You Are Not Your To-Do List

We did an Insta story a few weeks ago on productivity. But it wasn’t the type of advice that you normally read. You know, the kind where you learn a new way to shave 30 seconds off some boring or mundane part of your day.

Actually, it was kind of the opposite of that.

It was more about not just slowing down, but allowing — and giving yourself permission to feel really accomplished for just being.

See, we tend to put so much pressure on ourselves to GET STUFF DONE.

We basically live and die by our to-do lists. And, at the end of the day, no matter what the day has thrown at us, if we don’t get enough things checked off that list, we feel like we weren’t productive. Like we didn’t do enough. Like we weren’t enough.

via GIPHY

But, here’s the truth: our value isn’t found in how clean our house is, whether we have zero unread emails in our inbox, if we’ve done an hour-long workout or eaten clean all day. It’s not reflected in the number on the scale or in the number of things we checked off a list.

It’s found in our hearts. In our eyes — and the eyes of our loved ones. It’s in the little moments where we take a breath and think, wow, I have so much to be grateful for. It’s in the times where we ditch our to-do lists for self-care or to help someone else.

It’s in the fires we put out. The fires we start. And the fires that burn within us that we are brave enough to question and explore.

So, if you’re thinking to yourself, “Man, I really didn’t get sh*t done today,” and you’re feeling bad about that, remember that life is about more than productivity. And, that you are so much more than items checked off your to-do list.

Feels good to let that go, doesn’t it? –Jenn