Ever reach the end of the day and you don’t know what you accomplished? You don’t know where the time went. The day passed. You crossed tasks off your list. But you don’t feel like you truly did anything?

I know it’s hard to keep up with everything. Between kids, household tasks, and work tasks, plus society telling you to eat more protein and fit in self-care, whatever that is, it’s exhausting to figure out where to start each day. You might get up in the morning and spend your day checking tasks off your list and go to bed wondering what you accomplished.

In reality, you did a lot. You just might not have focused on what’s important to you or made any progress on your own goals. And because we expect so much from ourselves, we don’t give ourselves credit for everything that we did do.

This need to do all the things perfectly, all day, every day is deeply embedded in our society and in our lives. It can be hard to fight against. But these steps help.

Last week, we talked about defining this season of life. The next step is to figure out where your time is going. I’m not asking you to track your time, though that can be helpful and is part of the work I do with my clients.

For now, I’m asking you to take a few minutes to list out your commitments, activities, and to-dos.

It helps you see all of this information documented, even if it is overwhelming. That feeling of overwhelm is information you can use.

Think of it like a brain dump. Gather some paper, open a Google Doc, or use whatever you want to take notes and make a list. Plan on taking about 10-15 minutes on this.

Start by listing all of your and your family’s activities and commitments. Volunteering, sports, other extracurricular activities. Family obligations. List anything outside of work and school.

Then list all of your to-dos. Both ongoing and one-time things. List anything that’s been running through your mind that you want to get done.

Now, I know this list is going to feel overwhelming. Please know that this is not a list of things that have to be done today. It’s a moment in time, and we can work together to make this feel more approachable. This is the work I do with my clients.

Let’s look at some examples. Let’s say it’s Fall and you’re wrapping up Fall sports season and Winter sports pre-season is starting. You are volunteering on the PTA Board, which is gearing up for a big fundraiser. There are lots of meetings as you prepare for this event.

You’re going to write all of this down along with any work projects you have going on. Maybe you like to start your holiday shopping early, there’s a family birthday in November, or you always host Thanksgiving.

Get all of that documented and out of your head. I know this might feel like a lot, but it’s important to have it written out.

Next week we’ll talk about what to do with this list! For now, take 10 minutes and do a brain dump. And, if you have to hide the list until my next email because it’s too overwhelming, put it in a drawer. But don’t forget where you put it!