To Do Lists vs Projects

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I recently listened to a webinar by Susan Lasky called "How to Get More Done with a Lot Less Stress!" from Additudemag.com. The take home message that I got was really an "aha moment" for me; there is a huge difference between To Do Lists and Projects!!

When starting new projects/tasks, especially since it is the New Year and it's the season for these things, I am going to keep in mind the difference between a project and a to do list. I always have tons of new ideas that would really be considered a project which I would mark down in my planner as a "to do". I tend to get really upset with myself when I don't complete projects. Now I know that I have essentially set myself up to fail since projects really consist of many to dos. 

The solution: I need to break down each project into all the mini to-dos in order to complete them!

 Just in the past few days I have two new ideas:

1. I found a Murder Mystery Game in my basement that i bought over a year ago that I want to finally plan.

2. Organize a book full of recipes (not a pinterest board that I never get to!) so that when I need to plan/make meals I can scan through my book and get ideas for meals without having to use my brain! I used to get insanely overwhelmed and stressed out trying to plan meals for myself. This is what would happen:

a) I would eat the same thing every lunch/dinner for a week since I usually cooked for one and it is near impossible to make a one portion meal!

b) Making long grocery lists and trying to buy everything that I would need for an entire week in one shot because I HATE going to the grocery store. There are too many people, the lights are too bright and there are wayyyyy too many options. Example: how many different types of olive oil are there?! How do I decided between fusilli or macaroni?!

c) Avoiding waste. As hard as I would try there would be things that I wouldn't finish by myself and I would end up throwing it out.

d) Eating by yourself isn't much fun and I would lose a lot of my enthusiasm for meal planning.

The book full of recipes will help me to become more excited about meal planning/making again!

**side note**
For those of you that don't know, I went to cooking school where I completed a DEC in Cooking, Food and Beverage and Sommellerie. Cooking, Wine and Wine Pairing is something that I am very passionate about! I haven't been as into in the past year and I suspect that it is because I have been so overwhelmed by planning, buying ingredients and then executing a meal by myself. I am really hoping that my recipe book project is the first step to get back into it! Also, I don't have to do all the planning, making and eating by myself anymore (hoooray!). 

The recipes in my book will be detailed to also contain a separate (removable) paper that includes the grocery list. This will make my life SUPER EASY. When I decide to go to the grocery store I can quickly scan the grocery lists to see what I already have in my kitchen and what is missing. I have also sorted the grocery lists by "type of ingredient" to easily maneuver the dreaded grocery store and my cupboards/fridge.

All of that said, I am super happy that I have found a solution to attack my long lists of projects! 2018 will be my year to get shit done and accomplish my dreams! Sorry that sounds super cheesy, but I am The Cheese Queen! Both because I am obsessed with eating cheese and I live for cheesy and inspiring sayings! But seriously, it will mean the world to me to be able to accomplish the projects that i dream up :)

Happy dreaming, everyone!

p.s. I could not decide on how i want to write to-do/to dos so you are going to see a few different variations in spelling!

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