Stop the Burn: Why Your To-Do List Needs a Mindfulness Break

I LOVE having a routine. It keeps me on track and alleviates many decisions I’d have to make on a daily basis. And since I can be a not-so-quick decision maker, this is pretty fabulous. Here’s my current M-F routine (and there is a point to this sharing—I promise!):

• 6 AM: Scripture study, go through emails, and do some work while drinking a chocolate protein shake because…chocolate. ?
• 7:30 AM: M/W/F: Run for 30-45 minutes, meet up with Diane (my #1 girl partner in crime) and walk for 60 minutes and solve all the problems of the world. ? T/TH: Go to the gym with Diane.
• 9 AM: Eat breakfast (bran flakes, blueberries, spoonful of vanilla protein powder—gotta’ sweeten up those bran flakes!—unsweetened vanilla almond milk), shower, and get ready for the day, which if I’m not going anywhere, means no makeup and a pony tail. 😉
• Then: Work, family stuff, Relief Society stuff
• 12 PM: Lunch—I have a few faves that I choose from.
• Then: Work, family stuff, Relief Society stuff
• 6 PM: Dinner
• Then: Susan stuff (the not work/family/Relief Society-related stuff) I really like to do, spend time with John, and sometimes work, family, or Relief Society stuff, depending on what’s going on.
• 10ish PM: Get ready for bed, then read until the book is falling in my face.

Fridays: Since in my eating plan I don’t mix fats and carbs, on Fridays—my Reward Day where I can eat whatever I want—I make a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch because I love grilled cheese sandwiches because…cheese. ? (whole wheat sandwich thin, extra sharp cheddar cheese, butter spray).

Another part of my routine? Burning that sandwich almost every. single. Friday! I think to myself, “While this sandwich is cooking (like it’s going to take hours or something), let me do this little thing, or that little thing…” and I burn that sandwich. Which makes me very sad. Yeah…multitasking at it’s not so finest.  And it’s become pretty common for John to be in his office working and hear me slightly scream a few minutes after noon, whereas, he nicely says, “Burn it again?” And I’m really not kidding about that.

Which finally brings me to the point of this post.

Multi-tasking and being so “busy” that I can’t take a few minutes to not burn a grilled cheese sandwich that I’ve been looking forward to tells me something: It’s okay to take a few minutes off! Everything on my to-do list will still be there when I’m done not burning that sandwich, which makes me think: What other things in life am I rushing through, or trying to multi-task through, just to be able to cross something off that never-ending list? And since the past few months have been crazy—in some pretty awesome ways, the need to get things done has been even more at the top of my list. And I AM a routine list keeper—if I do something and it’s not on my list, I’ll add it, and then cross it off. Please tell me I’m not the only one who does this?!

So…here’s my new thought to myself: Slow. Down. Take time to smell the hydrangeas (because they’re one of my most favorite flowers and our bushes are blooming right now!!!! And…I think they need a drink of water…). Don’t be so focused on getting things done that I miss out on the little things that can bring extra happiness into my life.

Like a not burned grilled cheese sandwich. ?

PS: See that ranch dip? It’s made with nonfat plain Greek yogurt, and it’s the bombdotcom!