6 tips for tackling your to do list!

Now that we're one month out from the expected arrival time of this sweet baby, I've been retooling my "to do before baby" list - most of the items on this week's to do list are related either to preparing to the baby or completing our summer fun list.

Here are 6 tips to help when tackling a big to do list, especially when you might be feeling worn out or overwhelmed to begin with:

1) Be realistic with what you can accomplish - I find it helpful to list out everything on my mind, then cross out some that aren't necessary and postpone others that aren't time critical. Listing out everything helps clear your mind and help you see the big picture.
2) Don't be afraid to delegate! I have a list of food I want prepared ahead of time and ready in the freezer for those blurry eyed first days and weeks. Some of the items on the list are my mom's specialties, and she agreed to make those for me since I asked!
3) Find ways to incorporate items into your daily activities - there are a few rooms I want to declutter over the next few weeks. One of the rooms is Sweetpea's, and I'm planning to have her "help" me...this may add to the overall time it takes to complete the task, but I won't have to try and keep her occupied with something else. This works well with dusting, vacuuming, laundry, and some cooking at Sweetpea's age.
4) Evaluate, track, and re-evaluate your list to make sure it still meets your needs. If you get behind or something changes, don't be afraid to make changes to your list. Your list needs to work for you, not the other way around!
5) If it helps, assign general target dates to each of your list items, or at least order them to help keep yourself moving.
6) Celebrate your successes! Try to make it fun, or at least a positive experience rather than a burden.

Here's my to do list for this week:

- Unpack, clean, put away clothes/etc. from BlogHer
- Declutter and organize Sweetpea's closet
- Declutter the kitchen pantry and throw away old or outdated food as well
- Take a carload of items from the above activities to donate
- Determine what to do about Sweetpea's sleeping arrangements and make it happen
- Finish up freezer cooking for baby (at least my portion of it)
- Measure and draw up some options for where to put baby's crib
- Cook muffins and pumpkin apple butter with Sweetpea
- Take trip to local amusement park with Sweetpea
- Plan and prep for backyard bonfire party later this week!

What's on your to do list this week?