23 In Lists.

I turned 23 a couple of weeks ago. Before my birthday, I already decided that I would do things differently this year.

Instead of of having the usual year-long list of 23 things, I’m taking the pressure off myself to make another list of things to accomplish. I loved making the list in years past (read about the 20 list, the 21 list, and the 22 list) and delighted in crossing things off the list. But having a full schedule studying, working and serving, I’m setting aside the list for this year and doing something else instead. When something starts becoming stressful instead of fun, it’s time to put that aside and work on something else.

This is the year for something new and different (at least for me).

For 23, I’m doing a monthly list instead. I’m hoping these lists actually help me to get things done because I can list things out specifically and systematically.

I feel like I do better with monthly short-term plans, instead of year-long plans that end up being forgotten or pushed aside as the year progresses. The nice thing about monthly goals is that I get to roll items forward to the next month if I don’t accomplish them in the present month. That definitely relieves the stress factor for me quite a bit.

For September, my list has five categories:

1. Health/wellness
2. Creativity
3. Blog
4. Living
5. Learn

Under each category, I have specific tasks listed out and things I want to accomplish this month. The categories are pretty self-explanatory, but if you would like me to share more, please let me know in the comments!

These monthly lists may just seem more like monthly to-dos/goals. Because really, that’s mostly what they are. Whatever you call it, the point is that they help me get things done so I’m just rolling with it.

Obviously, monthly lists give no guarantee that I’ll do better on the productivity front. But having a legit name like 23 In Lists just makes it sound so much more official. Right?

All right, September. Let’s do this.