The Real List You Need to End Overwhelm

"You are not your to do list.” ~Emma Matthews

Last week I was chit chatting with one of my clients and she just called it like it was; her to do list was overwhelming AF. There is so much she wants and needs to do, but then the weekend comes and she just needs to relax, drink her coffee, sit and rest. She's feeling like there is NEVER enough time to do anything.??

It's this brutal overwhelming reality that leaves us feeling like we aren't very together and has us wondering Why The Heck Does It Take So Long To Get Anything Done????

In our work together "A" has prioritized restorative activities that fill her up because she needs time to decompress. Don't we all!

"A" wasn't asking how to not do anything at all,?it was her curiosity around how to find?that middle ground where you take time to breathe (you know whitespace!!) and get a bit more stuff done.

ENTER: The Not-To-Do List

If you have a to-do list,?especially one that regenerates all on its own like mine, it is essential you have a Not-To-Do list.

It's even more important than your to-do list.?

As I plan each month, I have no shortage of ideas (and seemingly unlimited capacity to do them all) and in the past it felt painful to NOT put them on the list (if anything to not forget about them). So I did.

However, adding to the list was something I was doing all the time, and I was continuously adding to my own plate.?

Which is why I NEED my Not-To-Do list.

This is next level prioritization

You may have rock solid prioritization skills, know how distinguish important versus urgent, and set out a daily "top 3". Still, none of this really defies overwhelm, because these are systems based on doing.?

Which is why you need to figure out how to NOT do. By deciding what won't be done, you can keep overwhelm at bay.?

This system guards what's on the to-do list, ensuring?that no other task or activity will be entertained.

It's a giant stop sign for all new incoming things.

It's time to sharpen our Not Doing skills.

But what happens to all the things on the Not-To-Do list?

This is what makes the Not-To-Do list so genius.

The essence of the?Not-To-Do list is naming what?won't be done now.

Read that again: your No-To-Do list names what?will NOT get done now.

Maybe it will be done later, maybe it will be done next month or next year.?

And maybe it will be done by someone else.

Or maybe it will never be done.

But right now, it's not to be done.

This is the most self-respecting thing you can do.

Claim your attention and focus, then close the door on the rest.

Everything on the Not-To-Do list will still be there for you to do later. Trust that if it becomes priority, it will receive your full attention.

So decide now, that if and/or when overwhelm shows up, that you will head on over to your to-do list and move all that can and should wait (or be forever ignored) on to your?Not-To-Do?list.

Or just start now, and meander over to your to-do list and move ONLY what you'll do today on to your to-do list. Then rename the old list: Not-To-Do.?

It will feel tricky but you've got this.?

Because you're already doing enough.

Love what you're reading? Then I invite you to sign up for The Insider! Because here is what I know to be true; what you don’t need is another productivity system; you’re already doing enough. Purposeful women with oh-so-impressive success on the outside no longer need to feel exhausted on the inside. It’s time to subscribe to thriving within life and work. ?www.womenredefiningsuccess.com/the-insider