I don’t know about you, but I don’t have the memory capacity I used to. Having a family of five creates an enormous mental load.
I started thinking about my work and how employers create procedures and instructions for tasks to train staff and remind employees how to accomplish infrequent tasks. I thought, why not do that for my personal life? So, I’ve started integrating “procedures” into my personal life.
Welcome to my annual checklist.
I saw making an annual checklist as a way to reduce the mental load of remembering to do the task and the brainpower it takes to recall how to complete it. Things I do annually don’t just become routine, but there’s no way I should have to relearn everything every single year.
For example, taxes. I created an annual checklist that includes the documents we receive and a procedure for how I store them. The tax checklist helps me know when I can get started on our taxes and what documents I need each year. But I also wanted to remind myself that the task isn’t complete until the tax forms are scanned and stored electronically. We don’t have a file cabinet. I only keep one year of taxes as a paper copy. All other years are stored on a hard drive.
I tried searching Pinterest for an annual checklist template, but couldn’t find what I envisioned, so I made my own. I’ve been working on it for about 18 months.
I’ve finally reached the full use of the checklist, and I love it. Before I created my annual checklist, some of these tasks would sneak up on me, or I’d randomly think about them in the middle of the night. Now I feel I have a little more control over making them happen. Whenever I look at it, I think “Oh yeah, I gotta do that.” But random annual tasks don’t surprise me anymore, and I am prepared and organized for the future. It feels good!
Here are some of the tasks I’ve added to my annual checklist:
- Purge/Add documents to our Life binder and Family Document binder
- Purchase/Plan Valentine’s Day gifts and goodies
- Shred paperwork
- Plan family birthdays
- Taxes: organize tax documents, complete, and scan taxes
- Car: Schedule oil, tire, inspection, purchase registration, check license expiration, review insurance, etc
- Purchase Easter goodies
- Medical: Schedule annual doctor and dentist appointments
- Plan yard projects
- Schedule annual family photos
- Buy school supplies and clothes
- Buy Halloween costumes
- Buy snowsuits and boots
- Purchase Christmas gifts
Please feel free to add your own annual tasks to this list.
Someday, I’d like to type up the list and potentially laminate it for a better display. I’d also like to take it one step further and incorporate it into my calendar app or reminder app. But for now, a page in my notebook will do just fine.
What would you put on your annual checklist? Let’s share the brainpower amongst us and create one incredible list!
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