Today’s post is part 9 of a 10 part series, “10 Surrender Strategies”

Even if you don’t consider yourself a “list person” you still have some idea of what needs to be done today. Personally, I could not imagine living a single day without a to-do list. Lists help me prioritize and stay focused on the task at hand. Lists give me a daily battle to fight and adventure to live. But, the more I think about this concept the more I wonder if I could actually make it through the day simply following my intuition. I’m sure it would okay and that everything would work out ok, but that’s just the thing…I’m not okay with just okay!

I guess you could consider me a thrill-seeker, an action junkie perhaps a daredevil! I just can’t help myself…I am one passionate dude! I love my to-do lists and will most likely continue to keep them. There are some days, however, when I fail to accomplish everything on the list. There are some nights that I struggle to sleep due to underperformance that particular day. Every now and again, this is perfectly fine. The problem comes when the sleeplessness continues and anxiety begins to kick in. Earlier this year I found myself in this very dilemma. I was going through a significant change in my life (mostly related to work) and I became overwhelmed with my inability to complete my daily to-do lists. This attitude is devastating because it severely limits the ability to surrender. I don’t know if its just me, but whenever I feel out of control, my tendency is to attempt to “over-control.”

So how did I free myself from this self-imposed prison? A good friend of mine wrote a terrific blog post on the topic of encouragement and winning the small battles of life. He wrote about this concept called the “Done List.” He spoke of a specific strategy to redirect focus away from what needs to be done to what has already been done. How many phone calls have you made today? How many conversation have you had, either in person, by email or in social media? How many handwritten notes have you written? These are things we all do, yet rarely consider the impact. I immediately applied this to my life and it worked! I found it easier to surrender to my “undone items” and embrace my “done list!”

I’m not saying that this is a long term solution, but it helped me and therefore I hope it helps you!