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Forget You, To-Do List: A Humorous Take on Modern Parenting
Every morning, I wake up with a mission: to conquer my to-do list. I tell myself, “Today is the day I’m going to crush it! I’ll be super productive, and I’ll feel fantastic about what I accomplish.” But, just like my vow to quit sugar, I often fall short.
Some days, I do manage to tackle a good chunk of the endless list of “everything that needs doing.” But more often than not, as the sun sets, I find myself gazing at the clean laundry that’s been sitting in the basket for three days, regretting the phone calls I forgot to make, and mentally kicking myself for neglecting the toilet (hoping no one will need to use that bathroom anytime soon).
To-do lists are meant to help us keep track of our responsibilities because, let’s face it, our brains can only hold so much. Lists aren’t inherently bad; they help us stay organized. Sure, some tasks have deadlines, like that preschool registration paperwork I keep forgetting to submit (one sec, I’ll be right back).
But it’s those invisible deadlines we impose on ourselves that really get us down. The pressure to complete every little thing turns life into a relentless race against an ever-ticking clock. Why do we do this? Sure, we’d like to fold and put away the laundry quickly, but if we don’t, nobody’s going to face dire consequences. Missing a clean shirt from the drawer isn’t the end of the world. Seriously, what’s a few wrinkles compared to the mental relief we’d gain by letting go of things that aren’t crucial?
And let’s not forget the tasks that never make it onto our lists. I’ve never jotted down “spend 20 minutes scraping gum from the carpet” or “clean up after the dog.” If we included everything we actually do in a day, our lists would be way longer—and we’d have a lot more checkmarks to celebrate. Yet, for some reason, we only acknowledge the written tasks, ignoring the countless other things that occupy our time. Instead of appreciating what we’ve done, we beat ourselves up for what we haven’t accomplished, leaving us exhausted and demoralized.
Ever wonder why sports teams have cheerleaders? It’s because negative voices can drown out the positive. Why should we treat ourselves any differently? If our bosses or friends spoke to us like we talk to ourselves, we’d be appalled. We wouldn’t tolerate such criticism from anyone else, so why accept it from our own thoughts?
So, even if we don’t achieve everything on our list, we should still give ourselves a pat on the back for the little wins. If needed, we can always aim to improve tomorrow. Life becomes so much easier when we stop overburdening ourselves with unrealistic expectations.
We’re doing plenty already. And if you’re ever in doubt, take a couple of days off from your to-do list and watch how quickly everything falls apart around you.
Repeat after me: Forget you, to-do list. I’ll tackle what I can, when I can.
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Summary
In a humorous exploration of modern parenting and the struggle with to-do lists, this article highlights the unrealistic expectations we set for ourselves. Instead of focusing on what we didn’t accomplish, we should celebrate our small victories and recognize that we do more than we give ourselves credit for.