Some folks like to cross off items on a list. I'm sure that provides a sense of accomplishment, but I'd rather cross off days on the calendar. It's not that I wish to be older or wish to hasten my final day, but looking at a calendar page with X's across the days means I have made it through each one of them and come out the other side.
When I have goals to accomplish — ones written in the boxes of my calendar days — it's rewarding to see that I accomplish the listed activities and they are complete, even when an activity is nothing more than running a loved one to the doctor or getting a bill out to the mailbox in time for the mail lady. That is my sense of accomplishment!
An even more wonderful aspect of being able to cross off days on the calendar is it allows me to do it in stages. When I awake in the morning, I put a diagonal across one side of the date box, usually top-left to bottom-right. Then at night, I get to cross off the top-right to bottom-left part of the X. That is truly rewarding. Making it to the day and through the day is what encourages me.
With a calendar page set before me, I can count days until a big event, and I can count days past an event. Birthdays, anniversaries, days that mark a loved one's passing, holidays, special functions, they are all represented on my calendar. So are several of my daily chores. I guess you could call it making a list in a confined space, but I call it using my calendar as my second brain. If an item makes it to my calendar, I'm less likely to forget about it, because I see it before me with my first morning cross, and I see it ahead when I cross the other way at night.
I highly recommend posting a calendar where you spend your days. You will see how much (or how little) you have accomplished over the course of a month or year, you will not lose track of appointments and special days, you will see what is behind and what is ahead, you will gain a sense of accomplishment as you mark off the date boxes. But probably best of all, you will grow thankful for the days you have been given and for the new day ahead.
