to do vs. goals

I like to set mini goals for myself each day. Like a "to do" list, but much more enjoyable. A to do list for me on a typical day might look like this:

1)do laundry......this is on every single to do list I have ever written.
2)go grocery shopping......when you need fresh produce in the house daily, weekly trips just don't cut it. Really? We need more toilet paper? What have you people been eating???
3)clean......any room. Pick one. Pick 10. Chances are, they're all in need. Again.
4)vacuum.....well DUH! We have a giant shedding dog. This must be done every single day.
5)organize a drawer or closet in some part of the house.......because I love organizing. You'd hardly be able to tell from looking at my house, but I am sort of a closet neat freak. It just becomes so much harder and more exhausting to let that freak shine when you have children and a dog. My space would be so clean and organized if I lived by myself. But I would also be sad and lonely so it wouldn't be worth it. And I'd have no one to unload the dishwasher for me.
6)weed the flower beds.......I seriously pulled waist high weeds from my beds yesterday. That is how badly weeding needs to be done. Truth is, I rarely get excited about getting a back ache from bending over and pulling prickly weeds that stab me through my gloves. Gardening is therapeutic to some people. To me, wanting to work in my flower beds is like wanting to sit in a tub full of water while cuddling my hairdryer that is still plugged into the wall.
7)run errands.......whether it's going to the bank or going to some store for something that I've convinced myself I absolutely cannot live without, there's always somewhere I need to go. (yes, I'm going to use those 5 flats of mason jars I bought at Fleet Farm, all different sizes and mouth widths....some day for some thing) And speaking of Fleet Farm, did you know that you can buy ridiculously large bottles of olive oil there for a fraction of the cost you'd pay at the grocery store?? Also flax seed. Ground or whole. You pay around $7-8 at the grocery store but at Fleet Farm you pay like a dollar-something for a bag. WOW. And they have the biggest selection of raw nuts. Also cheap. I'm pretty sure if you're into Little Debbie, they've got a bargain for you too!

So that might be a typical to do list. But my mini goal lists are much better looking. Because they are all things I actually enjoy.

1)take pictures.......it doesn't matter of what, just take out the camera, the lenses and shoot. But I got nothin'. Lint balls? Ok then. Lint balls it is. I have got to figure out how to capture lint balls in a way that makes me want to frame it and put it on my wall. If I can do that, I've got myself a talent that could put bread on the table.
2)write in my journal......I love writing. I love the feel of pen on paper. I love to write how I felt each day, what I did, what I plan on doing the next day, etc. I do this partly because I think it will eventually make me a better person, and partly because I want someone to find it 80 years from now and make it into a movie. Not really.
3)blog.......because I don't want to let all 3 of you down.
4)edit pictures.......there is nothing I'd like to do more than sit in front of the screen, dinking around in Photoshop, getting some of my pent up creative energy out. But I feel guilty for doing it. Guilty for letting 5 hours go by that felt like 5 minutes. Guilty for forgetting to make my children lunch during those 5 hours. Guilty for burning 2 calories because I've been on my ass for 5 hours. And guilty for not bringing in any income from it.
5)practice piano.......It's something I can do well (except in front of people where I tend to get overly nervous and make lots of mistakes) and I feel such a connection to my late father while doing it. One of the sweetest gifts I've ever received was from my sister, days after his passing. It was a pin of an angel hovering over a piano. She realized that one thing dad and I had in common was our love for music. I tear up every time I play Claire De Lune. Every time I sit down to play it, I play it for him.
6)Art with the kids.......whether it's dragging out all the painting supplies or just the water colors or crayons, I love to create with them. I love how they still think I'm the best artist EVER. And I really don't want them to grow up and discover that I'm really not. I love how proud they are when they've taken their time and concentrated so hard on making me the perfect picture. As they give it to me, eyes open wide waiting for visual cues of my approval, for praise from me....master artist of the Arff household.
7)stop complaining......because sometimes I can be a bit of a whiner. I'm trying to be more aware of my whining because I don't want to be the miserable pessimist that no one wants to be around. I also don't want to take it too far into the opposite territory and be the person who steps in dog crap and then gives you the optimistic side to it. Because people that can step in dog crap and keep smiling are just annoying. You just stepped in shit, it's ok to be a little ticked off about it! I know I'm ticked off about it because now I have to smell dog crap for the rest of our walk together! Let's just be ticked off together at the fact you can't watch where the hell you're walking, shall we?

Mini goals are so much more important to me. They are non stressful. What are your mini goals for the day?