Do you struggle with to-do lists and overwhelm? 😱

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about to-do lists and overwhelm.

I’m a big list person. I love all the lists. All the tasks. All those happy little checkmarks. All the accomplishment!

But honestly, it doesn’t always work out the way I want it to.

Last year when I was working through my dad’s business, the thought of writing a to-do list filled me with a dread I had never felt before. There was so much that needed to be done that the list would have been endless. 

Talk about overwhelm.

Instead, I wrote 4-6 things to do next. From there, I was able to tackle those items, then make a new list when I was ready.

Another issue I struggle with is that the tasks on my list are sometimes too BIG. A task as simple as publishing a blog post can be broken down into a few separate tasks:

• Research and decide on a topic
• Write an outline
• Create a draft
• Polish and publish
• Promote

All are very actionable, don’t take very long and I feel a sense of accomplishment when I check off each item.

Lastly, I’ve been known to put tasks on the list that don’t really need to be done. It’s helpful if I think about the specific tasks that will help me reach my goals quickly and throw out the rest.

If you struggle with to do lists and overwhelm, check out my review of The 12 Week Year.