I love a good to-do list. This month, I’ve been wowed by the micro and macro handwritten and hand-drawn lists certain Instagram friends have posted on their personal accounts.
Linday’s P.D. Day Checklist is a micro masterpiece:
This sweet checklist is “micro” in the sense that it tackles a single PD Day. But it’s “macro” in its epic scale of kid-captaining. I adore the gorgeous hand and the illustrations. [Angus’ face! That postcard!] Then, of course, there’s the love [and hard work] it takes to do ALL THE THINGS with family and friends in one single day. Notice, they checked off each box. And I can see those wreaths and spiders in the background. Lindsay champions The Love Lettering Project in Toronto, and this simple PD Day List is a letter of inspiration all on its own.
Lindsay’s epic list-in-a-day also takes me back to the seasonal “Love-to-Do” lists and agendas I made with the kids when they were littles over our summer holidays, school-year weekends and action-packed March breaks. On the one hand, these kept us busy and helped us maximize our fun. On the other, they enabled us to pace ourselves and maintain our chill.
I recently moved The Lunchbox Season and Summer of Funner to a new host. As I’ve been rectifying coding errors in the background, caused by the previous provider’s mismanagement, I’ve been trying to figure out how best to treat them as archives, love letters to and from my kids. Linday’s love-letter of a PD Day List and [and the act of posting it] certainly make the task of remembering as important as the art of getting things done.
Sharon’s 2019 and 2020 To-Do lists are macro wonders!
Once more, handwriting as eye-candy. What is is with you women and your glorious print?
Sharon’s ginormous snapshot of a year of TBDs is macro in scope. But the details can be micro as you please. [One pull-up! Maybe?] Sharon told me she,
started this about 6 or 7 years ago – asked the kids to write down all they wanted to do without parameters … they can be as big [skydive] or small [try a new ice cream] … needless to say, the list is changing as they get older.
With close to 200 TBDs, there’s not necessarily any pressure to knock everything off the list. Still, what fun in tying! We should all do this!
In fact, I’m totally stealing this idea for New Year’s Day, 2020. I’m planning to spread a huge piece of craft paper on one end of the dining table for us to make an absolutely epic list of 2020 “Love-to-Do’s” and to balance it, on the other, with the “Giant Holiday Crossword” put out by the Globe & Mail. If that [and a good cheeseboard] doesn’t keep us together in one room for a good half-day, I don’t know what will!
More Advent Love-to-Do Lists, then!
These amazing women and their epic to-do lists make me feel as if I’ve found my tribe. In fact, I’ve been so inspired by what I’ve seen, I got a head start on my annual Advent Calendar.
Like Sharon’s macro year-long project, my month-long list of Advent TBDs has evolved as the kids have gotten older, though it hasn’t necessarily gotten any less involved. Years 2011-2016 are still available on The Lunchbox Season. And a monthly view of 2017 and 2018 are still right here on Smelling Salts Journal.
For a while, I was anxious about posting an Advent Calendar now the kids are getting older. But, even when I switched over from my ye olde parenting websites to SSJ, I couldn’t give up this particular love-to-do-list! I mean, seriously, there’s no need for kids or a partner to formulate a good Advent Calendar. Now, having seen the lists other folks have posted, I’m glad I never gave it up!
So, look for my December Advent Calendar and other Love-to-Do lists here on SSJ in the months ahead! And keep posting your awesome to-do lists, loves! They’re magic.
Leave a Reply