Many perfectionists find themselves drawn to the art of note and list making. There are general To Do Lists, Grocery Lists, Homework Lists, Getting Ahead Lists, Pros and Cons Lists, and Health and Fitness Lists, among many others. For the ultimate perfectionists, we even make backup lists to follow juuuust in case things do not go as planned. Not to mention the loss of self worth when you can’t live up to those standards you so highly burdened yourself with…am I right? Now tell me, how many of us list makers actually plan out a Time for Self List…or make a Social Plan List? Be honest…

Our social lives are first to fall under when juggling the book of things we put on ourselves. Now I certainly understand the fact that we have responsibilities to our jobs, others and ourselves, but without focusing on yourself and your relationships with those that matter most, we cannot as actively and efficiently make our “perfect lives” become reality. I urge you to take a look at your lists, and see what can give to make even 1 or 2 days out of your week have a little more free time…perhaps a part of one day for yourself and one for cultivating and maintaining relationships with others. I used that scary phrase “free time,” didn’t I? Now maybe you aren’t an active list taker and keep everything mental, so try to write it all down and see exactly what you can do for yourself.

TRY THIS. Now I have an exercise for you. Make a “Want to Do” VS “Need to Do” list. Begin with your needs. In each category, 1. log in all of your responsibilities 2. the time it takes for each per hour or day and 3. add up the hours in a week. Add the sum of your numbers and subtract it from the number of hours in a week–168 hours. How many hours are remaining? Now do the same for your wants. Include commuting time…Netflix time…social media time…it may surprise you. This is truth time. Add up your “Need to Do's + Want to Do’s”. Subtract this from the total number of hours in a week.

REFLECT. Is there a deficit? Does it surprise you? I certainly had quite the deficit. It made me realize why I always felt like I didn’t have time for the things I really want to do in my life. Now take another look. Is there anything that you can change? Are any of your needs truly wants or vice versa? Boil it down and see what you can do to make your life the most doable and the happiest. Let me know what you find. Don’t forget the time you spent reading this article…