To Do or Ta-Da?

To Do or TaDa? That is the question. (21st Century Shakespeare?). To do do do, ta da da da, is all I want to say to you. Tee-hee, do you remember that Police song, “De do do do, de da da da”. The point of this article is to give you a couple of tools to help you gain a sense of accomplishment. How? you ask. Well, the first thing you get to do is to reorganize your way of thinking and proceed. Are you familiar with all those honey-do and to-do lists we make for ourselves and our loved ones? NOW, is the time to reinvent or recreate them into something fun.

The best way to get anything accomplished is to create a visual organizer or map to help you focus on the main item or items among all those daunting tasks that are vying for your attention. A mental shift from the standard To-do List to a Map of Hocus-Focus, which is a fun and fanciful way to get you through the day or week. Here is the fun part; take a standard sheet of paper in portrait position and fold it into thirds.

In the upper third of your map, create a word splash of everything you want to get done that is weighing down on your mind. If you have color markers or pencils handy, then by all means, make it colorful. Don’t leave anything out.

Then in the center part of your map, doodle a circle, heart, star, an “X” (because “x” marks the spot) or whatever suits your fancy. Make it large enough to hold one or two tasks to focus on for the moment, day or week. In that circle, heart, or whatever shape you decided, write the one or two items you really want to focus on and get done.

In the bottom third of your map write how you want to feel and/or how working towards  your goals make you feel. Leave space at the bottom to write down a 5- to 10-minute activity that will bring you back into your focus or joy. This 5- to 10-minute activity can deep breathing, stretching, walking, reading or listening to music. It can be anything that brings you happiness. NOW, examine your Hocus-Focus Map. How does it make you feel? Refer back to your map as often as you like. This will help to center you. It will bring you back into focus (and joy). 

Ta-da is an exclamation of triumph or pride; it is often used to express accomplishment after a daunting task or project has been completed. NOW, is the time to celebrate YOU. At the end of your day, flip your Map of Hocus-Focus  over to the backside, turn it 90-degrees and make a Ta-da List (by Ellie Di, Headologist). List everything and anything you did over the course of the day (or week). Everything counts! NOW, relish in the accomplishment. Ta-da! Bravo! You did quite a lot!!! 

Related articles

• Ta-da! (easygoingorganizer.wordpress.com)
• Create A 2011 “Ta-da!” List (bexcellentinc.com)
• Ta-da Lists (tadalist.com)
• The Headologist: It’s All In Your Head (theheadologist.com)