I have been using PowerSheets for almost a year now to help me plan and live out my goals. This goal planner has made goal setting so much easier, in general. However, sometimes I struggle with how to make a Tending List. Enter the Tending List Cheat Sheet!

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What Is a Tending List Cheat Sheet?
In my last PowerSheets Quarterly Refresh, I used the “Plan for the Season Ahead” pages to break down my goals for the quarter. After that I figured out the dates and frequency that each step or action item would happen. Then I re-wrote the list based on the month and frequency. I did it like this where I took all of my goals and broke them out into the things I could be doing.

I had Finish Line Goals (things that needed to happen once and be done with). And then I had my monthly things that recur every month, and then weekly and daily. I used this list each month to pick what I wanted to add to my Tending List. This was the beginning of the idea of the Tending List Cheat Sheet!
Simplify and Choose Focus Goals
I really liked using this list every month, so for the new quarter, I decided to refine how I made the list. Since I chose 4 main goals to focus on out of my 8 overall goals, I didn’t need to rewrite the action items for the 4 that stayed the same. Instead of listing all of the goals I have, I only focused on those ones that were changing.

The 4 main goals I want to focus on this quarter are Home + Spaces, Community, Work + Learning, and the Free Choice category which is Habits + Routines for me. I made a new Goals Wildcard with those highlighted, and then I made a Routines Wildcard because that’s the main priority goal.
How to Make a Tending List Cheat Sheet
To figure out how to make a Tending List Cheat Sheet, I broke down my 4 focus goals. I noted when each action item or task needs to happen or the frequency at which they reoccur. And then I decorated it because that’s just fun and it adds delight to my day. Color coding also helps me see exactly what goal each task supports.

Once I had my focus goals broken down into manageable action steps, I rearranged them into a chart that looks reminiscent of the format of the monthly Tending List in my PowerSheets goal planner. That way there is no confusion when I make my Tending List each month.
Monthly Action Items
At the top of my Tending List Cheat Sheet, I added a section of monthly action items, because that’s what is near the top of a monthly Tending List. I wrote the tasks in order of when they should happen and I added a sticker to color code them.
The “when?” column tells me exactly which month’s Tending List each action item belongs to. The dash in the “when?” column indicates that the task recurs monthly. I referred back to my previous Quarterly Refresh to find the monthly recurring action items that support the goals that did not change.

Weekly Rhythms
The next section of my Tending List Cheat Sheet is for Weekly Rhythms. Weekly Rhythms are groups of tasks that you might time block together once a week, such as meal prepping or cleaning. I set up this list the same way as the monthly section, but this time I listed the items in the order in which they occur during the week. This helps me to not confuse myself when I’m checking in with my Tending List.
Daily Habits and Decorating
The Daily Habits section at the bottom is listed in order of when that habit would occur during the day. Again, this is to remove confusion when I check things off the habit tracker.

I also decorated this page and added a reusable sticky tab to the top so I can flip back to this Tending List Cheat Sheet easily when I plan my goals each month. Then I just copy over all of the tasks, action items, rhythms, and habits to the Tending List. It’s super easy and super simple!
More Tending List Cheat Sheet Inspiration
Learn more about how to make a Tending List Cheat Sheet by watching some super thorough videos on my channel. I talk about the theory and framework of how the cheat sheet works in my PowerSheets Quarterly Refresh video. See the cheat sheet in action for the first time in my October PowerSheets Tending List Plan with Me video!

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[…] the video, I talk about how I made my Tending List cheat sheet, how I incorporate my PowerSheets goals into my Erin Condren LifePlanner, and I set up my new […]