Decluttering Series Week 3: Declutter Your To-Do List

For as far back as I can remember, I’ve loved lists.

Maybe it’s my Enneagram three-ness that loves achievement and gets excited watching items get crossed off the list (no judging please, it’s a thing!😉). Or maybe it’s because I remember my mom creating lists when I was younger and the accomplishment we all felt as we checked each item off, one by one. Maybe it’s a combination of both of these things. I’m not 100% sure.  

What I do know is that when I was younger, the lists were way more fun.  Items like “call Amanda” and “write in my diary” were things to look forward to! As I got older and entered this crazy-yet-wonderful world of motherhood and adulting, I realized my to do list wasn’t as fun anymore. “Buy groceries” and “pay electric bill” just don’t carry the same excitement level, ya know? 🤪

Truthfully, I had a phase where the list almost became too much for me.

Too overwhelming. It turned into this constant reminder of all the stuff going unfinished. Like a finger pointing angrily at the items, reminding me what I still needed to do and what wasn’t getting done.

My guess is that you’ve either been through or are going through a similar phase. A phase where you’re considering burning that dang to do list and burying it in the backyard!    

I get that. Since you’re here, I’d bet we have a similar goal to make our lives LESS overwhelming. And how the heck can we do that if our to do lists feel full and exhausting, right?  

That’s why I think it’s important to talk about ways to declutter your to-do list. Can we manage them without letting them manage us? Can we create a to do list in order to AID us in moving through life rather than letting the stress and overwhelm of the list create more stress? I think so!

So that’s the direction we’re going to head in today. Ready? Here we go!  

Step 1: Get it out of your mind and on to paper.

As in last week’s post about decluttering your schedule, we’re going to take this practice to the very, very beginning.

Are you writing down your to do’s or are you keeping them all in your memory?

If you have yet to keep some form of list of your to do’s, my suggestion is to get that list of items rolling around in the back of your head OUT and onto paper. I’m talking simple, simple, simple here. Don’t overthink it! Just get it all out.

I fondly call this first step to declutter your to-do list: Brain dumping! (Sounds fun, right?)

What I’ve noticed (at least for myself) is that when I have thoughts or tasks swirling around in my head, they seem to play on repeat until I get them on to paper. Once they’re on paper, I feel like I no longer have to try to remember them and I can free up some major mental space.

So, at this very, very early stage of decluttering your to-do list, it doesn’t matter where you write your stuff down or how, it just matters that you free up some space in your mind by getting it all out onto paper.

Step 2: Decide what your biggest priorities are.

If you accomplished the first step, my guess is that you have a decently long list of random To-Do’s that are in no particular order. (Like, “Order cupcakes for baby shower” is right next to “Fold basket of clean laundry from 2 weeks ago.”) SO here’s my favorite step: Start looking for ways to prioritize and organize your list.

As you go through this process, take a few moments to ask yourself some questions:

• What are the most important items on the list to me?
• What needs to be accomplished today and what can wait?
• Which items have a time frame attached to them and which items are merely random things I’d like to get done at some point in the next century?

Sometimes what helps me here is to set up a few categories into timeframes to help organize #allthethings.

I’ll set up categories for today (we’ll dive into these in a second), this week, this month, and long term. This helps me to see what’s important and needs to be done right away, and what can be spaced out for further down the road when I’m in a less busy season of life. (Side note: Does a “less busy season of life” exist? Jury’s still out…)

My “long term” list is basically a running list of items I’d like to do but can pick off the list and tackle whenever I have some down time. Examples for me include: Finishing some Shutterfly books (or who are we kidding? I’d like to finish just ONE Shutterfly book), updating our family photo frames at home, and scheduling a facial (because I have numerous gift cards and would like to use them before they expire!)

I’ve found that spacing out and organizing To Do’s also helps to relieve stress.

When you have a large and daunting list in front of you, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and think the worst. BUT, when you can space some of those tasks out for further down the road, the list doesn’t seem so scary.

One last note I’ll add on this topic that helps declutter your to-do list: I learned a tip from James Clear called the 2 minute rule. It’s super simple. Basically, if there’s a task on your to do list that would take you 2 minutes or less to complete, just get it done now. Like, right now. Go ahead. I’ll wait.😊

Step 3: Work Your To Do List into Your Daily life.

Ok, so you’ve got your list all categorized and you’re feeling a little less stressed about all of the things you have going on in your life, right? I hope so! Now we’re onto the next step to declutter your to-do list: How to manage your list on a daily basis.  

I think we can tackle this right now, don’t you? Here’s what we’re gonna do:

Look at the day ahead. If you’re reading this early in the day, look at today, but if you’re reading this later, feel free to look at tomorrow instead. Now, how many things do you have on your To-Do list for just that day? Do you have 2 things? Or more like 8 things?

If you’re falling into the “more like 8 things” category (*AHEM* This is where I always fall!) then I’m going to encourage you to take those 8 things and downsize them. Then downsize again.

Downsize until you’ve picked ONLY the three most important things you need to get done in the day ahead.

I say three because that’s the magic number I’ve found for myself. I used to make large lists but I’d always end up feeling deflated at the end of the day because I wasn’t getting them done. Or worse yet, I was so focused on what needed to get done that I’d treat the people around me poorly.  

Of course there are other small, daily tasks that will need to be done (like making your bed or washing the dishes up after dinner), but what are the 3 most important things you want to/need to get done today? Fold 2 loads of laundry? Call your Mom? Catch up on emails at work? You get to decide what 3 main things you want to tackle.

I talk more about how setting up daily to-do’s in this post if you’d like to read more.

Step 4: Delegate or Delete

I’ll be honest, this is the step I often skip or struggle with the most.

I’m great at writing things down, organizing my list, and picking 3 main things for the day. I’m not so great at asking for help or giving myself permission to quit something.

Here’s what I’m learning:

1. People don’t always know we need help, so we need to be brave enough to ASK.
2. If something on our to do list just isn’t fitting, we have the power to REMOVE IT.

So, here’s what I’ve started asking myself when the to do list just looks too full:

• What can be delegated to someone else?
• Is there anything on the list that just needs to get the axe?

We can declutter our to do list by checking with other mom’s on car-pooling, hiring someone to come clean our house once a month, or even putting the kids in charge of picking up at night. If we’re being honest, there’s probably more in our day that we could outsource then we think.

Let’s not be too shy to delegate or delete something off the list! 

Step 5: Going Forward

As seasons change and as you continue to work through your to do list, here are a couple of tips to keep in mind:

1. Find a tool that’s helpful to you when you need to write something down on the fly! To me, nothing is worse than trying to remember to pay that bill or make that phone call. I need to write it down. So, whether you have a little pad of paper in your purse, or the notes app on your phone (<– my personal fav), having a tool on standby that you can use when you need to get those to do’s out of your crazy noggin is SUPER helpful.
2. Keep a pen and paper handy on your nightstand. When you can’t fall asleep at night and you think of something random (as we women often do), write it down and get that thought out of your head. The note will be there in the morning to remind you. Keeping that pen and paper next to your bed is especially helpful in the middle of the night when you wake up and can’t fall back asleep because your mind is swirling with random thoughts. Write them down. Put them out of your mind. Go back to sleep.
3. As you continue to practice and get good use out of your To-Do List, don’t fall into the “should” trap. See how your task lines up with your priorities and ask yourself what you can delegate or delete.

Wrapping Up.

Again, my main goal for this decluttering series is to help your life become less stressful. I know the dreaded to do list can feel overwhelming. I know it can feel like this list is just hanging over our heads sometimes.

But I also believe that a lot can be discovered by digging into the list and figuring out how and where it trips us up. I fully believe we can use these lists to our benefit and I hope these tips give you a good place to start. ❤️

**Thanks for joining me on the Decluttering series! If you missed the prior two weeks, you can find week 1 on decluttering your home here and week 2 on decluttering your schedule here.