Why I Make a To-Do List at Night

I am a night person. I always have been, and I was afraid I always would be. My highest levels of motivation come to me at 9 PM, and I have spent many nights leaving a half-finished de-cluttering project at 3 AM, only to have my room stay that way until the next time I felt like dealing with it.

I don't consider this healthy behaviour. I figure I have a few choices here:

1. I can embrace the fact that I am a night person, and change nothing.
2. I can accept the fact that I am a night person, and resist the temptation of starting a project at midnight.
3. I can change my sleep schedule, and try to accommodate a different lifestyle.

Ding ding ding! We have a winner.

When I look back at my high school years, when, how, and where I slept is really quite cringe-worthy. I actually believe my body is still recovering. Because I don't live at college, I have the luxury of being able to have a regular sleep schedule now, and I'm working on implementing that. I found that a to-do list written the night before helps loads.

Here's why.

First of all, I love lists. (Did you notice that before? I bet that you'll notice every time I make one now.)

Second of all, I love colorful things. I once bought multiple Post-It notes in different colors, and I'm still working through them. (Guess what? Post-Its are recyclable! Ha!)

Third of all, I am very slightly addicted to cool apps. Wunderlist. That is all.

Fourth of all, I always remember what I have to do the next day as I'm falling asleep. So if I write it down, I don't have any excuses in the morning!

Fifth of all, checking things off my to-do list feels incredibly (to the point that it's embarrassing) great.

     "Shower. Check."

     "Eat breakfast. Check."

     "Pet the dogs. Check." (OK, that was a joke. I don't put that on there. Kind of.)

          My sister laughs at me when I put everyday things on my list, but I would like to object. I get TO DO them, don't I? They have just as much right on my TO-DO list as anything else. So there.

The point is that I wake up knowing what I want to achieve every day. This is key to not being sucked into Facebook and such nonsense when I have down time. 

Something that I think is very important with to-do list making: be conscious of how much you list. Motivate yourself to get a good amount of tasks done, but don't make the expectations too high. If you don't finish everything, just put it on the next day's Post-It. No stress. The list is there to help you, not make you feel bad about yourself.

And if you are feeling really productive, try getting 3 things on your list done before noon. (Make them things that aren't daily, though. No cheating!)

TL;DR: Write down what you need to do tomorrow as you get ready to sleep. Lists are cool!