When adding things to your to-do list this week, add a few good things that feed your relationships and other personal priorities in your life – says KindnessCan.
South Africa (21 June 2023) – You are more likely to do something if you write it down. That’s what makes a to-do list so effective. Looking back on your lists though, there’s a strong chance that they have been full of practical chores and work tasks recently. Take a moment this week to make a to-do list which feeds your relationships and other personal priorities in your life. It’s an important way of making sure these parts of your life also get your attention.
Here are 5 areas that might need to be included in your weekly to-do list:
1. Self-care. What have you done for yourself recently? A solo trip to the bathroom or haircut doesn’t count. Make time for yourself to rest and restore this week. This isn’t a waste of time. As counter-intuitive as it may seem, taking time off gives us more energy to get more done. At the same time, watch out for activities which you are calling ‘rest and relaxation’, when they might be draining your energy. Like, spending too much time on social media, staying up too late watching TV, or hanging out with friends that don’t fill you up.
2. Service. Volunteering or doing something supportive for other people doesn’t need to be expensive, long, or complicated. Research shows that simple acts of kindness to strangers can have a big impact on our mood, energy, and motivation. Besides, it’s also just lekker to be nice.
3. Smile. Make the effort to make more eye contact and smile with people you know and don’t know this week. In our busy lives, we sometimes need to remind ourselves that this really matters. Making eye contact and smiling (in ‘uncreepy’ ways) not only makes the people around us feel seen and connected but also increases our sense of belonging. As corny as it sounds, smiling at someone and watching their reaction might be one of the most important things you do this week. And you know you going to get a smile back.
4. Say thank you. Sharing gratitude out loud, in a text, with a little gift, or by doing something kind makes us realize how much good we’ve got going on in our lives. It also makes other people feel special. Scroll through your contacts, and take the time to pull out different people this week who deserve some appreciation.
5. Turn off your devices. Schedule times in the week when you disconnect from all your devices. Use the time to be undistracted, present and connected with yourself and the people around you. This is an opportunity to step out of a world which is always busy and where you are always available, and into a more manageable and natural moment.
KindnessCan is a movement started by radio personality Jane Linley-Thomas and emotional intelligence author, Paul Bushell. The movement of talks, workshops, podcasts and installations hopes to share the magic and power of kindness. For more information on KindnessCan, check out www.kindnesscan.co.za