Are you carried away by your to-do list? Do this one thing to gain clarity today!

Do you have lots of TO-DO THOUGHTS rumbling away in your brain? 

If so, it might just be that time to DECLUTTER YOUR MIND through an exercise that takes all of 5 minutes! 

Grab a huge blank piece of paper and make columns or use your notebook/journal, and write these TITLES at the top of 3 pages:

1. MUST DO (today)
2. WANNA DO (soon/often)
3. HOPE TO DO (future)

Set your timer for 5 mins. and then write away! 

But wait!  What happens afterward?

Before we talk about the benefits, here is a quick example of what's on each of my lists:
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On my must do's, I jotted down important errands, appointments, calls, and daily household chores.  I have my teaching and grading schedules highlighted as well as my ministry daily FUN-do's. [This may be your longest list.]

On my wanna do list, I've jotted down hiking and taking a mini-vacay.  I value spending time with my family and friends, so I scribble this down.  I also have a few physical health goals like consuming less sugar, guzzling down those 80 ounces of water each day, and maintaining 4 days of higher impact, cardio, and strength building exercises!  

In the future, I'd like to get my trip to Peru researched and planned as well as make headway on a few ministry business goals.   ​

A few benefits of writing down our to-do THOUGHTS?

1. List making creates order from "chaos" and allows you to lasso all those random thoughts running around in your head.   We may forget things we want to do--but writing them down gives us the reassurance that we won't.  
2. Our brains love it!  By writing down our thoughts, we free up brain space and energy to concentrate on those more pressing tasks at hand.
3. Plus, when we scratch an item off our must do list , dopamine is released, and we actually FEEL better!  We can literally see our progress!
4. Our wanna do list keeps us tangibly connected to what matters most to us in life--our relationships, service to others, and health and wellness.  The idea is to regularly move a few items from our wanna do list to our must do list.
5. Jotting down what's going on in our minds is a great way to see what is most important to us (especially for our future adventures).  We can circle back to our hope to do list and break each item apart applying the SMART goal framework to each dream.  In this way, we are turning thoughts into reality!

And hey!  Are you liking what you read here?  Be sure to SHARE below with that one person  you know who's a bit frazzled these days and needs a bit of mental clarity,  finesse, and energy in their day today!