Lists are cool!

Since a hospital stint in May left me feeling invigorated and inspired to make changes in my life (I know, hospital is kind of a weird place to get inspired), I have commenced an organisational frenzy in my house.

Now I have always been a big believer in the ‘to-do’ list – but I only really ever used it professionally in the office environment. After a couple of sessions with a professional I have had my eyes opened – lists are cool!

I am not good at slowing down. For those of you who don’t know I have a couple of pesty chronic medical conditions – Behcet’s Disease (or Syndrome) and Fibromyalgia. Both these illnesses stink and are the real pain the proverbial, often leaving me exhausted and needing bed rest for days on end. On good days I tend to overdo it – I am so excited that I have some energy that I go crazy with activities, which of course flares symptoms up again. ‘Pacing’ when you have a chronic medical condition is really important, but I often felt guilty ‘resting’ when I felt ok. Stupid I know. It is vital to build up some energy stores and to put them aside for a rainy day, or flarey day 🙂

So here is where the lists come in. As I respond to ‘to-do’s’ so well I schedule rests into my daily planner. If it’s in the planner it is ok! No guilt because it is there in black and white.

It is also important to have some empty spaces on that daily planner. It really is ok. You don’t need to fill up every hour of the day.

Now the other thing you may or may not know is that I am a writer by education and by trade. I have mostly worked in Public Service departments writing speeches and reports but have always tinkered away with little works of fiction and non-fiction on the side. I decreed that 2014 was going to be the year I concentrated on my creative writing – well hey, I’ve started a blog, that counts. As I cannot work at the moment due to my health I am studying a Masters of Literature and Writing via distance education. One subject this semester will hopefully not be too taxing, and I do enjoy the subject matter – Young Adult Fiction.

So what do lists have to do with this outpouring of information you ask?

Firstly – when I was discharged from hospital I made a list of all the things I would like to do with my life – frivolous or not. This was for my eyes only so it didn’t matter if it had ‘marry Johnny Depp’ on it.

Then I made a list of all the fabulous and exciting things I had already done and achieved. That turned out to be a great list and made me feel like I had achieved a lot and had some wonderful experiences. I highly recommend you start a ‘have done’ list – it just might surprise you.