Got a mile-long to-do list?
I freaking LOVE a good list.
I’m talking a real, genu-ine piece of paper and Pilot G2 0.7mm Retractable Gel Ball Pen.
Just about everyday, I’d start to think about what needs to get done.
I’d make a list,
with all 780 things that I must accomplish,
then I look at it, and think “Holy heck, where do I even begin???”
I proceed to be completely overwhelmed and do absolutely nothing.
You ever struggle to get your to do list done?
Procrastination often comes from anxiety.
Anxiety is often feeling out of control,
and I definitely felt out of control over my overwhelming lists.
Regaining control of your day (or week or year)
reduces stress and makes the stuff you gotta do feel way more manageable.
Here’s what changed and how I get stuff done:
The Eisenhower Matrix
AKA, the Eisenhower Box, or Urgent-Important Matrix.
I’d never heard of this until my therapist suggested it to me when I was describing my anxiety over my impossible to-do lists.
I was telling her about how I felt like I could never get stuff done,
and she’s like “have you heard of an Urgent-Important Matrix?”
My only understanding of a matrix at this point had something to do with Keanu Reeves.
President Eisenhower was famous for being ridiculously efficient, and came up with a system that makes sorting priorities easier. A matrix, if you will.
Firstly, his method is basically differentiating between what is urgent and what is important into 4 quadrants.
It can look something like this:
You sort your tasks into 4 different categories.
- Do first
- Decide when
- Delegate
- Delete
Get stuff done- Make a list
A brain dump list.
Literally everything you want and need to do, within a time frame of your choice.
I typically make the list limited to what I want to accomplish in the next few days.
Laundry, organizing, chores, errands, bills to pay, games to play, self care, kids activities.
Write it all down.
I do this first thing in the morning with my coffee in our cute little sitting room,
sometimes with my husband if he’s involved in my day planning.
It feels overwhelming to look at a massive to do list and not know where to start.
Writing down every task for the day is the first step to getting stuff done!
Q1. Do First: Urgent & Important
These are the things with clear deadlines and require you take action quickly, or suffer the consequences (whatever that may be)
Urgent= has to happen today or tomorrow.
Important= affects your quality of life.
These would be the important things for your life to get done today, or the fires to put out.
For me, that might look like
- Write blog post
- Put dinner in the instant pot
- Pay tuition (due today)
- Pick up meds at pharmacy
- Wash-fold-put away one (1) load of laundry
Where the consequences of Not doing these items are
- My personal goals go unmet
- Figuring out dinner at dinnertime is added stress
- There’s a late fee
- I run out of my medication
- I have no pants (actually…. this is not so bad.)
You get to decide what is urgent and important for your day,
and your personal goals are allowed to be on that list.
Q2. Decide When- What can you schedule out?
These are the things that are important, and required planning to make happen. Long term goals.
Todoist’s article on productivity and the Eisenhower matrix sums up the approach perfectly
By attending to Q2 consistently, you decrease the number of pressing problems that pop up in Q1. Living in Q2 means that you can create a plan to complete projects and avoid possible problems. For example, if you keep putting off completing routine car maintenance, you may pay for it later when your car stalls out.
Laura Scroggs, Todoist
The more I hang out in quadrant 2,
the more organized my life is.
I have less anxiety because there are fewer fires to put out.
Proactive vs Reactive, ya dig?
Q3. Delegate- Let it go
The mentality of “if you want it done right, do it yourself” can make your get stuff done list impossibly long.
I’m learning to let it go and be okay with letting others do some work, without guilt.
What are the things that are urgent, but not important?
- Dinner. I love scratch-cooking healthy meals, and I know what I like. This is good, however, it’s time-consuming and I have other priorities.
I don’t have a personal chef, so delegating dinner is being okay with convenience foods, my husband making din-din, or getting take-out. - Chores. The household’s gotta run one way or another.
- What can you divvy up to other family members? I have some daily chores I used to do included in our daily rhythm that the kids are learning they’re responsible for.
- What can you hire out? If you can budget in for a neighbor kid to mow the lawn or a
- Groceries. I’m starting to convert to curbside pickup. I am a control freak at times, and letting someone else pick out my groceries felt appalling at first.
But letting go and letting Target shop for me does cut out a lot of time I’d be wandering the store with all the kids and/or impulse buying scented candles.
Q4. Delete
Sometimes, you just gotta delete some things off the list.
If it’s not urgent, and it’s not important, it’s gotta go (for now).
In addition, the things you delete might not be stuff you thought to write down, but the habits that are time-sucks in your day.
For me, that’s Candy Crush and scrolling through Instagram.
Games, scrolling IG, the mindless stuff isn’t inherently bad.
But when it takes time away from the day you truly want,
it’s not really doing you any good, either. : /
Also, consider deleting the busy work that you do when you’re putting off something actually important.
For instance, going through your emails and deleting the ads and junk mail.
Rarely is this urgent or important.
Personal time is both urgent and important, too.
We all need dedicated time to do what we love, work on our passion projects, or decompress from the daily routine.
If it’s time to read, to blog, to take a bath,
whatever floats your goat,
make it a non-negotiable part of your Do-First List.
Not out of selfishness, but for the sake of balance.
If you’re in the habit of serving your family, your home, and others, AWESOME.
You are a good mama/wife/ roommate/citizen.
Avoid the horrible guilty feeling of mom burnout by recharging your proverbial batteries.
Ideal “you time” isn’t necessarily going to happen everyday, but consider what frequency would bring more balance to your life.
If you’re struggling to make self-care a priority,
maybe consider implementing a “Mama’s Evening to Herself” 1 day a week.
I used to really struggle with taking time for me
and viewed self-care as self-centered,
but I realized how much this helped everyone in the house.
My husband & kids deserve a the version of me who is refreshed, recharged, and happy.
I hope it goes without saying that I do too.
Getting started can be the hardest step!
Changing how you approach a project of any kind,
to-do list or otherwise,
makes the entire process more manageable.
[Still can’t shake the anxiety? Try these easy ways to find some relief!]
You got this! Let’s get stuff done!
Have you tried this method before? How do you tackle or manage your to-do list?