When a need to improve yourself arises, it shows how much you have decided to be better in terms of attitude, productivity, and responsibility.
Using a checklist to improve yourself is one way you can stay focused on the necessary things to do. It has a way of reminding you about your activities and commitment.
A personal checklist is one of the helpful ways to get things done. It can be a daily checklist or a weekly one, but whichever one it is, the most important thing is that you list them out and work on them.
To improve yourself, this is how you can effectively use a checklist to do so
- Have set goals
One of the vital things to consider when trying to create a checklist is to have a set goal. Certainly, this serves as a basis for what you are working towards to achieve in the future.
This will give you an idea of what you are getting into, and maybe the necessary follow up actions to take.
Among the important things to consider when setting up your goals is, avoid focusing on too many things at a time.
Also, prioritize your goals, starting with the most important ones and to others gradually. This will not only give you clarity but also make the goals achievable.
To make sure that you are in line with setting your goals, the below guide will give you more insight;
- Let your goals motivate you
The goals you set for yourself is very important, it has to be motivational because motivation is what will make you achieve them.
When you have less valued set goals, you will probably not have much interest in them. Possibly, you might even end up not achieving any.
Let the goal reflects on the self-improvement traits that are of priority to you. In this way, you can be able to work on them because accordingly.
There is actually no need to having too many set goals without achieving even half of them.
- Your goals should be smart
Your goals should be specific and not beating around the bush. It should be well defined and clear enough to lead you in the right direction.
It is also important to know, that every goal you set for yourself should be realizable. Therefore, let all your goals be what you know you can do within your power.
To make your set goals more achievable too, you have to consider setting a time frame, say a week, a month, or as long as you think, you can be able to complete the task.
- Make your goal positive
Write down your goals and let it be where you can see them every day. You can paste it on your computer, door, wall, work desk, etc. It serves as a better reminder of what you are expected to do.
Your set goals should be composed with positive words using “I will” than “I might”. The first one shows ‘will power’, a positive attitude to your choice of goals while the second one has some doubts and lacks positivity.
In this case, your choice of words will help to push you forward and make you serious.
- Stick to your goals
When you have a goal, you stick to them until you have a result. When trying to improve yourself, you have to make sure you play along with it. You may not be able to get adequate results in the short run but with time, the changes will start manifesting.
Digressing from the set goals to another without even completing the first one will only discourage you. Consequently, there won’t be any result or achievement to motivate you.
You can only change them if you know that the result won’t be relevant to you, therefore, substitute that one with a better goal.
- Choose a suitable format
Setting your goals will determine how your checklist will look like. There is actually no definite format for it. Just ensure that it’s easy to understand and tackle.
Improving one’s self is not limited to adults alone. Self-improvement has no age restriction, so depending on whom and purpose, the checklist format can be done to suit the task.
Checklists can come in a simpler format when short term goals are the focus. So, it doesn’t necessarily require much organization, because you will probably write down all the points in a goal.
Checklists can be planned for a long-term goal, ranging from a week to a month, and even more. This kind of self-improvement tasks may cover every aspect of a person’s life that need improvement.
In order not to make the list look cumbersome and discouraging, its best advised to break the list down into specific tasks.
Using a checklist or to-do list improperly may be confusing, but doing it the right way will provide you with a feeling of fulfillment, progress, and excitement.
An example of a simple checklist for self-improvement
| Daily Activities | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Comment |
| Stay hydrated | ||||||||
| Read a book | ||||||||
| Eat healthily | ||||||||
| Exercise | ||||||||
| Have a quiet time | ||||||||
| Meet with family | ||||||||
| Learn new skills | ||||||||
| Wake up early | ||||||||
| Take a break | ||||||||
| Have time with friends |
The list can go on and on, depending on what can help improve you.
- Break them down
This section is for those who want to create a long term checklist for self-improvement. The essence of breaking the task down is for clarity and easy accomplishment.
It is better when you arrange them by categories, such as according to physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and intellectual improvement.
Mental and intellectual improvement might include things that can help improve your intellect, make you more creative and improve your mental ability e.g. reading.
Physical improvement requires those things that can enhance your physique and wellness, such as sleep and exercise, healthy diet and lifestyle.
Social improvement concerns the way you get mingled with people and the impact you make to society, such as being good to people, encouraging others, being a social worker volunteer and more.
Spiritual improvement requires trying to let go of wrong concepts that oppose your belief, and improving on becoming conscious of your inner being.
- Track your activities
One thing very essential about having a checklist is to make sure that you are committed to your goals. Obviously, that is the only way it can work.
Mark off the ones that you have accomplished, as it helps to keep track of your progress, and also keep you motivated.
As you mark some off, you can also add a new one; this way you can be sure you are making headway towards improving yourself.
Checklists come with a lot of benefits, as it doesn’t only serve as a tool to improve oneself; it also has a way of improving the general wellbeing.
- It makes one more focused, irrespective of some challenges that might come up.
- It makes you motivated – seeing your progress can be a motivational force that keeps you going till completion.
- It also helps the brain to stay coordinated on the task, and improve memory.
- It makes one organized, as it serves as a tool that can help you organize your activities for the day or week irrespective of the tight schedule.
When trying to improve yourself, you have to make sure that what is on your list isn’t digressing from the purpose; here are a guide to some of the things that can help improve you on your checklist;
- Read books always
- Develop a workout routine
- Eat healthily
- Stop bad habits
- Avoid negativity and bad influence
- Learn new skills
- Wake up early
- Overcome your fear
- Admit your mistakes
- Define your goals
- Do not procrastinate
- Dress well and look smart
- Cultivate time management
- Make new friends
- Learn from people and so on.
Checklists make it easier for us when we want to indulge in any task, from self-improvement to career, studies, and productivity.
In as much as there are professionals who can help you create a workable checklist, the one you do for yourself is far better.
This is because, you are doing it for yourself, and the only person that knows you better is you.
Final Word
To improve oneself isn’t easy, and it takes a lot of commitment, development, and patience to see results. However, using a checklist like the one provided above will make it a lot easier than you think.
