Avoiding To-Do List Burnout

A list can really be helpful in keeping one focused. To-do lists are my lifeline because it is easy to get distracted when you run a business, work a part time job and have a family. I want to recognize that not everyone likes a to-do list. In addition, many of us are burnt out by our to-do list. How can we use a to-do list without it causing fatigue, anxiousness, disinterest or burn out?

Let’s think about where these emotions came from:

1. From childhood, the list was left out by your parents to remind you of the chores they expected to be done. 
2. From someone else creating a list for you based on what they want you to do. This could be a spouse or boss.
3. From yourself in an effort to be more productive 

These seem to be pretty common areas so let’s take a deeper look. 

1. Bad feelings from childhood
   • The task list is associated with your parents keeping you from doing something you want to do.
   • Ex: before you go anywhere, you need to do x, y and z.
2. The acquired list
   • Having a list of things that are more important to someone else than you can really be a struggle to complete. Being connected to the items on a list of tasks is important.
3. The super list
   • In an effort to be productive, you created a list of any and all tasks. There are more tasks on this list than hours in the day. As you begin working on the list, it feels impossible. Shortly after, the list falls by the wayside never to be completed. 

Thinking of the three areas, it is no surprise the to-do list brings on overwhelming feelings which in turn lead to burn out. 

How can we avoid the burn out, create a list and get stuff done that is on the list?

It starts with you and your priorities for the day, week, month or year. If you only wish to do a daily list, that is fine. If you want an overview down to the nitty gritty as in yearly to the daily, that’s fine too.  Remember, these are the tasks you have determined to be of importance to you. Getting in a daily workout is not likely to be important to anyone else but you. This is what a to-do list should reflect. 

Let’s see what this needs to look like:

1. Pick only your 3 priorities for your list. By the way, this works for the big picture(yearly) list as well. 
2. Your list should have the 3 priorities along with any and all steps needed to complete them. Ex: make a doctor appointment. What also should be written down to go along with this task is the phone number or website and make sure to have your calendar handy when you make the appointment. This is the one thing that took my to-do list to DONE! Sometimes all of the extra steps can take up more time than you realize. 
   • Ex: take back a return
     • This is  stumbling block for a lot of people. People drive away with this stuff in the back of their car until they are no longer able to return it and send it for donation.
     • For our example, you would need to contact the store, get a return label, know where the closest return place would be. Once you have done this, celebrate your success!!!
3. Once the 3 priorities are completed then add another task. This can be for someone else or yourself. Some days it’s easier to be productive than others!!

If you are struggling to complete your three tasks, take it down to two tasks of high priority to you.  It is possible that the task you chose needed more time than you initially thought.

There you have it, all the strategies to think about your to-do list in a whole different way. Be patient as you begin working your list in this manner. Recognize, things will come up but the majority of the time you will work with your list as described.