15 Tasks for Today

No, we don’t need to complete all 15 tasks by the end of this day. Still, we might knock them out by the end of the year. Meanwhile, I suspect that long before we’ve checked off the last of the list, we’ll experience less worry, better sleep–and hear fewer nagging reminders from our family.

1. Run an estimate of our 2026 taxes, while there might still be time to mull over, say, the size of a charitable donation or Roth conversion, without  pressure from an impending deadline.

2. Schedule an appointment with an estate attorney to update our will and other documents–or finally take steps to create them.

3. Check the beneficiary designations of all financial accounts and insurance policies.

4. Adjust the stock-to-bond ratio of our portfolio to where we know it should be–before a market surprise has us kicking ourselves that we didn’t.

5. Review our insurance needs, then add or drop coverage to fit our current risk.

6. Make an appointment with our doctor to have that spot or symptom checked out, before it grows out of control.

7. Tackle that stack of papers we’ve been avoiding–before it grows out of control.

8. Give or throw away one thing, then try to make it a habit.

9. Strike out on a walk or do one exercise–then strive to make it a habit.

10. Compile a list of subscription services and other recurring expenses–then finger one culprit for elimination.

11. Fail to check our portfolio balance–for the second day running.

12. Turn off the financial news for one week. Okay, one day. One hour?

11. Place that long-neglected phone call to an old friend.

14. Say no to an annoying drain on our time, then give that time to something we’re passionate about.

15. Ponder how precious our loved ones are to us–then tell them so.