The Two-List Evening

Maya used to plan her whole day in her head, and by nine in the evening she often felt that nothing important had been done.

Last month, however, she tried a simple method that her sister, a nurse working night shifts, had recommended.

After dinner, Maya sits at the kitchen table with a pen and a small notebook.

First, she writes down everything she finished that day, even a ten-minute phone call to her grandmother.

Then she makes a second list of three tasks for tomorrow, and she puts the hardest one at the top.

Because she chooses them the night before, she does not waste time in the morning deciding what to do next.

She also keeps her phone in a drawer while she works on the first task, which usually takes about forty minutes.

Since she started this habit, Maya has slept better and arrived at work calmer.

The lists are short, yet they have changed how she feels about time.