Today was my first day back to work, although luckily it was not a typical workday, so I had more breaks available for list stuff. Liz and I took a slightly longer walk at lunch because there was extra time, and even though it was quite cold I enjoyed the chance to move outdoors. Yesterday I was able to fix the networking issues in the basement that was preventing access to my storage of old receipt scans so I took some time to complete that item off the checklist tonight.

Around 8:30 I had a moment of frustration and low self-esteem. I felt like I had wasted a bunch of my day instead of doing the things that are both important to me and a promise to myself. Liz and I talked about how I was feeling and we were able to work through what needed to be done, how important my mental health is in comparison to a list of chores and ultimately everything got finished, although a little later than I would have liked. We also took a 45 minute break to watch some TV together while writing thank you cards.

Here is Daily To-Do List:

• Brush teeth (twice)
• Floss
• Clean the litter box (twice)
• Feed the cat (twice)
• Shower
• Exercise (45 minutes)
• Walk (30 minutes)
• Make and eat breakfast
• Make and eat lunch
• Update spending spreadsheet
• Dance (10 minutes)
• Read 1 chapter of the Bible
• Read 10+ pages of a book
• Tidy tables
• Make the bed
• Time track all work time
• No desserts or sugary snacks
• Do the dishes (twice)
• Write a blog post
• Take an interesting photo
• Write 100+ words
• French practice (15 minutes)
• Scan 10 documents or photos
• Write one thank you card
• Daily devotional with Liz
• Rename and organize 20 scanned documents
• Bed by 11 pm
• Take 2 videos

I am a little disappointed in myself because the last three days in a row I have had some form of sugary treat. We still have a lot of Christmas treats in the house, cookies, fudge, candy, and I have been reluctant to turn down offers to share in them. I know one small piece of fruit cake is not bad for me, but I have a hard time sticking to just the one, so I need to be better at breaking that habit. Also the picture of the day is not available on the computer I am writing the blog post on, so I will have to update it in the morning.

Today started strong, but somewhere after our nighttime D&D game I hit an energy wall and my late evening fell apart. It is now 11pm, and I am still missing a couple of tasks. The interesting photo, dance, thank you card, and my 100+ words of writing was actually just adventure notes from our D&D adventure. I recognize that I am trying to be lenient in how strict to be with my list, but a part of me is rather frustrated that I spent about two hours doing nothing on my computer today when that time could have been used to work on one of those missing items. As is I think we are going to miss the bed deadline and the thank you card, but I will complete the others and try to be in bed by 11:30.

Here is the Daily To-Do List:

• Brush teeth (twice)
• Floss
• Clean the litter box (twice)
• Feed the cat (twice)
• Shower
• Exercise (45 minutes)
• Walk (30 minutes)
• Make and eat breakfast
• Make and eat lunch
• Update spending spreadsheet
• Dance (10 minutes)
• Read 1 chapter of the Bible
• Read 10+ pages of a book
• Tidy tables
• Make the bed
• Time track all work time
• No desserts or sugary snacks
• Do the dishes (twice)
• Write a blog post
• Take an interesting photo
• Write 100+ words
• French practice (15 minutes)
• Scan 10 documents or photos
• Write one thank you card
• Daily devotional with Liz
• Rename and organize 20 scanned documents
• Bed by 11 pm
• Take 2 short videos

Tomorrow is my first day back to work, so that will be our first true test of how possible the list is. Today was a day of cleaning and organizing in preparation for my first week of weekly chores this year, so I can actually sweep and wash the floors. First time since the move that they have been this clear. Sorry if this post rambles more than usual, it is late, I am tired and I want to finish the list the best I can.

Hopefully a better one tomorrow.

Today is a Sunday. Traditionally Sunday is reserved as a day of rest, a sabbath, which causes a minor conflict with my daily to-do commitment. Last year Liz read book on spiritual practices titled, Sacred Rhythms, by Ruth Hailey Barton. She was inspired to make sabbath keeping a priority in ways that are restorative and refreshing without the legalism that can make sabbath keeping a burden. She has asked me to join her in this spiritual practice.

Our sabbath practices include no work or chores, no consumerism, taking time to focus on family, and a focus on spiritual development. Liz and I discussed during our after lunch walk today about how to continue my daily list commitment a way that our sabbath is still respected. In order to do that a further change was made to the daily list as seen below:

• Brush teeth (twice)
• Floss
• Clean the litter box (twice)
• Feed the cat (twice)
• Shower
• Exercise (45 minutes)
• Walk (30 minutes)
• Make and eat breakfast
• Make and eat lunch
• Update spending spreadsheet
• Dance (10 minutes)
• Read 1 chapter of the Bible
• Read 10+ pages of a book
• Tidy tables (Except on Sundays)
• Make the bed
• Time track all work time (Except on weekends)
• No desserts or sugary snacks
• Do the dishes (twice)
• Write a blog post
• Take an interesting photo
• Write 100+ words
• French practice (15 minutes)
• Scan 10 documents or photos (Except on Sundays)
• Write one thank you card (Except on Sundays)
• Daily devotional with Liz
• Rename and organize 20 scanned documents (Except on Sundays)
• Bed by 11 pm
• Take two videos for our daily video project (New)

Notice the new addition. Liz has committed to document her 40th birth year with two short videos each day. We have tried very hard to keep that up but there are days when we forget. Because it is her project, I often work on projects, or perform tasks without taking into consideration the potential for a video. By adding it as a task for the day I am hoping it will be more focused in my mind so I can help her remember.

Today was an interesting day. We completed almost the entire modified list by lunch time. We played a bunch of board games in the afternoon and played online D&D with friends after supper. Taking time to rest and focus on us today made me realize how important this commitment is to my year.

Today was cold, and windy, we woke up to falling snow, and last year we most likely would have dropped on the couch, watched 3 hours of TV, and stayed in PJs until 2pm or later. But instead we exercised, read our devotional, showered, dressed, and ate breakfast all before 10am. Now I recognize that this is day two. The excitement is still fully charged, honeymoon phase and all of that, but I feel very positive about how this can benefit my health, our relationship, and bring in a wonderful year.

There was one missed goal, which was the no sugary snacks. Since we played D&D together, Liz and I had a few chocolates and candies while we played. I did not mind since it was a special occasion and the treats are there to be eaten. I will probably make this a change to the list over time, or I will make sure to have healthy snacks next time. We shall see.

So welcome to the new year, 2022. This is my first post using my new daily list to drive my day. Luckily it was a holiday because it has taken most of the day to complete half the list. As of this writing I still have a number of items left to complete, but I should be able to finish everything.

Here are the outliers of the day. First off my morning exercise took less than 45 minutes, but also more, since Liz and I both worked on our own program for half of the time and shared a program for the other half. My program only got half completed since I am so out of shape, but I have a goal now; to finish the whole thing. Our lunch walk was really enjoyable, and longer than 30 minutes. We had a good chat about my list and even found a couple of missing items.

Liz and I even took 4 hours to stream some board games on our twitch channel, and we were super surprised when another streamer sent his entire stream to raid us. We peaked at 111 viewers, which is about 111 times higher than our usual stream. It filled us with much joy.

My biggest struggle was keeping the list in mind throughout the day, so I plan to find some way to have it close by and editable so I can check off throughout the day. Either as an app on my phone or a small daily journal by my desk or on the coffee table.

Here is the updated Daily To-Do List:

• Brush teeth (twice)
• Floss
• Clean the litter box (twice)
• Feed the cat (twice)
• Shower
• Exercise (45 minutes)
• Walk (30 minutes)
• Make and eat breakfast
• Make and eat lunch
• Update spending spreadsheet
• Dance (10 minutes)
• Read 1 chapter of the Bible
• Read 10+ pages of a book
• Tidy tables
• Make the bed
• Time track all work time
• No desserts or sugary snacks
• Do the dishes (twice)
• Write a blog post
• Take an interesting photo
• Write 100+ words
• French practice (15 minutes)
• Scan 10 documents or photos
• Write one thank you card (new)
• Daily devotional with Liz (new)
• Rename and organize 20 scanned documents (new)
• Bed by 11 pm (new)

The four new items were added as a part of our walk today. I am really enjoying having a structure to the day, even if I get to make the structure up as I go along. Biggest hurdle right now is my digital storage box with all the scanned documents is misbehaving so I was unable to rename any files today. By the time this is posted I will have completed everything on the list except for that task and bedtime teeth cleaning, but I will do that before bed.