I make lists. Like lots and lots of lists. And I love a good prompt to make another list. Its become life.
But….
Im not what you would think of as a natural list maker. I am pretty messy and disorganised. I accumulate clutter out of no where. I don’t like anything to ‘go to waste’ and i’m such an eco hippy that feel physically sick at the though of anything being thrown away; to the point its been a real problem in the past with my holding onto junk that no one wants.
Beyond that Im also very dyspraxic giving me an extremely disorganised brain and Ive spent my adult life battling PTSD. All of these things can lead to a bit of a chaotic life, that could easily lead me to being someone who gets nothing done.
Which yes at points is me and yes makes me very much not seem like the type of person to have a fascination with lists.
However, as much as lists are far from my natural state of being, they are one of the biggest comforts in my life. I used lists to brain dump all of my anxieties and fears from my PTSD. I used lists to collect all the things I will undoubtedly forget due to dyspraxia. I use lists as my second brains. Now I am not going to lie and say I actually refer back to all these lists, or keep all of them organised ( I literally have servers note books filled with brain dumping lists, that’s simply only served the purpose of clearing my head) But I do have a few that I keep very visible and use time and time again to create the illusion that I am functioning like a somewhat normal human being (whatever that is). I keep these in my dairy that I look at every morning or on a notice board about my desk, both of which I make a point o keep decluttered, even if other parts of my home get out of control now and again.
I have customised and refined templates for my favourite lists over and over again (available here on etsy) and today I would love to show you how I use each one to get the most potential out of my day/week/month/year by reducing anxiety and easing the pressure of decision fatigue.
The first thing you might notice about each design is how simplified they are in both colour and overall design. This is 100% purposeful. These lists are here to reduce overwhelm, bright colours, a over complicated design, multiple texts all make me feel overwhelmed. I love simple calming black and white designs, I find them relaxing and non-judgmental. Its a feeling of just be, you are enough. Also and also very important, it makes them cheaper to print. I have in the past bought some beautifully designed printable and they found I couldn’t even print it off once without having to replace my ink. (you will also notice on etsy they are all priced as cheap as possible having this type of thing in your life shouldn’t be expensive)
On to the individual lists.
MEAL PLANNER
Maybe this is a bit taboo for a nutritionist to say, but I had so much anxiety around food. SOOOO much!. I have talked a little bit the past about having food phobias, but even after conquering food phobias I would have overwhelming feelings of anxiety about having to decide what to have to eat. I would just freeze in stead of making a decision until it came to the point where I was so hungry there wasn’t enough time to make a healthy decision. I would need quick high calorie food in that moment just to stop me feeling faint. It was a shitty miserable cycle that I got myself into. I can stand back and say to myself ‘why? its not like it was a hard decision to make’ but in that moment it felt like my entire happiness relied on that decision. When in reality that only thing that was effecting me was the lack of decision. Now I make myself sit down once a week and plan out my meals, sometimes a switch them around to fit in with how busy I am that day, but the big decision of what Im going to eat and making sure all the ingredients are in the house and easily available is done. Its saved me stress, it has saved us money and it has helped balance out my physical and mental health because I am no longer letting myself get the point where my body is exhausted from not eating enough calories. This process over writing a meal plan has gotten easier and easier over the years as I have learnt when I tend to crave, what meals are easiest to cook due to time or prep or how motivated I am to eat them. Meal planning has meal a great journey to help me learn how my body responds to food and building a healthier relationship with it int he process.
SHOPPING LIST
Although there is a small detachable shopping list on the meal planning printable, I felt the need for a more detailed one to cut out the supermarket stress. Supermarkets are getting bigger and bigger, and I hate navigating them. I end up missing something that’s over the other side of the store and before I know it I have been in there all day. Life just seems to short to be spending a chunk of it in a damn supermarket. Organising shopping into sections can really help with keeping track whist shopping. This is literally one of those thing your grandparents would have done, and its brilliant. When I was younger I remember seeing a partners grandparent do it and thinking it was bizarre. Now I have two children and I’m not just being what I feel like, but a whole weeks worth of shopping for 4 people in one go, organisation is key to making sure I do not have to go back into the stress haven of a supermarket ever again!
TO-DO LIST
Where would we be without the classic to-do list? Personally, I’d likely be scatter brained running around snapping at my entire family because I did not know what to do or where to go first…… with the list however, it is much calmer. I fill in a to-do list whenever I feel that sense of overwhelm begin to creep up. I them put it on the notice board above my desk (which is in the useful spot in the middle of my house) and I work through it, which out over thinking the order I just do it until everything I ticked off. Each tick is like a breath of fresh air and I can relax a little bit more. I tried multiple times to do my to-do lists through my phone or computer and it just didn’t feel the same. It felt do much less satisfying even doing the same about of work. There is something beautifully therapeutic about seeing them on paper.
There are many more of these customised digital downloads in the works to help you organise your wellness journey, but I would love to hear from you what really helps you clear your head and focus.
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Please be aware all information in this blog is based on my own personal experience and research, and I am not a medical professional. If you are needing advice about a medical condition, please seek advice from a medical professional.
This blog follows my personal research and learning into health and wellbeing, as well as my own personal comments on the subject matters. All blog posts contain my own personal opinions and does not reflect the opinions of any organisations I may be affiliated with. Any information I provide on my blogs is accurate and true to the best of my knowledge but there may be omissions, errors or mistakes that I am unaware of. All information presented on this blog is for informational purposes only and shouldn’t been seen as advice. I reserve the right to change how I manage or run my blog and may change the focus or content on my blog at any time
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