274 - STOP Trying To Finish The To-Do List

Last week, we talked about why it’s impossible to be behind when you’re organizing. We covered how organizing will always pay you in time and finished with a discussion about why you should aim for progress, not perfection. Shifting your mindset to focus on progress rather than perfection takes practice. We become so obsessed with ticking off every task on our to-do lists that we lose sight of the progress we’ve made. A few of you recently messaged me and asked me to talk about how you can change the way you structure and plan your time. It’s easy to let your to-do list control your time and how you spend it, which is only part of the reason why I think it is time to eliminate your to-do list. Yes, you read that right. Eliminate your to-do list. Don’t re-prioritize it. Don’t take tasks off and move them onto next week’s to-do list. I want you to take your to-do list, hold it up and set a flame to it (you know, hypothetically). You might not know this about me, but it’s been 18 months since I wrote out and completed my last to-do list. I just don’t need it anymore. If you want to join me over here in the (almost) stress-free zone with more free time than you know what to do with and no to-do lists to worry about, this is the podcast episode you’ve been waiting for! How I Got Rid of My To-Do List There was a time in my life when I lived for my to-do list. Or rather, I lived through my to-do list. I would list everything I needed to get done that day and, like most of you, ticked them off one by one as I completed each task. When a task was left unfinished, I carried it onto my to-do list for the next day. It helped me to get things done, most of the time. But I found myself constantly referring to my list throughout the day, so much so that it honestly felt like I couldn’t live without it. To go from that level of dedication to a to-do list to not having one at all is quite the turnaround, don’t you think? The funny thing is, I didn’t even realize I didn’t have a to-do list anymore until people started asking me for advice on what to do with theirs. As someone who had an answer for every question about organizing, I was stumped. Then, of course, I had the "a-ha!" moment when I suddenly realized I was living my life without a to-do list. And, you know what? The world didn’t stop spinning. I didn’t lose focus, and my productivity levels were better than ever. At some point over the last seven years, I went from being depressed, overweight and in debt to feeling much happier, thinner and debt-free. But it didn’t happen overnight. It took a lot of small steps, and one of those steps was ditching the to-do lists. I can't wait for you to email me and let me know that you too have ditched your to-do list! PS - Do you feel stuck in your organizing? Sign up for the April FREE Masterclass, 3 Reasons You Can't Get Organized & What to do about it Masterclass here. PPS - We just made our BIGGEST announcement of 2019... You can now buy the 100 Day Home Organization Program and ALL ACCESS with PAYMENT PLANS! View the full post here: https://organize365.com/stop-to-do-list/