Even now, years later, I use a list when I work in the hospital. Sometimes in the office, too.
It helps you get chores done at home
Without my numerous to-do lists (a fresh one every weekend, at a minimum), I would probably forget to renew driver’s licenses and car registrations before the deadlines.
The list reminds me to get the laundry done, dishes put away, thin the stack of journals by the sofa, and balance the checkbook on my free weekends. It helps me to get birthday cards out in time (most years).
The To-Do List sneaks into your marriage
I will never forget my fiance’s surprise as he discovered the Honey-Do list, a specialized subset of the To-Do list.
His long-married friend laughed when to-be Mr. PiN exclaimed about a list of projects around the house. His friend revealed that he once brought in an entire crew of workers to finish off his wife’s list; they were unable to finish it all in the week they worked on it.
It’s funny, but also a sign that The List is an insidious interloper into a marriage that should be between 2 people, not 2 people plus a list of chores.
The To-Do List does not promote serenity
To quote a famous doctor:
The reward for a job well done is the opportunity to do more.
Jonas Salk
In my home, the To-Do list is never done. I always put too many things on the list to finish in one day. If, by some miracle, I ever do finish the day’s list, I soon find more to put on a new list.
The Sisyphean quality of the To-Do list means you can never be done, never feel true satisfaction of achieving a goal.
The To-Do list is a necessary tool in my home, but it does not make me feel good.
The Ta-Da list celebrates accomplishments
Rather than looking ahead at things to do, the Ta-Da list looks back, and is a place to collect achievements. Perusing this list can give you a real feeling of satisfaction instead a feeling of dread at the enormity of the work you still have to do.
There are a few variations of the Ta-Da list.
The Gratitude List
I first edged my way into keeping a gratitude list during my Very Bad Year at work. I was pretty sad, and I started keeping a diary of good things. I tried to write something down daily, but even 2 to 3 entries a week worked for me.
This helped me focus on what was going well, and helped reduce the psychic load of the not-so-good things that were happening in my life.
I used it a few times to look back at several months of happenings, to remember the good stuff.
The Daily List of Things Done
In the past year, most of my vacations have been spent at home, whether by design or because of COVID.
I have struggled with what to do with my time at home. Should I simply relax and fritter the time away indulging myself? Or should I use this time to knock items off the to-do list?
I don’t really want to spend all my free time doing chores, but I also don’t want to feel I wasted my time and the opportunity to get things done.
To combat this tension, I started keeping diaries of my time off. Don’t worry, I won’t make you read them.
These lists have been extremely helpful to me.
By looking back each afternoon at what I have already managed–laundry, cleaning, decluttering, errands–I lost my anxiety about how much else had to get done. I usually ended up feeling that I had done enough to relax guilt-free, and could enjoy a leisurely walk or lounging with a fun book.
The Quarterly/Annual/Decade review
What really started me thinking about the Ta-Da list was last week’s iteration of my Future Me posts. These posts–which are averaging every 3 to 4 months–are a combination of To-Do and Ta-Da lists.
This time around, I really appreciated having the chance to review my ‘wins’ several times a year. When I am in the thick of things, chasing a goal that often seems just a few steps ahead of me, it is helpful to stop and look back at the goals I managed to hit.
Last year’s annual review was also helpful, a good start to the goal-setting season. As I wrote then: I find it is healthier for me to concentrate periodically on things that have gone well, rather than always pointing out what needs to improve.
At the beginning of the year, also the beginning of the decade, several bloggers wrote about their progress over the past ten years. I found that a useful exercise for myself,though I did not write a post about it. (I did write about the changes over the past 5 years this summer.).
Looking back over a long period can really highlight changes in your life–hopefully focusing on the improvements–that are huge in hindsight, but which in real-time may be so small and incremental as to seem insignificant.
Fill the Bucket List
A fancier Ta-Da list would be the Fill the Bucket exercise, described a few years ago by Maggie at Northern Expenditure.
Instead of publishing a bucket-list of things she wanted to do by her 30th birthday, she decided to write a list of the awesome experiences that she had already had. And she had had quite a few.
I think this post really changed how I think about goals. It is really a gratitude list in disguise, a way to reflect on the great things you have already done.
Why you need your Ta-Da list
You can probably figure out my answer by looking at my headers. But I’ll say it anyway.
For the busy and distractible, the To-Do list can save your bacon. If you forget to pay your utilities and to send thank you notes to your sensitive relative, you will be spending a lot of time, sad, in the dark. (As a bonus, if your phone is turned off, you don’t have to listen to your insulted loved-one).
In our work driven, goal-oriented society (in the USA, at least), the To-Do list can turn into an insatiable monster, expanding to such lengths that you could spend every minute of the day trying to finish it off, never succeeding. It will crowd out any thoughts of rest or rejuvenation you may have.
The Ta-Da list can act as an antidote to the frenzy of productivity porn, the feeling of inadequacy if you don’t have everything finished just-so. Reviewing your list can remind you of wins, re-frame your interpretation of your work, and generally make you a more grateful, more relaxed, and all-around more pleasant person to visit with.
In a world that glorifies accomplishments and productivity, and promotes a never-ending To-Do list, you too need a Ta-Da list.
Do you agree? Do you keep a Ta-Da list?