To be totally honest, I’m not sure if complete sanity is in the cards for us working women. The reality is there are just too many demands on our lives between work and home. And despite our best efforts at keeping everything on an even keel, we will fail occasionally. But we have to at least try to keep it all together. If not we could end up like that nutty woman who lives alone, never leaving the house and only talks to herself and her 45 cats: you know, “crazy cat lady.” Every community has one.

One of the best ways to keep your sanity in check as a working woman is by being organised. In fact, organisation is your best defence against becoming crazy cat lady. There are countless classes, books and tools to help one organise. But, I’ll cut to the chase for you: utilise to-do lists.

To-do lists are simply a laundry list of the things you need to complete. Your lists can be for tasks you need to accomplish by the end of the day, week, next board meeting, whatever time frame is applicable. Your to-do list should prioritise all your tasks, with the most important duties at the top of the list, and the least important at the bottom. It is important to remember that the items on your to-do list are not goals, but actual tasks that you can and will accomplish.


This simple exercise, of writing everything out will be tremendously therapeutic. Seeing all the things you have to do, random chores, tasks, assignments, etc., that have been jumbled up in your head written down on a list, nice and orderly will help give you the strength to tackle them. And the joy you will feel each time you cross off an item on your to-do list, ah…it’s quite invigorating!

How and when you do your lists, is entirely up to you. You need to find a method that works best for you. Personally I like to do a to-do list each night, when I’m ready to finish working for the day. It provides me closure for the day at hand and sets the tone for the next working day. You can go the low-tech route (like I do) and jot your to-do list on a piece of paper or if you find yourself more receptive to online tools there are plenty out there.

Some online to-do list applications include:

http://www.vitalist.com/
http://www.doitdoitdone.com/index.html
http://whimber.weebly.com/

These are only a few of the many online list resources out there. It’s worth taking the time to go explore and see which, if any, fit your style. Most of these sites are free.

So now you know the secret to keeping your sanity. You no longer need to fumble around your day, trying to remember what you needed to get done; you now have the power of to-do lists on your side! OK, so you’ll probably still feel overwhelmed and stressed and a little loony at times, but keeping a to-do list will help prioritise the craziness that is your life. And, think how good you’ll feel when you can cross off that first item: “make to-do list.”

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