I use to-do lists almost every day. I set goals for the year, break them down into milestones, and even make New Year’s resolutions. Sometimes I accomplish my goals and stick to the plan — sometimes I don’t.

Creating a plan and defining goals can be motivating. It helps you give structure and direction to your life. But on some days, it also feels like you’re trapping yourself in a self-imposed rat race.

• Complete my STORY52 short story project
• Write the next novel
• Finish editing my last novel
• Write at least ten tweets
• Publish that blog post
• Do your workout
• And don’t forget the day job tasks and household chores
• …

Reviewing that list every day and crossing things off until the page is empty can make me more productive, yes — but when there isn’t enough time and items remain unchecked, it can also feel like I’ve accomplished nothing. It’s draining and demotivating.

That’s why it makes sense to use the opposite of a to-do list from time to time: a Done List. It reminds you of everything you’ve already worked on and achieved.

In 2025:

• I published my next novel, Forever
• I set up my mailing list, including another published book, Endless, which I give away for free to subscribers
• This blog became a reality — and I’ve already written more than 80 posts
• My YouTube tutorial channel grew to over 10K subscribers
• I’ve gained almost 1K followers on Twitter
• Seven of my short stories are already available on Amazon
• I started two more YouTube channels to document my Author in Progress journey (and yet another one is in the works)

That’s a lot of progress since March 2025, when I decided to take my writing hobby a bit more seriously.

Sure, not everything went as planned. Not every goal was achieved. And I’m far far away from being able to pay any bills with my writing. But the list of accomplishments shows a lot of progress after just over half a year of focused effort.

Create your own Done List. Look back at what you’ve achieved in the past six months — and just imagine what you could do in the next ten years.