Dad Finds 7-Year-Old’s ‘To-Do List,’ Can’t Cope With What She’s Written

A proud dad got more of a response than he bargained for after sharing his 7-year-old daughter’s to-do list online.

As a father of four, there’s rarely a dull moment for Chris Palermo from Stanhope, New Jersey. Palermo is the proud father of three boys named Sean (17), Jake (15), and Colin (12) and, in truth, must have been expecting a fourth until the arrival of his 7-year-old daughter, Ella.

“Our family had 88 straight years of boys before Ella was born,” he told Newsweek. Ella broke the mold the day she was born and has been doing so ever since, whether through her love of soccer, her passion for art or her academic endeavors.

“She is a creator,” Palermo said. “Always painting. Writing. Constructing. Doing. So I feel like she’s always showing me something she created.”

With so much going on, it’s little wonder she created a to-do list, which she shared with her dad, explaining that it was “because I wanted to show you all the stuff I accomplished.”

Being organized can get you far, but research suggests that disorganization is linked with other positive traits. A study published in Psychological Science suggests people placed in an organized room chose healthier snacks and donated more money.

By comparison, people in a disorganized room were more creative.

But there was something unique about Ella’s list that both impressed and surprised Palermo. She told him that she created the list towards the end of summer and “does look at it every day,” checking items off as she goes.

It’s the contents themselves that have impressed her dad most, and the “adorable things” she has included. “I love that the first item on her to-do list was ‘checkbox,'” he said. “I read a LinkedIn post a while back talking about the value of ‘micro goals’—and that’s exactly what this reminded me of!”

“She basically got to check that off as soon as she made the list! And to see that first check—that’s a micro goal—something simple and easy that keeps you motivated to keep pushing. That’s brilliant.”

It’s a blend of everyday chores like “do the dishes again,” fun stuff like “play with dolls,” and creative endeavors such as “blow bubbles.”

Palermo decided to post the list to Reddit under the handle u/NuevoJerz.

“With four school-aged kids, I know I don’t always know everything they’re all doing, so I was also just surprised I didn’t know about this,” he said. “I shared it because it was so adorable, and thought it would make others smile. And I think these days we all could use a little extra things to smile about.”

The post proved a hit, amassing over 32,000 upvotes and counting. Palermo puts that down to the fact it likely reminds many of the “innocence of youth.”

One Reddit comment noted, “This checklist involves both productive activities AND joy-filled activities. I could take a few notes from her.” Palermo agrees. “That’s really what this list is—it’s the perfect balance of productive activities and joy-filled ones,” he said.

Another commenter said: “This sweet little list is a combination of her growing up and starting to worry more about adult responsibilities, but also still maintaining that little kid innocence.”

Palermo agrees but also has a slightly different takeaway.

“I hope it gives us adults a pause and makes us think about our own to-do lists and responsibilities and the importance of having those joy-filled activities in there, too.”