the art of the "ta-da list"

self-care through recognizing and honoring what we *DO* do in a day

a mentor of mine recently shared that a goal of hers was to work less on to-do lists and more on ta-da lists. as a lover of lists and reckless ruiner of legal pads in the pursuit of organization (a task that doesn't come natural to a feral rock-and-mud creature like myself), my ears definitely perked up. a ta-da list, she shared, is the list that you make at the end of the day enumerating what you DID accomplish. it's like the kinder, gentler, more affirming bookend to the looming, judgier to-do list. i was sold!

before we dive in, backing up a bit for some personal context:

for six years, I held various administrative positions at a midwifery school. the last three of those was as an academic dean, and the last one-and-a-half of those was as an academic dean through a pandemic, transition to non-profit, academic calendar rework, and complete administrative restructuring. let's just say many, many legal pads died noble (usually) deaths keeping that all afloat, one to-do list at a time.