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As much as Amelia loved a to-do list, and she really did, it was all a bit overwhelming. She had carefully marked a page in her journal with ‘2024 — The Year I Get Stuff Done’ at the top in bold letters. In the last couple of weeks of 2023 she had been adding items to the list. There was a neat square box alongside each task to make it all the easier to mark it off. This year was going to be different. Wasn’t it?

As she clicked her pen, Amelia ran a finger down the list, murmuring each item aloud as she went.

• Find a job that makes my heart sing.
• Save money for the trip overseas next year.
• Get healthier.
• Start dating. Again.
• Spend more time with my family.

Amelia sat back and sighed. The difficulty was that the tasks were too big to tackle in isolation. Maybe what she needed was a sublist, breaking each item down into smaller chunks so she could overcome each hurdle.

With a spurt of energy, Amelia flicked through her journal, searching for a spare page so she could tease out each item. Her mind hummed at the thought of how she could cross-reference the lists and the tasks to be completed. The pages flicked by, but they were all full of writing already. Perhaps what she required was a new book for the 2024 project. Should she add another item on her to-do list to get the right stationery for the job?

But then her eyes were drawn to a page near the front of the journal. It was a list with very similar items to what she had been noting over the last couple of weeks. Right down to the need to buy new stationery before beginning to tackle the challenges ahead in 2023.

A different approach would be needed if she were to have a better outcome. Amelia leaned back in her chair and thought some more. The need to improve her career, finances, health, and happiness was real. But instead of waiting for the perfect time, the neatly crafted list or the right conditions, maybe she could simplify her approach. What one step could she take today, whether big or small, to move her closer to overcoming these challenges?

I’m participating in this blogging challenge for the month of January, which supports starting the year on the “write” track. You can find other posts with #bloganuary and join in the challenge. This prompt was partly inspired by a recent post by MSW Blog titled ‘You’re Ready’.

Photo: writing notebook