Skip to the content
All 52 cards
Accomplishments Ordinariness 3 minutes · closer

The done list

Adult wording. Show the classroom wording

Card 36 of 52

Put it on the board and read it out. Nothing to prepare.

A hand writing in a notebook beside a cup of tea and a small cactus

Illustration by RecipesforWellbeing.org, CC BY-NC 4.0

Open this drawing in the library

To-do lists hold our attention on what remains, so for one minute we will notice what is already done today.

Count ordinary things, including arriving, asking a question, staying with something difficult or helping another person.

Choose three items and keep the list private, recognising the effort behind each one.

Take the list with you as you leave, alongside anything that still needs your attention.

That’s the practice.

Listen for Some students may struggle to find three, so offer "I showed up" as a first item and allow a shorter list.

The skill of ordinariness. The art of embracing the beauty and contentment found in the everyday, celebrating the extraordinary nature of being comfortably ordinary.

What ordinary, everyday moments bring you joy and contentment, and how might embracing your ordinariness support your work?

Try the interactive practice on this skill

To-do lists hold our attention on what remains, so we will spend one minute noticing what has already been done.

Count ordinary things from this week, including turning up, asking a question, staying with something difficult or helping a colleague.

Choose three items and keep the list private, recognising the effort behind each one.

Carry the list with you, alongside everything that still needs your attention.

That’s the practice.

Watch for anyone who goes very still, tearful or far away. Do not single them out. Offer a break, or speak to them quietly afterwards.

The skill of ordinariness. The art of embracing the beauty and contentment found in the everyday, celebrating the extraordinary nature of being comfortably ordinary.

What ordinary, everyday moments bring you joy and contentment, and how might embracing your ordinariness support your work?

Try the interactive practice on this skill

The skill of ordinariness

The art of embracing the beauty and contentment found in the everyday, celebrating the extraordinary nature of being comfortably ordinary.

Hear this skill read aloud
Read the whole postTry the interactive practiceReflect on this skill for yourself

Adapting it

Ages 13 to 15
Start with a shared done list and an ordinary example from the school day before students make their own.
Ages 16 to 18
Suggest keeping the list somewhere visible, so finished effort is not lost beside everything that remains.

If you have longer

There is a full lesson on this skill, about 42 minutes.

Letting an ordinary day count
Tell us how this card went

Your email opens with this card named in the subject, and nothing is sent until you send it. A person reads these.

Or write to info@recipesforwellbeing.org

    Arrow keys move between steps. F is full screen.