Lists help keep us on track, here are 8 list ideas that I am keeping this year to help me stay on top of the things that matter this year.

Howdy Friends,

Never under estimate the power of a good list. Writing list is one of my favorite things to do, right next to marking things off on those list.

List creating has several benefits, such as:

• Improved Organization – Helps structure your thoughts and tasks.
• Enhances Productivity – Breaks down complex tasks into manageable steps.
• Reduces Stress – Offloads mental clutter by capturing ideas and tasks on paper or digitally.
• Encourages Clarity – Simplifies decision-making by laying out options and steps.
• Boosts Motivation – Provides a sense of accomplishment as items are checked off.

If you ever have those days where you just feel very unproductive, may I recommend a DONE list™ vs a to-do list. Write down all the things you’ve done that day – all the small things like shower, put the dishes in, got the mail. Those things add up mentally and we forget sometimes how much we actually got done.

At the start of this new year, these are the list I am using to keep me on track. My big goal this year is to keep track of the things I get done. I find, if I do not keep track, we get to the end of the month and I feel like I’ve accomplished nothing. Goals are so much vibes and we just don’t keep track of our own wins like we should.

While I am starting this list, I plan to add to them throughout the year.

1. Goal List – Might I recommend breaking it down into sections, to make it much more manageable.
2. Wish List – Things I want or think I want, make sure to go back and mark them off if you get them. I use this when I see things online I want, then I go back and buy things or remove things after its sat awhile. This helps me not impulse buy as much – though being medicated for my ADHD has been life changing for my wallet.
3. Top 26 Memories in 2026 – I started this a few years ago and I add really nice highlights of my year to this list; for example amazing vacation days; eating out; or accomplishments. I try to keep it limited, but by no means do you have too, make as many as you want!
4. Budget Plan – this is kinda a list. I keep a very detailed budget in Excel and have for years…
5. Groceries Expenses – Which leads me to this. Track your groceries, its interesting to see over the years and the cost store vs store. Its a great way to see where you can improve or if you are doing OK compared to the average. I also track how much meat we eat throughout the year, as we are working to reduce that overtime. I am also tracking gas per week and car washes (WNY) this year as those are more this year than in previous years (previously working at home, etc).
6. Media Tracker – this year I am tracking my media a lot more. We are bombarded with media constantly and just trying to be better about it. Not just TV and Movies, usual books but also I’ve been tracking articles, podcast and need to track video time too. I spend way to much time on Youtube.
7. Book to Read – speaking of, a good TBR list is always a good thing to have. This year I made a game board to take the decision out of what to read next. Decision paralysis gets me sometimes.
8. Things I create – this is new this year, I am adding this to my adventure journal. I am hoping to use this to track all the blogs, articles, emails, inserts, stickers; and more that I make. I am still sorting out what I want this to look like, but I really wanted to reflect on this more for 2025 and found I really couldn’t think about anything particular that I made, so this is my idea to remedy that.

I plan to break this list down into more details, so look for that in the future. I’ll link to them in there.

These 8 lists are the creamy core in my planning this year. I forget things SO easily. Day to day, we get into a routine. So tracking things I make or create will be really motivating this year. I am very excited about it. It’s going to require a lot more journalling than I usually do, but tracking when I complete things and what (especially if it doesn’t get shared in anyway) will really keep me going.

This last year was rough for a lot of us, So here is to a new year. 🥂

Happy planning