Today is Sunday, the 12th day of December. Today’s activity? Addition by subtraction. It’s one of my favorite games. If you’re not yet a fan, then maybe you will be soon. It’s an addictive practice, in a good way.

Today we’re going to get rid of something. Just one thing, but a specific thing that connects back to the theme of not losing our fucking minds in December.

The one thing you and I are going to let go of today? Something on our to-do or chore lists. Something on the list that doesn’t actually need doing. Something for which the consequences of not doing it are negligible.

Some tips for choosing what to ditch:

• If you don’t have a concrete plan for doing it, then it might be worth ditching.
• If no one but you has any vested interest in your doing it, then it might be worth ditching – at least for right now.
• Close your eyes and imagine how you will feel after doing whatever it is that you’re considering not doing. Is that imagined feeling worth the imagined effort of actually doing the task? If not, then ditch it.

Fair warning: You might elect to ditch something that is a kind and wonderful deed or gesture. Maybe you have it on your list to bake a variety of cookies and box them up beautifully to deliver to a friend for the holidays. Maybe some part of your heart really wants to do that wonderful thing. But maybe some other part of you recognizes that there are other ways of doing something for that same friend — other things that do not require days and hours of work. (Maybe you now know exactly what I crossed out on my list today….)

How will you know that you’ve made the right choice? You’ll feel better, lighter. You’ll feel like you have more time and space to do things that matter.

See? Addition by subtraction. It’s good stuff.

See you tomorrow.

P.S. New here today and wondering what this is all about? It’s a daily practice for the month of December, complete with a downloadable journal. Here’s the link.