To-Do to Done

The pressures of our traditional to-do lists are real.

Uncomfortably real.

Especially as the grind never ceases and we reach the ends of our days in a blur, wondering if we truly accomplished anything of value.

Proof that I lived

I first started keeping this thing called a “reverse to-do list” many years ago for the purpose of escaping that feeling of unproductiveness and tracking my efforts at work.

Found out later some people call it a “done list,” or a “ta-da list.” It doubled as a way to write my annual performance reports, but I leaned into it more fully when I realized I could look back on my entire day in writing and KNOW for a fact the needle moved forward - even when my brain was so fried I couldn’t remember what I’d done, or things just didn’t go as planned.

It was my “Captain’s Log,” because, yes…I started this when I was a captain in the United States Air Force.

.𖥔 ݁ ˖  Live long and prosper, nerds. 🖖🏻

While the big rocks were in there - like airfield inspections and conducting meetings, I’d record when I finished things like reading emails, having office discussions (I am fully convinced the USAF runs on talking), and eating lunch. Each of those things needed to happen even though they weren’t on my to-do list. They were, arguably, vital to the success of the day.

Imagine the feeling of looking back upon pages and paaaages of accomplishments after a year of daily records. Just plain Word docs of black and white bullet-points with epic implications. It shifts some perspective.

They were very simple lists that took on a personality of their own as I began recording thoughts, emotions, and external factors along with the tasks themselves so I could see exactly how and why I was performing the way I was.

For instance, maybe some days didn’t seem as productive as others because I was feeling awful or a bunch of unexpected fires popped up. This is also why I won’t be sharing said lists with you. :D It got…brutally, unprofessionally honest in there.

I suppose they became journals of sorts, which isn’t surprising. #serialjournaler

Track the past for a stronger future

And as it turns out…there is a real science behind why this practice is so addictingly helpful.

I follow Jim Kwik online and gleaned something relevant to all this in his email newsletter from 23 June of this year. He pulled from the brain of one Thomas Jefferson and broke down a process used by the US Founding Father to achieve an impressive level of learning and intellectual accomplishment.

Apparently, intentionally tracking what we experience opens doors for increased self-awareness and learning efficiency. This kind of self-monitoring was studied in a group of students back in 2022, and results revealed that the practice increased both strategy use and academic performance.

This didn’t surprise me in the slightest. Ever since I started recording my daily tasks, I started realizing when I was being realistic in my planning and when I wasn’t. I learned what patterns were present in my mental and physical states from day to day and how I maneuvered through different tasks because of those.

For example, scheduling two major tasks one after the other with no break in between is highly detrimental on my end. My brain doesn’t like it, my body doesn’t like it, and the work suffers because of that, as evidenced by the heavy frustrations logged in my list notes. I often didn’t have a choice on that in the military, which is just one reason of many I decided to pull back from full-time service. The ability to break fully from a prolonged state of engagement before re-engaging has absolutely made my days more productive with better quality work.

That kind of information helps to optimize planning for my days going forward.

You can read the entirety of Jim’s article here: The Jefferson Method: 5 Learning Secrets from America’s Genius Founding Father

Now with a seasonal fantasy-aesthetic~

When I separated active duty to pursue my studio practice full-time, I wanted to reinvigorate the lists in a way that reflected my creative spirit and added one more drop of joy to seeing my achievements solidified on the page. Thus, my themed notepages were born.

Did it take me nearly a year to illustrate all 4 by hand? Yes.

Was it an absolutely maddening test of patience? Also yes.

Will I heavily illustrate an entire notepage ever again? Proooobably not. Simple graphics should do in the future.

But no regrets.

Creating these not only leveled-up my list practice, but also taught me a metric crap ton about the wonderful world of digital products.

All those baby steps were worth it, and now these labors of love are bundled and published for the next fantasy enthusiast seeking to log their daily achievements in leveled-up fashion.

It is officially Black Friday where I’m posting this from - dunno what people were doin’ saying it started last week. :p Seems we’ve thoroughly moved on from the traditional Black Friday and even Cyber Week proper and entered the era of Black Cyber Season. Let’s just call it what it is.

I’m sharing this resource with you in hopes that it’ll serve you well, as it has in my experience. And from now through 6 December 2025, the bundle is 30% off in the Shop when you apply discount code SEASONS30 at checkout~

Best wishes on your journey…✧

~Ashleigh