Last time we talked about the effectiveness of using a to do list.  Now Jeanie Marshall will tell us how important a did it list is.

The Did It List
The idea of the Did It List emerged because I work with some clients who feel discouraged about the tasks that they have not completed. Feelings of guilt and frustration lead them to use the not-yet-finished items on the To Do List as a way to show themselves they have procrastinated, wasted time, or been unsuccessful.
If this scenario describes you, write a list at the end of the day of the activities you have accomplished. If you prepare a daily Did It List for three weeks, you will become impressed with your accomplishments. If you and a friend join together to share your Did It Lists with each other, you will be even more deeply empowered. After you feel sufficiently empowered, you might find that the exercise naturally falls away.

The Did It List is not intended to be merely the transfer of the completed items from a To Do List to a new list, although that is a viable way to start a Did It List. However, I think of the Did It List as a new list, started afresh at the end of each day. Perhaps items that did not even make the To Do List appear on the Did It List. Instead of calling it the Did It List, one client calls his an “Accomplishments List” and another calls hers a “Success List.”
Living in the Doing and Being
How you view your lists (or your decision not to write lists) is all important. “To do” can put your consciousness in the present, usually with future results. “Undone” tends to put you in the past feeling guilty. “Done” or “did it” tends to put you in the past or the present, usually feeling positive. My words convey only tendencies, but your feelings about the words you use are all important.
With all this talk about doing, did, done, undone, it is important to remind you to be. You can even use your To Do List to remind yourself, with such items as “Relax” or “Breathe deeply every hour on the hour” or “Meditate.” Or you can write a daily affirmation on the To Do List so that each time you look at the list you are reminded of the affirmation.

What about You?
The question for you is: what about this topic is most empowering, inspiring, and joyous? Remember, the idea for the To Do List is to free you, not put you in bondage. Do you like to look at your accomplishments day by day on a fresh list? Do you like to make lists and see those accomplishments crossed out on the To Do List? Do you like to work without any list at all? Do you feel good about what you need or want to do? Do you feel good about about what you have done?
 

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/time-management-articles/the-to-do-and-did-it-lists-57491.html

About the AuthorCopyright © 2006 Marshall House, http://www.mhmail.com. Jeanie Marshall, Empowerment Consultant and Coach with Marshall House writes extensively on subjects related to personal development and empowerment. Discover her guided meditations at the Voice of Jeanie Marshall, http://www.jmvoice.com