Inspired by a post of Gretchen Rubin’s a while back, I’ve been mulling over my own list of things I must do to each day to have the quality of life that I desire. What actions are absolutely crucial for me to experience a sense of well-being, good health, and achieve a balanced life in the midst of a busy day?
I agree with Gretchen that these items should not be goals; they need to be specific actions. Imagine a daily checklist. If you clearly can determine if you’ve done it, then it goes on the list. If it’s vague or subjective, it doesn’t make the cut. We are not talking about ideals or principles, but concrete actions that you could take every day.
I however, do not agree that habits of attitude, gratitude, learning, and such should be automatically eliminated. I also do not believe that something should not be included if it does not apply to others. This is your list, it belongs to you and should be personalized to suit your needs.
Some of my “Must Dos”
Take my vitamins
Move my body in some way
Get outside
Spend time alone
Connect in some way with my loved ones
Write in my gratitude journal
Enjoy a good laugh
Engage my mind – learn something new, read, have an interesting conversation, exercise my brain through word games, puzzles, etc
Tidy my surroundings – make my bed, clean up the kitchen, and such
Consume at least 5 fruits and vegetables
Drink 8 glasses of water
Get sufficient quality and quantity sleep
When I don’t do these things, I feel off-balance, ineffective and grumpy. The quality of my life suffers. As I said before my list is different from Gretchen’s and it will be different from yours.
What would you have on your list?
