Latest / Overwhelmed Working Woman: Boost Productivity, Master Time Management, Overcome Overwhelm & Stop People Pleasing / #157| Why “Just Use a To-Do List” Is Terrible Advice for Productivity (Plus the Simple Skill to Use Instead)
Transcript
- 0:01Michelle Gauthier: Do you ever finish a day feeling exhausted, but then you look at your to-do list and there's still a ton of stuff on it?
- 0:07Michelle Gauthier: You're listening to Overwhelmed Working Woman, the podcast that helps you be more calm and more productive by doing less.
- 0:19Michelle Gauthier: I'm your host, Michelle Gauthier, a former overwhelmed working woman and current life coach.
- 0:24Michelle Gauthier: On this show, we unpack the stress and pressure that today's working woman experiences, and in each episode you'll get a strategy to bring more calm, ease and relaxation to your life.
- 0:36Michelle Gauthier: Hey friend, today we're going to be talking about why your to-do list isn't working, but not for the reason that you probably think.
- 0:46Michelle Gauthier: In this quick, hit Thursday episode, I'm going to teach you why your to-do list feels like it's failing you, even when you're getting things done, and you know you're working hard, what the mental load actually is and how it drains your energy without ever showing up on paper, and a simple 5-minute reset that will help you clear your mind and reclaim your focus.
- 1:08Michelle Gauthier: Let's dive in.
- 1:10Michelle Gauthier: So having a to-do list is great.
- 1:13Michelle Gauthier: I definitely recommend having a to-do list, and I've got many podcasts on how to be more productive and what to do with your to-dos and how to schedule them on your calendar, but sometimes it feels like you work all day long and there's not a lot of things checked off on that to do list.
- 1:29Michelle Gauthier: So then it feels like, well, this list isn't working or I'm not making the right amount of time.
- 1:34Michelle Gauthier: That's probably not the case and it's probably not because you're disorganized.
- 1:39Michelle Gauthier: It's probably because your to do list is missing so much of what you're actually doing.
- 1:45Michelle Gauthier: The mental load which is everything that you're managing that never gets written down, like remembering to get a graduation card and money and mail it to my friend's daughter.
- 1:57Michelle Gauthier: That's one that's been on my mental load and not on a to-do list everywhere, worrying about an awkward conversation you had, or thinking about a conversation that you're going to be having in the future.
- 2:07Michelle Gauthier: Writing an email while mentally thinking about what am I going to have for dinner, or making dinner while mentally writing an email could go either way.
- 2:16Michelle Gauthier: Keeping track of I don't know, like the dog's medication and the forms that I have to turn in already now, this summer, for my son to be able to run cross country next year.
- 2:27Michelle Gauthier: It's invisible, it's not on my to do list anywhere, but it's real and it can really be exhausting - exhausting in the brain sense.
- 2:35Michelle Gauthier: So if you feel tired but unproductive.
- 2:38Michelle Gauthier: It's not because you're lazy, it's probably because you're doing like a full day's work inside your head.
- 2:44Michelle Gauthier: The other thing that's always missing from the to-do list is you don't write on your to-do list attend seven meetings today.
- 2:50Michelle Gauthier: So I don't know about the type of job you have, but if I have seven clients in one day, the only thing that I'm going to be doing is seeing clients.
- 2:58Michelle Gauthier: I'm not going to get anything else done.
- 2:59Michelle Gauthier: So my to-do list might as well just I might as well keep my notebook closed that day, because the only thing I'm doing is seeing clients.
- 3:08Michelle Gauthier: So here's what I recommend that you do to just reset the way that you're thinking about it Before you dive into your to-do list.
- 3:16Michelle Gauthier: I've always heard it called a brain dump, but I recently heard it called a brain sweep, and I actually liked that a lot better.
- 3:21Michelle Gauthier: I don't know it's something about the term dump, that's just not that appealing sweep, and I actually like that a lot better.
- 3:25Michelle Gauthier: I don't know it's something about the term dump, that's just not that appealing.
- 3:27Michelle Gauthier: So take five minutes, grab a piece of paper, open a document and just write down everything that's crowding your mind.
- 3:31Michelle Gauthier: You don't have to organize it or filter it or make to do's from it.
- 3:35Michelle Gauthier: Just write it all out.
- 3:37Michelle Gauthier: A lot of times for me, these aren't to do things as much as worries.
- 3:42Michelle Gauthier: Every once in a while there'll be something like oh yeah, don't forget to call my dad, or whatever it is, but a lot of times it's just worries like what am I going to talk to Oliver about that college application?
- 3:53Michelle Gauthier: Or or does my daughter need another skirt before she has her first golf practice?
- 4:00Michelle Gauthier: Or whatever it might be.
- 4:02Michelle Gauthier: So I will just write down everything that's on my mind.
- 4:05Michelle Gauthier: Try this If you give yourself five minutes, you will exhaust everything that's in your brain.
- 4:11Michelle Gauthier: This tiny act of writing things down sounds small, but it can give you so much peace and a lot of times when I have worrisome thoughts like I'm not doing enough or I'm not spending enough time with my kids.
- 4:21Michelle Gauthier: When I see it written out on a piece of paper, I'm like actually I'm doing pretty good, like I don't have to worry too much about this.
- 4:28Michelle Gauthier: So there's something about the act of writing it down and just looking at it.
- 4:31Michelle Gauthier: Sometimes you'll grab a few things from it for your to do list, but most of the time it's just getting it out of your head so that you have clarity to do all the things that you need to do in the day.
- 4:42Michelle Gauthier: Okay, so point number one your to do list is great.
- 4:46Michelle Gauthier: There's probably not a problem with your to do list.
- 4:49Michelle Gauthier: It just doesn't contain everything that you're actually doing.
- 4:52Michelle Gauthier: To look at everything that you're doing, just start your day with a five minute brain sweep and then ask what do I really need to do?
- 4:59Michelle Gauthier: What deserves my time and energy today?
- 5:01Michelle Gauthier: And don't forget that all day long you're managing so many things in your head that never show up on your to-do list, and that is what's probably making you tired.
- 5:11Michelle Gauthier: If this episode helped you name something that's been quietly draining, you will.
- 5:16Michelle Gauthier: You send it to a friend who's probably juggling the same invisible workload aka every woman.
- 5:24Michelle Gauthier: I would love if you would share the podcast and if it was helpful to you and you don't mind taking minutes to write a rating or review.
- 5:30Michelle Gauthier: Actually, a rating takes one second.
- 5:32Michelle Gauthier: You just click on the number of stars.
- 5:34Michelle Gauthier: If you actually review, that probably would take a minute or two, but if you would do that, if you have enjoyed this episode or any episode on the podcast, I would so appreciate.
- 5:43Michelle Gauthier: It means so much to me when I get reviews.
- 5:45Michelle Gauthier: Thank you so much and have a great week.
- 5:48Michelle Gauthier: Thank you for listening to the Overwhelmed Working Woman podcast.
- 5:56Michelle Gauthier: If you want to learn more about my work, head over to my website at michellegauthiercom.
- 6:02Michelle Gauthier: See you next week.