Why I Am Replacing My Daily To-Do List With My Daily To-Be List
Posted: Monday, August 17, 2009
by Mogama
http://www.mogama.info
Ever since I attended a seminar eons ago about time management, I have become a fanatic about making a To-Do List as the perfect way to manage my time, so that I don't leave my daily schedule at the mercy of others.
But lately, I am rediscovering why I am called a "human being", not a "human doing". After years of religiously using a To-Do List, I now confess that a To-Do List emphasizes performance as a single focus and the exclusive measure of my daily success. But does daily achievement equal daily activity?
Furthermore, my To-Do List often sets me up to be in a hurry even when and where people and their concerns are involved. Armed with my long list, I am usually poised to hurry up and move on to the next item on my list, so I can enjoy the thrill of landing a check mark next to it, as I sound the word "done" to signal my new performance high.
In short, I am ready to try something different to see how what happens to my stress level: I am replacing my To-Do List with a To-Be List. No, I'm not about to befriend idleness or kiss laziness, but experience is teaching me that when I AM better, I DO better.
Unlike my ever-growing To-Do List, my To-Do List naturally lends itself to being as brief as it is deep. Take this example of a To-Be List. "Today, I will
- Be friendly to at least one new person, perhaps to a guest or stranger.
- Be more patient in traffic and more considerate of other motorists.
- Listen to my wife and make eye contact with her when she's speaking to me.
- Be a team player at work and help provide a positive working environment for my coworkers and me.
- Encourage and cheer up someone who may be having a bad day.
The beauty of a To-Be List is that I can carry an item over to the next day without feeling like a failure for not having completed a task that I should have done that day.
One other thing I like about a To-Be List is that it puts people and relationships first. It helps to develop my soul, my spirit, my heart, that inner, deeper part of me. It helps to instill such virtues as peace, joy, love, faith, hope and patience, which are builders of character, integrity and excellence. I think a daily To-Be List will help to nurture, nourish and develop that one relationship that sets the thermostat not only for all other relationships but for the quality of life that will one day be the only legacy worthy of note when my life sounds its final note.
Though my DOING is inseparably linked to my BEING, it seems to me that the latter determines the former. Being results in Doing.
After all, I believe, when I exit Planet Earth, those who love me and know me best will remember me more for WHO I AM than for all the things I did or did not do.
This Article has been viewed 696 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)Wasn't it Ghandi who said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world?" That's precisely what you've stated and I support you wholeheartedly. There is an art to 'being.' A lovely and well-written reminder, Mogama.
Hoping all is well.Thanks, Avis, for sharing that quote of Ghandi's. I didn't know he was the one who first said that. Great quote indeed. What a difference it would make in our lives, in our families, in our businesses, in our communities, in our world, if many more human beings devoted more energy to the task of BEING! Blessings to you... ~mogama~
Great article Mogama. I really woke up to my own addiction to the to-do-list when my Father was dying from cancer upstairs and I was getting stressed out about my "to-do's" downstairs. Doing is still important but we must certainly learn to enjoy the journey of "being" also, just like your article informs us.Thanks for sharing your wisdomSean M KellyTalk about the to-do list going too far! My, what a lesson you must have learned that day! Thanks, Sean for sharing your personal experience. It's got me thinking about not letting my to-do list supersede people and their needs. ~mogama~
To- Do lists are great. They remind you to get the things done that need to be done, to help make your life run smoothly. (Go to the bank, cut the grass, mail some letters.)But your idea of a To-Be list is brilliant! I love your list! Everyone should have one.A 'To-Do' list, gets things done. A 'To-be' list, changes the world for those around you! You're a good guy Mogama!You know what? I may not disk my to-do list entirely. I'll just add my to-be list. That way, I can both "do" and "be". Thanks, Brianna, for your comment. ~mogama~
A wonderful article. Your sensitivity really comes through. I love the idea of a to be list. Thanks for sharing.Linda D
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.