When we dismiss what we love, we slowly lose ourselves. We lose our curiosity, our drive, our soft side, and the ability to remember what makes us smile.

How to trade your to-do list for a love list

Step one: EDIT
Ruthlessly cull your to-do list. Take a good hard look at what’s on your to-do list. What can wait until next year? What can you delegate? What’s never going to happen? Edit your list until only the things that really need to happen or really will happen remain.

Step two: DREAM
Make a cup of tea or your favorite cuddle up beverage. Grab a pen and a notebook and start a new list.

Write down

• all the things you wish you had done this year.
• anything you are curious about trying but have been too scared/busy/distracted to look into.
• things you look forward to doing.
• your favorite things (that aren’t really things).
• what you can’t not smile about.

These things you write down could be anything from dinner at your favorite restaurant or hosting a potluck dinner to bungee jumping or sky diving. Or maybe your dreaming is a little more in the middle like mine … candlelight yoga practice, catch up call with best girlfriends, watch The Holiday, write, plan a spring trip with no internet.

What I’m trying to say is you can’t do this wrong. You love what you love.

Step three: LOVE LIST
Pick 1-3 items from your dream list and start your love list. Schedule them for this year. If they take more time, schedule at least one small step for each to get started this year. Once your top 1-3 are accomplished, add more from your dream writing, or dream up more love stories for your love list. As you move into the new year, keep love at the top of all of your lists.

We can’t put off what we love in the name of our never-ending to-do lists. Let’s get back to love.