Complete the tasks in "Your Best Year Yet" by Jinny Ditzler and implement the resulting values-based goals

Last Saturday night I felt deeply happy and gratified by what I’d accomplished that day. I realized that I had hardly touched my long, long list of “to do’s”. I had finished only two things on my big, ol’ list but I’d planted sunflowers and nasturtiums, something that really pleased my heart. I hadn’t neglected anything critical; the two “to-do’s” I accomplished were laundry and cooking; things that had they not been done would have had a negative impact on the family. I wonder why it’s taken me so long to see this. With workaday stuff it’s easier to comprehend: my work tasks could easily expand to fill ten hours a day seven days a week three-hundred-sixty-five days a year. I am not going to leave work some afternoon saying to myself “Whew! Glad that’s all done” and have nothing left to do the next day. For me, household chores are the same! There is enough tidying, uncluttering, organizing, throwing away, scrubbing, painting, redecorating etc. to keep me busy forever. I am not going to go to sleep one night after a day of household chores saying to myself “Whew! Glad that’s all done!” and find nothing to do the next day. Doing that one thing that was so near and dear to my heart made me so ridiculously happy! Then I finished the YBYY book a few days after this “revelation”. Jinny Ditzler mentions something she calls “Gold Time” – putting your dreams first and leaving all those oh-so-urgent to-do’s for another time. So I implemented part of YBYY instinctively which is gratifying in itself! I am happy with my goals for now. I like the suggestion of making a special poster/list/cards or something with all my goals; where I see it frequently and can be pleased by it!

Yesterday was warm even though it was cloudy. I washed off the outside table and was sitting down with a cup of assam tea, my notebook and YBYY (Your Best Year Yet). My aunt had come by earlier with a bouquet of flowers which I put in the kitchen. Pretty soon out comes Max very carefully holding the pitcher of flowers and he put it outside on the table in front of me! I worked for about an hour or two and made a list of both ‘absolute goals’ and ‘process goals’ for every role in my life. The big picture started coming more into focus. Then I stopped and played with Max on our improvised see-saw. We had a lovely time playing then Max just wanted to lay in my arms and stare at the sky. I love these days.

I really love this book! Every chapter, every exercise has brought some powerful revelation for me. The book title is (to me) unfortunate in that it sounds like every other “have the best year of your life” book available. YBYY has been a great “companion” book to “Getting Things Done”: it helps me identify what value/role is behind the impulse to create a particular “to do” item – and whether or not that impulse is about “proving” something or “being good enough” or whether the task expresses using the gifts I have in a self-affirming/enriching way. I am not articulating this well, I hope the meaning comes through.