April 3, 2025 • 25 mins
New Listener? Start Here.
Tired of the clutter taking over? Let’s fix that—together.If you’ve ever looked around and thought, Where did all this stuff even come from?!, you’re not alone. Life gets busy, piles grow, and suddenly, the mess feels impossible to tackle.That’s where Clutter Clinic comes in. Think of it as a judgment-free reset—where we’ll tackle the chaos together and create simple, realistic systems that actually work for your life. No perfection required.Closets, kitchens, garages, that endless stack of paper you keep meaning to deal with—we’re covering it all with strategies that make organizing easier, doable, and (dare we say?) kinda fun.✨
Come join us and take back your space! → Grab your spot here.
Let’s be honest—most of us have a love-hate relationship with our to-do lists. One minute, they make us feel like we have our lives together, and the next, they’re an overwhelming scroll of things we should be doing but would rather ignore. Sound familiar?In this episode of This Organized Life, I’m breaking down how to transform your to-do list from a stress-inducing monster into a tool that actually works for you. I’ll walk you through five simple strategies to make your list more effective, realistic, and—dare I say—enjoyable? Plus, I’ll call out some of the most common to-do list mistakes (yes, I see you adding “make a to-do list” just to check something off).Whether you’re a busy parent juggling a million things or an entrepreneur trying to stay on top of it all, this episode is packed with practical tips to help you get stuff done without feeling overwhelmed.
Why You Should Listen:
✅ How to write tasks that are clear and actionable (no more vague “work on project” nonsense).
✅ Why prioritization is the secret sauce to a functional to-do list.
✅ The importance of being realistic with your time (because 27 tasks in one day? Not happening).
✅ How flexibility can actually make you more productive.
✅ The power of celebrating small wins—because progress is progress!
Loved this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a new one! If you found these tips helpful, share this episode with a friend who’s drowning in their to-do list too. And if you’re looking for more organization strategies, head over to simplyborganized.com for more resources!
Tired of the clutter taking over? Let’s fix that—together.If you’ve ever looked around and thought, Where did all this stuff even come from?!, you’re not alone. Life gets busy, piles grow, and suddenly, the mess feels impossible to tackle.That’s where Clutter Clinic comes in. Think of it as a judgment-free reset—where we’ll tackle the chaos together and create simple, realistic systems that actually work for your life. No perfection required.Closets, kitchens, garages, that endless stack of paper you keep meaning to deal with—we’re covering it all with strategies that make organizing easier, doable, and (dare we say?) kinda fun.✨
Come join us and take back your space! → Grab your spot here.
Let’s be honest—most of us have a love-hate relationship with our to-do lists. One minute, they make us feel like we have our lives together, and the next, they’re an overwhelming scroll of things we should be doing but would rather ignore. Sound familiar?In this episode of This Organized Life, I’m breaking down how to transform your to-do list from a stress-inducing monster into a tool that actually works for you. I’ll walk you through five simple strategies to make your list more effective, realistic, and—dare I say—enjoyable? Plus, I’ll call out some of the most common to-do list mistakes (yes, I see you adding “make a to-do list” just to check something off).Whether you’re a busy parent juggling a million things or an entrepreneur trying to stay on top of it all, this episode is packed with practical tips to help you get stuff done without feeling overwhelmed.
Why You Should Listen:
- You’re tired of rewriting the same unfinished tasks every week.
- You want to feel accomplished instead of guilty when you look at your list.
- You’re curious about the “Top Three Rule” and how it can simplify your day.
- You need some encouragement (and maybe a little tough love) to stop overloading your schedule.
✅ How to write tasks that are clear and actionable (no more vague “work on project” nonsense).
✅ Why prioritization is the secret sauce to a functional to-do list.
✅ The importance of being realistic with your time (because 27 tasks in one day? Not happening).
✅ How flexibility can actually make you more productive.
✅ The power of celebrating small wins—because progress is progress!
Loved this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a new one! If you found these tips helpful, share this episode with a friend who’s drowning in their to-do list too. And if you’re looking for more organization strategies, head over to simplyborganized.com for more resources!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to This Organized Life. If you're a mom, wife,
or coffee lover seeking advice on how to reduce clutter
and reclaim time, look no further than your host, Laurie Hellau,
Founder Simply Be Organized and author of hot Mess, a
practical guide to getting organized. For a lot of people,
clutter is their dirty little secret, but it doesn't have
to be. Each week we will share practical tips, chat
(00:22):
with experts, and provide strategies on how.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
To keep you organized. I hope that.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
By sharing our stories you feel a little less alone
and more empowered to tackle the areas that are holding
you back. So let's get started.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Hi everybody, and welcome to the episode of This Organized
Life podcast. I'm your host, Lord Palau. You're listening in
real time. We are officially in April, bringing here well
that is shining. Everything in Pennsylvania is fleeen, which I love.
(01:00):
Things are starting to bloom. We are coming out of
with things like an endless winter and I'm here for it.
But along with spring, Harry business, and especially for moms,
and yes, I am stereotyping here because as a mom,
myself and the large listenership of our people in our
(01:25):
community are moms. Even if you don't have littles at
FOAM anymore, you still carry that mental load that so
many mothers struggle with. And again doesn't mean that if
you're a dad that you don't have that and you
are busy, But the women that I talk to are
really overworked, overwhelmed, overscheduled, and they're just over it, to
(01:50):
be honest, And I feel you. Even though my kids
are blown the nest and I'm not in the weeds anymore,
I totally understand. And what I wanted to talk about
today was about to do list because many of us
present company included oftentimes feel like you are drowning in
(02:11):
all of the things that need to get done, whether
those things are personal for yourself like there's appointments, or
sufferate house like getting home maintenance stuff, or maybe this
stuff for your kids getting physical, taking them to be
outgrow their stuff. They have to go shopping, they have
(02:32):
to do all the different things that you right on
top of the everyday mundane like laundry and meals and
all the things. So I want to take a different
approach to to do with because some people, first of all,
I'm a fan, right like spoiler or people. I'm a
(02:54):
fan of what but there is believe it or not,
a I want to say right the wrong way, But
there's a productive way to utilize as to do list
versus a way that it actually increases the stress level.
So if you are somebody that has ever felt like
(03:15):
you are driving and your to do list, this is
the episode that you want to listen to. And if
you know somebody that might benefit from this, please do
them a favor and just click that chair button wherever
you're listening or watching. It costs you nothing, takes two seconds,
and I appreciate it, and I'm sure your friend will
appreciate it. So let's talk a little bit about why
(03:40):
to do listen and be a blessing. So, first of all,
I think for a lot of people, when you were younger,
you oftentimes kept things in your head, or when you
were single, you get things in your head. I was
always a list maker. I've talked about this before. I
just love making lists. But some people are like, oh
I could, but myself, there's a benefit to getting it
(04:02):
out of your head and onto paper. And I mean
that literally or figuratively, like you can get it onto
your computer, onto your phone, whatever, it is, but getting
it like brain dumping it, and so it's not you're
not relying on your memory to remember all the things.
The older we get, the more responsibilities we have, and
(04:25):
the harder it is to just remember all the things.
So why make your life harder? Get it, Get it
out on paper or somewhere where you can easily recruit. Again, Remember,
to any successful organizing system is the ease of retrieval.
How quickly can I find what I'm looking for when
(04:46):
I and in this case we're talking about information. What
are the things that I need to get done today?
How am I going to do so? Whether that is
in a planner or I use and I again, this
is th sponsor I use, which is the with the
Google with g suite or Google workplace and call it out,
(05:07):
but that's what I use, and it sinks. So I
love that, and that's what I use for my to
do again, endorsed by them. It's just what I do.
But I want to talk about the productive way to
do it and then the stress inducing way to have
to do with Okay, so let's just go through what
(05:29):
makes up for a productive to do list? Okay, a
productive to do lists five keypers Number one, it is
clear and actual shin numball. I can speak clear and actual.
So each task is specific and you know exactly what
to do to complete it. For example, let's say you
(05:52):
need to email something, so you say I need to
email Sarah about a podcast collaboration, or I need to
fall the doctor to fill out blah blah blah blah blah.
Verson just writing out work on podcasts or make phone
(06:12):
So the more specific you can get, the more clear
you are, the easier it is for you to know
what you're going to do. And I see this a lot,
and we talk about CHINGA. We'll talk about that when
people are like just work or I need to I
was having a conversation with a girlfriend of mine who's
in between jobs, and she's I have to get out
there a network. That's a that may be true, But
(06:37):
where I think people start to struggle is there's nothing
specific of it. So instead of her saying I need
to go out network, it would be I want to
go to or I need to go to this particular
networking event this time. So writing those things down, getting
(06:59):
very clear and actionable, that is the first thing. The
second thing about having a productive to do list is
prioritize and again this is there one of the biggest
sources of stress for people is knowing what to prioritize.
And really a whole separate episode can be on and
(07:22):
I've done them before on prioritizing the urgent versus the important.
A lot of times we focus in on the fire
that's in front of us, even if it's not the
most important. And what happens is when we just address
the squeaky reel and we don't address the important things,
they continue to get shoved down. And so making sure
(07:43):
that the important things that you need to do, things
that are time sensitive, things that have a bigger value
to you that maybe are the bottleneck for other things
that you need to get done, they are placed at
the top of your to do list. Don't just bury
them in the middle. And that comes from having that
running to do list where you put something into the
(08:05):
news cuta layered on top, layered on top. So we
want to make sure that we have your prioritize to
do list, and you can do that by creating your
top three. What I've talked about this before. We basically
assign the three non negotiable tasks per day, and these
tasks are separate from your everyday to show, bring your
(08:29):
kids around, doing the laundry, brood, shopping, make meals, all
that stuff that's separate. Your top three tests are the
things that you need to do too that are different
than the everyday stuff. Okay, the third thing, and again
this goes back to being realistic, is making sure that
(08:53):
you the amount of tasks that you put on your
to do list to accomplish in a day does not
exceed the amount of time you have to complete them.
What do I mean by that? Oftentimes people will put
on their all like a laundry list of things that
they want to get done or that they need to
(09:14):
get done, and I get it, these are things that
need to get done. However, the math doesn't always math,
and oftentimes we will quit things that are going to
require a certain amount of time that we just don't
have to do. And I make the analogy oftentimes about
looking at your calendar like a closet and you keep
(09:39):
shoving stuff in, and at some point you're shoving more
things on your to do list than you have space
in your closet to fit. And so you have to
really be mindful and realistic do I If I if
I have three hours worth of things on my to
do list and I have an hour to complete it,
I'm not going to be able to do it. So
don't set yourself up for really make sure that you're
(10:01):
being realistic with what you can accomplish in any given time.
And this for all my entrepreneur listeners out there. I'm
talking to you because entrepreneurs are notorious per se for
biting off more than they can show. And I say
this from personal experience, So we really have that honest,
(10:21):
come to Jesus conversation with what you can accomplish in
a given time. The fourth thing is being flexible. And
this is when I talk about creating margin in your day,
in your calendar. You want to have flexibility to things around,
for shifting priority and fimes. Things come up unexpectedly and
(10:43):
even though you had all these grand master plans to
do a D and C, something might go sideways and
derail you and you're going to need to pivot. And
so just have that open mind of flexibility. And certain
of my Anagram people, my Anagram ones in particular, not
(11:05):
only any gram ones, but I'm talking to you for sure,
even our anagram five. You like that dependability and flexibility
or having something those sideways can easily like derail your
mental state, and I want to just be like it's okay.
So having that notion of getting things a little fluid
(11:27):
so that they could move it out as me and
then just having the thing is to understanding like what
that what your goal is? What exactly is it that
you're going to feel accomplished so that you feel like
I'm productive As you complete these tasks, recognize that is
(11:49):
another rung on the ladder. You are getting much closer.
And it's the little things that you do create momentum.
So don't underestimate those little things that phone call that,
the unloading of the dishwasher, the email that you've been
procrastinating on Sunday, going through that stack of paper, whatever
(12:10):
that is, those little things they hope to eat and
reinforce to you that you are on a path of productivity.
And that has every time you can check something off
literally or figuratively, that building that muscle left. Now on
(12:31):
the blip side, let's talk about where sometimes people go
wrong when it comes to tell me about any of this.
Sounds like you have this one long running and I've
talked about this before. I have multiple to do lists
that are grouped by people. I get it on a
(12:52):
little cuckoo like I could be a little bit of extreme,
but I also know that in order for me to prioritize,
get stuff done and get overwhelmed myself, I need to
bucket the different things that I have to get done.
So I know when I'm prioritizing in my prioritizing personal stuff?
Am I prioritizing work stuff? Am I prioritizing philanthropy stuff?
(13:16):
Whether it is stuff that I'm doing with our community,
is it stuff that I'm doing with big baldrics. I
know which to do list to look at based on
what I'm wearing. So for you out there listening, look
at your work stuff, look at your own personal stuff,
look at stuff for your kids. What are the different
(13:37):
categories that you have? And that takes a little bit
of analysis on your end to really look at them
and say, how can I segment my to do list?
Because if you have this one long brain dump of everything,
then a focused plan that just leads to increased strafs
because you don't even know where to look for. Another
(13:57):
reason why sometimes needs to do less can get stressful
is because they are vague and unclear. Again, like I
said earlier, the tasks are too broad or they're just
the undefined for y'all out there. It could be like
organize the house today, and that's a pretty like where
(14:19):
do you go with that's pretty broad? Instead say today,
I'm going to declutter the jump today, I'm going to
go through my sheet. That is a specific. So again,
if you're stressed with your to do list and you
feel like it's not working for you, look and see
is it vague? And now the third thing is does
(14:40):
it prioritization? And this is a struggle for certain nigrand
types in particular are nine who struggle with prioritization. When
you look at everything with the same level of importance,
it's really hard to decide where to start. So you
are struggling with Dylan what needs to go first. Sometimes
(15:01):
getting talking it out with somebody is really helpful. I
tend to be somebody that is pretty decisive and analytical,
so that is part of my superpowers. But I understand
for a lot of people that whole concept of knowing
what to do first, especially when you have ten thousand
things seemingly on your to do list can be overwhelming.
(15:24):
So this is where it's super helpful to either talk
to a spouse that's not helpful in a situation, talk
to a friend, or call in the professional big guns
to help you say, these are all the things, and
I need to figure out what is the best way
to prioritize to keep them stable, and which leads me
(15:48):
into again the fourth thing, which is that unrealistic expectation
of thinking that you have more hours in a day
than you actually do, or you think that a task
is going to get completed quicker than it actually is,
especially when it comes to organizing and decluttering notoriously. And
(16:09):
I wish it weren't this way, but more often than not,
a project's going to take longer than I can't tell
you the amount of time I have had somebody call
me say, oh, I need help with this X, Y
and Z project, And it should just be like no
more than a couple of moore. And for somebody who
(16:31):
hasn't been fracticing, like working that muscle of decluttering and
organizing on a regular basis and navigating through that decision
making process, it often can take double up to double
what somebody is thinking about that, and so being realistic
is so important. And again a lot of times because
(16:52):
we don't really we are honest, either with ourselves or
we just don't truly know how long someone's going to take,
we're setting ourselves up for added stress and frustration because
we are thinking it's going to get done quicker than
it is, and when it doesn't, we start to feel
like war failure or it derails us for other things
that we have going on. And then the fifth reason
(17:14):
why you're to do list can be stressing you out
is because it never feels thinner when you have one
long list and you are onstaling. It's like constantly adding
new stuff in. It is like you are drinking from
the fire horse, wearing stuff in from the and it
is just coming out the bot doune. And so instead
(17:36):
of feeling accomplished, you feel behind. You feel fatigue, you
feel exhausted because stuff is coming on quicker, and if
you I'm dating myself obviously, but for those of you
who have ever watched like that old I love Lucy's
skit where you know they're eating the legs that are
(17:57):
coming down the conveyor a beoutry and she can't eat
them fast than they're coming down, right, So you think
about our stuff on that conveyor belt, and we can't
manufacture it fast, and so giving ourselves a little bit
of grace when it comes to saying we either need
to delegate and get some help with this, or we
(18:20):
need to readjust what I expectations. So that leads me
three things that we can do to fix maybe some
of these pits, and we've talked about them, but again
I'm going to break down. One of them is having
your top That is, I live by my top three.
I oftentimes have more things on there, but I know
(18:41):
at the end of the day, what are my top
three Today? My top three are recording this show. I
do work on a presentation for a talk that I'm
going to be doing to a group of realtors, and
I have to finish my talk on that, and I
have an appointment that I have to go to and
(19:03):
I need to do a little pep work for them.
And so those are the top three things. Now, if
I add extra time, there are about a dozen other
things that I could do today, but I'm not even
going to think about those things until I address those
top three that are most important, and how did I
(19:25):
choose those things time Like the time sensitivity was well,
I helped to do it. Like I know that I
have an episode that's that's going to be released on Thursday,
so I have to record. I know that I'm delivering
a presentation on a certain date, so I need to
have the I need to have my asset done beforehand.
(19:46):
And I know I have this appointment at a specific time,
and I have to do prep work so that I
come in prepare. So those are the kind of methodical
way that I work through how to prioriti And if
you're somebody that's struggling with them, then that's when it's
really helpful for you to talk to somebody else to
help you, because if you are not naturally wired like
(20:08):
that and you're struggling with that part of prioritization, there's
no reason maybe. So please know that top three rule
is really important, and that is what I always recommend
people start. The second thing is time blocking. We talked about.
I have a time blocking template in our free resources.
(20:30):
Time blocking is nearly a way for you to that's
your time so that you can do different things. There's
not one right way to time block I time block
every morning or I would say most mornings to address
personal things. So up until nine o'clock on some days
ten o'clock on other days, that's the time that I
(20:55):
make personal appointments, respond to personal emails, do stuff relating
to anything like charitable or other stuff that's non work relating.
And then come nine or ten o'clock, depending on the day,
I switch gears. And then I have a large chunk
of time that I am focused in on work, and
(21:15):
so personal stuff that comes through, I don't deal with
it then until three o'clock and then I switch gears again.
And so whatever that system looks like for you, time blocking,
and then I do a workout time block, and I
do a friend time block, and I do have all
different of my life and I look at them as
(21:37):
pieces of a puzzle that I'm putting together. So time blocking,
and if you need help with that, again, there are people,
whether it's myself, whether it's other people in your life,
get help with time blocking if that's an area that
you know that you struggle with. And then the third
thing is delegating and deleting. Are there things that you
have on your to do with that you just don't
(21:59):
even need to do either. Can somebody else do them?
Can you outsource it? Can you delegate that, can you
automate it instead of r into the stores? It's something
that you can order on mind to save you that
time back and forth. Or can if somebody else do
this said job so that you don't have to do it?
It pleads up your time to do the things that
are really important on your top three list. A lot
(22:22):
of times we do things just out of habit and routine,
but it doesn't mean that they're smart, doesn't mean that
it's a smart wise use of our time. And so
be honest with yourself and look at the things that
you're doing or that you're spending your time doing, and
saying is this efficient? Is this an efficient use of
my time? Is this something that I don't need to
(22:44):
be doing it all? If I am doing it? Like
why am I still doing? And those are just you
be surprised when you start to remove things from your
day that you no longer need to be doing. The
freedom that comes. So just had that honest conversation and
that's it. I think, ultimately, if I were to say
(23:07):
call that action in most people struggle with trying to
figure out what they can get done in any given time.
And the more this learning how to craft a to
do list that serves you versus rested you, the better
(23:27):
off you'll be, the more productive you'll be, the more
organized you'll be at the less cluttered you'll feel mentally,
and hopefully at less physical clutter will be in your
states as well. And if you need help with this,
let us know. Like I said, we've got some great
free resources on our website. We've got the time blocking
Temple that We've got a top three list things that
(23:49):
you can do on your own. And if you feel
like I am struggling and I need some outer accountability,
find somebody, whether it's higher a professional organizer, you can
reach out to us and see how we can help.
We've got again some digital offerings as well as some coaching,
and we can also connect you with an organizer in
(24:10):
your neck of the woods. Don't let your to do
list rule your life. You be in charge and be
the driver. So I hope this has been helpful guys.
I will be back next week with another episode. Until then,
I'm boyd wow us out. Thanks for tuning in. If
you like this episode, please spread the love and share
it with your friends. And if this is your first
time joining us, make sure to click the subscribe button
(24:33):
wherever you are listening so you never miss an episode.
And while you're there, please leave us a review so
other people know that our show is worth to listen.
You can also find us on YouTube and Instagram at
This Organized Life podcast, and if you'd like to connect
with us, you can head on over to our website
at simply the letter b like boyorganized dot com, which
is filled with tons of resources, including free downloads, checklists,
(24:55):
links to our amazing organizing partners, and all of our
digital offerings. I'll see you next week for another episode
of This Organized Life
Welcome to This Organized Life. If you're a mom, wife,
or coffee lover seeking advice on how to reduce clutter
and reclaim time, look no further than your host, Laurie Hellau,
Founder Simply Be Organized and author of hot Mess, a
practical guide to getting organized. For a lot of people,
clutter is their dirty little secret, but it doesn't have
to be. Each week we will share practical tips, chat
(00:22):
with experts, and provide strategies on how.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
To keep you organized. I hope that.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
By sharing our stories you feel a little less alone
and more empowered to tackle the areas that are holding
you back. So let's get started.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Hi everybody, and welcome to the episode of This Organized
Life podcast. I'm your host, Lord Palau. You're listening in
real time. We are officially in April, bringing here well
that is shining. Everything in Pennsylvania is fleeen, which I love.
(01:00):
Things are starting to bloom. We are coming out of
with things like an endless winter and I'm here for it.
But along with spring, Harry business, and especially for moms,
and yes, I am stereotyping here because as a mom,
myself and the large listenership of our people in our
(01:25):
community are moms. Even if you don't have littles at
FOAM anymore, you still carry that mental load that so
many mothers struggle with. And again doesn't mean that if
you're a dad that you don't have that and you
are busy, But the women that I talk to are
really overworked, overwhelmed, overscheduled, and they're just over it, to
(01:50):
be honest, And I feel you. Even though my kids
are blown the nest and I'm not in the weeds anymore,
I totally understand. And what I wanted to talk about
today was about to do list because many of us
present company included oftentimes feel like you are drowning in
(02:11):
all of the things that need to get done, whether
those things are personal for yourself like there's appointments, or
sufferate house like getting home maintenance stuff, or maybe this
stuff for your kids getting physical, taking them to be
outgrow their stuff. They have to go shopping, they have
(02:32):
to do all the different things that you right on
top of the everyday mundane like laundry and meals and
all the things. So I want to take a different
approach to to do with because some people, first of all,
I'm a fan, right like spoiler or people. I'm a
(02:54):
fan of what but there is believe it or not,
a I want to say right the wrong way, But
there's a productive way to utilize as to do list
versus a way that it actually increases the stress level.
So if you are somebody that has ever felt like
(03:15):
you are driving and your to do list, this is
the episode that you want to listen to. And if
you know somebody that might benefit from this, please do
them a favor and just click that chair button wherever
you're listening or watching. It costs you nothing, takes two seconds,
and I appreciate it, and I'm sure your friend will
appreciate it. So let's talk a little bit about why
(03:40):
to do listen and be a blessing. So, first of all,
I think for a lot of people, when you were younger,
you oftentimes kept things in your head, or when you
were single, you get things in your head. I was
always a list maker. I've talked about this before. I
just love making lists. But some people are like, oh
I could, but myself, there's a benefit to getting it
(04:02):
out of your head and onto paper. And I mean
that literally or figuratively, like you can get it onto
your computer, onto your phone, whatever, it is, but getting
it like brain dumping it, and so it's not you're
not relying on your memory to remember all the things.
The older we get, the more responsibilities we have, and
(04:25):
the harder it is to just remember all the things.
So why make your life harder? Get it, Get it
out on paper or somewhere where you can easily recruit. Again, Remember,
to any successful organizing system is the ease of retrieval.
How quickly can I find what I'm looking for when
(04:46):
I and in this case we're talking about information. What
are the things that I need to get done today?
How am I going to do so? Whether that is
in a planner or I use and I again, this
is th sponsor I use, which is the with the
Google with g suite or Google workplace and call it out,
(05:07):
but that's what I use, and it sinks. So I
love that, and that's what I use for my to
do again, endorsed by them. It's just what I do.
But I want to talk about the productive way to
do it and then the stress inducing way to have
to do with Okay, so let's just go through what
(05:29):
makes up for a productive to do list? Okay, a
productive to do lists five keypers Number one, it is
clear and actual shin numball. I can speak clear and actual.
So each task is specific and you know exactly what
to do to complete it. For example, let's say you
(05:52):
need to email something, so you say I need to
email Sarah about a podcast collaboration, or I need to
fall the doctor to fill out blah blah blah blah blah.
Verson just writing out work on podcasts or make phone
(06:12):
So the more specific you can get, the more clear
you are, the easier it is for you to know
what you're going to do. And I see this a lot,
and we talk about CHINGA. We'll talk about that when
people are like just work or I need to I
was having a conversation with a girlfriend of mine who's
in between jobs, and she's I have to get out
there a network. That's a that may be true, But
(06:37):
where I think people start to struggle is there's nothing
specific of it. So instead of her saying I need
to go out network, it would be I want to
go to or I need to go to this particular
networking event this time. So writing those things down, getting
(06:59):
very clear and actionable, that is the first thing. The
second thing about having a productive to do list is
prioritize and again this is there one of the biggest
sources of stress for people is knowing what to prioritize.
And really a whole separate episode can be on and
(07:22):
I've done them before on prioritizing the urgent versus the important.
A lot of times we focus in on the fire
that's in front of us, even if it's not the
most important. And what happens is when we just address
the squeaky reel and we don't address the important things,
they continue to get shoved down. And so making sure
(07:43):
that the important things that you need to do, things
that are time sensitive, things that have a bigger value
to you that maybe are the bottleneck for other things
that you need to get done, they are placed at
the top of your to do list. Don't just bury
them in the middle. And that comes from having that
running to do list where you put something into the
(08:05):
news cuta layered on top, layered on top. So we
want to make sure that we have your prioritize to
do list, and you can do that by creating your
top three. What I've talked about this before. We basically
assign the three non negotiable tasks per day, and these
tasks are separate from your everyday to show, bring your
(08:29):
kids around, doing the laundry, brood, shopping, make meals, all
that stuff that's separate. Your top three tests are the
things that you need to do too that are different
than the everyday stuff. Okay, the third thing, and again
this goes back to being realistic, is making sure that
(08:53):
you the amount of tasks that you put on your
to do list to accomplish in a day does not
exceed the amount of time you have to complete them.
What do I mean by that? Oftentimes people will put
on their all like a laundry list of things that
they want to get done or that they need to
(09:14):
get done, and I get it, these are things that
need to get done. However, the math doesn't always math,
and oftentimes we will quit things that are going to
require a certain amount of time that we just don't
have to do. And I make the analogy oftentimes about
looking at your calendar like a closet and you keep
(09:39):
shoving stuff in, and at some point you're shoving more
things on your to do list than you have space
in your closet to fit. And so you have to
really be mindful and realistic do I If I if
I have three hours worth of things on my to
do list and I have an hour to complete it,
I'm not going to be able to do it. So
don't set yourself up for really make sure that you're
(10:01):
being realistic with what you can accomplish in any given time.
And this for all my entrepreneur listeners out there. I'm
talking to you because entrepreneurs are notorious per se for
biting off more than they can show. And I say
this from personal experience, So we really have that honest,
(10:21):
come to Jesus conversation with what you can accomplish in
a given time. The fourth thing is being flexible. And
this is when I talk about creating margin in your day,
in your calendar. You want to have flexibility to things around,
for shifting priority and fimes. Things come up unexpectedly and
(10:43):
even though you had all these grand master plans to
do a D and C, something might go sideways and
derail you and you're going to need to pivot. And
so just have that open mind of flexibility. And certain
of my Anagram people, my Anagram ones in particular, not
(11:05):
only any gram ones, but I'm talking to you for sure,
even our anagram five. You like that dependability and flexibility
or having something those sideways can easily like derail your
mental state, and I want to just be like it's okay.
So having that notion of getting things a little fluid
(11:27):
so that they could move it out as me and
then just having the thing is to understanding like what
that what your goal is? What exactly is it that
you're going to feel accomplished so that you feel like
I'm productive As you complete these tasks, recognize that is
(11:49):
another rung on the ladder. You are getting much closer.
And it's the little things that you do create momentum.
So don't underestimate those little things that phone call that,
the unloading of the dishwasher, the email that you've been
procrastinating on Sunday, going through that stack of paper, whatever
(12:10):
that is, those little things they hope to eat and
reinforce to you that you are on a path of productivity.
And that has every time you can check something off
literally or figuratively, that building that muscle left. Now on
(12:31):
the blip side, let's talk about where sometimes people go
wrong when it comes to tell me about any of this.
Sounds like you have this one long running and I've
talked about this before. I have multiple to do lists
that are grouped by people. I get it on a
(12:52):
little cuckoo like I could be a little bit of extreme,
but I also know that in order for me to prioritize,
get stuff done and get overwhelmed myself, I need to
bucket the different things that I have to get done.
So I know when I'm prioritizing in my prioritizing personal stuff?
Am I prioritizing work stuff? Am I prioritizing philanthropy stuff?
(13:16):
Whether it is stuff that I'm doing with our community,
is it stuff that I'm doing with big baldrics. I
know which to do list to look at based on
what I'm wearing. So for you out there listening, look
at your work stuff, look at your own personal stuff,
look at stuff for your kids. What are the different
(13:37):
categories that you have? And that takes a little bit
of analysis on your end to really look at them
and say, how can I segment my to do list?
Because if you have this one long brain dump of everything,
then a focused plan that just leads to increased strafs
because you don't even know where to look for. Another
(13:57):
reason why sometimes needs to do less can get stressful
is because they are vague and unclear. Again, like I
said earlier, the tasks are too broad or they're just
the undefined for y'all out there. It could be like
organize the house today, and that's a pretty like where
(14:19):
do you go with that's pretty broad? Instead say today,
I'm going to declutter the jump today, I'm going to
go through my sheet. That is a specific. So again,
if you're stressed with your to do list and you
feel like it's not working for you, look and see
is it vague? And now the third thing is does
(14:40):
it prioritization? And this is a struggle for certain nigrand
types in particular are nine who struggle with prioritization. When
you look at everything with the same level of importance,
it's really hard to decide where to start. So you
are struggling with Dylan what needs to go first. Sometimes
(15:01):
getting talking it out with somebody is really helpful. I
tend to be somebody that is pretty decisive and analytical,
so that is part of my superpowers. But I understand
for a lot of people that whole concept of knowing
what to do first, especially when you have ten thousand
things seemingly on your to do list can be overwhelming.
(15:24):
So this is where it's super helpful to either talk
to a spouse that's not helpful in a situation, talk
to a friend, or call in the professional big guns
to help you say, these are all the things, and
I need to figure out what is the best way
to prioritize to keep them stable, and which leads me
(15:48):
into again the fourth thing, which is that unrealistic expectation
of thinking that you have more hours in a day
than you actually do, or you think that a task
is going to get completed quicker than it actually is,
especially when it comes to organizing and decluttering notoriously. And
(16:09):
I wish it weren't this way, but more often than not,
a project's going to take longer than I can't tell
you the amount of time I have had somebody call
me say, oh, I need help with this X, Y
and Z project, And it should just be like no
more than a couple of moore. And for somebody who
(16:31):
hasn't been fracticing, like working that muscle of decluttering and
organizing on a regular basis and navigating through that decision
making process, it often can take double up to double
what somebody is thinking about that, and so being realistic
is so important. And again a lot of times because
(16:52):
we don't really we are honest, either with ourselves or
we just don't truly know how long someone's going to take,
we're setting ourselves up for added stress and frustration because
we are thinking it's going to get done quicker than
it is, and when it doesn't, we start to feel
like war failure or it derails us for other things
that we have going on. And then the fifth reason
(17:14):
why you're to do list can be stressing you out
is because it never feels thinner when you have one
long list and you are onstaling. It's like constantly adding
new stuff in. It is like you are drinking from
the fire horse, wearing stuff in from the and it
is just coming out the bot doune. And so instead
(17:36):
of feeling accomplished, you feel behind. You feel fatigue, you
feel exhausted because stuff is coming on quicker, and if
you I'm dating myself obviously, but for those of you
who have ever watched like that old I love Lucy's
skit where you know they're eating the legs that are
(17:57):
coming down the conveyor a beoutry and she can't eat
them fast than they're coming down, right, So you think
about our stuff on that conveyor belt, and we can't
manufacture it fast, and so giving ourselves a little bit
of grace when it comes to saying we either need
to delegate and get some help with this, or we
(18:20):
need to readjust what I expectations. So that leads me
three things that we can do to fix maybe some
of these pits, and we've talked about them, but again
I'm going to break down. One of them is having
your top That is, I live by my top three.
I oftentimes have more things on there, but I know
(18:41):
at the end of the day, what are my top
three Today? My top three are recording this show. I
do work on a presentation for a talk that I'm
going to be doing to a group of realtors, and
I have to finish my talk on that, and I
have an appointment that I have to go to and
(19:03):
I need to do a little pep work for them.
And so those are the top three things. Now, if
I add extra time, there are about a dozen other
things that I could do today, but I'm not even
going to think about those things until I address those
top three that are most important, and how did I
(19:25):
choose those things time Like the time sensitivity was well,
I helped to do it. Like I know that I
have an episode that's that's going to be released on Thursday,
so I have to record. I know that I'm delivering
a presentation on a certain date, so I need to
have the I need to have my asset done beforehand.
(19:46):
And I know I have this appointment at a specific time,
and I have to do prep work so that I
come in prepare. So those are the kind of methodical
way that I work through how to prioriti And if
you're somebody that's struggling with them, then that's when it's
really helpful for you to talk to somebody else to
help you, because if you are not naturally wired like
(20:08):
that and you're struggling with that part of prioritization, there's
no reason maybe. So please know that top three rule
is really important, and that is what I always recommend
people start. The second thing is time blocking. We talked about.
I have a time blocking template in our free resources.
(20:30):
Time blocking is nearly a way for you to that's
your time so that you can do different things. There's
not one right way to time block I time block
every morning or I would say most mornings to address
personal things. So up until nine o'clock on some days
ten o'clock on other days, that's the time that I
(20:55):
make personal appointments, respond to personal emails, do stuff relating
to anything like charitable or other stuff that's non work relating.
And then come nine or ten o'clock, depending on the day,
I switch gears. And then I have a large chunk
of time that I am focused in on work, and
(21:15):
so personal stuff that comes through, I don't deal with
it then until three o'clock and then I switch gears again.
And so whatever that system looks like for you, time blocking,
and then I do a workout time block, and I
do a friend time block, and I do have all
different of my life and I look at them as
(21:37):
pieces of a puzzle that I'm putting together. So time blocking,
and if you need help with that, again, there are people,
whether it's myself, whether it's other people in your life,
get help with time blocking if that's an area that
you know that you struggle with. And then the third
thing is delegating and deleting. Are there things that you
have on your to do with that you just don't
(21:59):
even need to do either. Can somebody else do them?
Can you outsource it? Can you delegate that, can you
automate it instead of r into the stores? It's something
that you can order on mind to save you that
time back and forth. Or can if somebody else do
this said job so that you don't have to do it?
It pleads up your time to do the things that
are really important on your top three list. A lot
(22:22):
of times we do things just out of habit and routine,
but it doesn't mean that they're smart, doesn't mean that
it's a smart wise use of our time. And so
be honest with yourself and look at the things that
you're doing or that you're spending your time doing, and
saying is this efficient? Is this an efficient use of
my time? Is this something that I don't need to
(22:44):
be doing it all? If I am doing it? Like
why am I still doing? And those are just you
be surprised when you start to remove things from your
day that you no longer need to be doing. The
freedom that comes. So just had that honest conversation and
that's it. I think, ultimately, if I were to say
(23:07):
call that action in most people struggle with trying to
figure out what they can get done in any given time.
And the more this learning how to craft a to
do list that serves you versus rested you, the better
(23:27):
off you'll be, the more productive you'll be, the more
organized you'll be at the less cluttered you'll feel mentally,
and hopefully at less physical clutter will be in your
states as well. And if you need help with this,
let us know. Like I said, we've got some great
free resources on our website. We've got the time blocking
Temple that We've got a top three list things that
(23:49):
you can do on your own. And if you feel
like I am struggling and I need some outer accountability,
find somebody, whether it's higher a professional organizer, you can
reach out to us and see how we can help.
We've got again some digital offerings as well as some coaching,
and we can also connect you with an organizer in
(24:10):
your neck of the woods. Don't let your to do
list rule your life. You be in charge and be
the driver. So I hope this has been helpful guys.
I will be back next week with another episode. Until then,
I'm boyd wow us out. Thanks for tuning in. If
you like this episode, please spread the love and share
it with your friends. And if this is your first
time joining us, make sure to click the subscribe button
(24:33):
wherever you are listening so you never miss an episode.
And while you're there, please leave us a review so
other people know that our show is worth to listen.
You can also find us on YouTube and Instagram at
This Organized Life podcast, and if you'd like to connect
with us, you can head on over to our website
at simply the letter b like boyorganized dot com, which
is filled with tons of resources, including free downloads, checklists,
(24:55):
links to our amazing organizing partners, and all of our
digital offerings. I'll see you next week for another episode
of This Organized Life
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