Your To-Do List Isn’t the Problem (This Tiny Tweak Changes Everything) | 99

If your to-do list is stressing you out, you’re not the problem → your system is.

In this week’s episode, we’re diving into why traditional to-do lists don’t work and what you should be doing instead. 

I’ll walk you through how to turn that never-ending, chaotic to-do list into a structured system that’s actually designed to support your business (and your life). 

We’re talking about proactive task management, organizing your tasks with intention, and building task flows that give you more control.

What you’ll learn:

• Why your to-do list might be making things worse
• The real reason your task list feels overwhelming
• How proactive planning can transform your productivity
• The difference between managing tasks vs. surviving them
• How to create a task flow that works with your business, not against it

If you’re constantly overwhelmed by your to-do list and feel like no matter how hard you work, you’re always behind, this episode is for you. Let’s make your to-do list feel doable again. 🙌🏼

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Show Notes: https://cheerstoproductivity.com/podcast/ 

Transcript

0:00

Hey, I'm Lucy Reyes, your host of the Cheerful Productive Chats Podcast, where I'm on a mission to help online entrepreneurs that like you focus on all the right things and kiss overwhelmed goodbye. Here, you're going to learn strategies that will boost your productivity so that you can scale your online biz and impact lives sooner. It's your time to shine. So let's get started Hey, Hey, welcome back to the cheerful brother. The chat spot, because I am excited about this episode, the Wayfield. I feel like things are going to get a little bit spicy because yeah, we're going to get real. And I might call you out on some of the things that you might be doing, and it might hurt a little bit and I'm sorry, but you know, it has to be said, it has to be said. So in the last episode we covered. The different ways that you can get more done without doing more. You can save time and not lead to burnout. And we talked about, you know, that never ending to do list, which yes, even myself, I struggle with it at times. So in this episode, we're actually going to dive a little bit deeper into this to-do list. Problem. Because it's not really the to-do list. That's the problem is how you're managing the to-do list. So we're going to dive back in, but if you're new to this podcast, Uh, Hey, hello. I'm a Lucy at, we're going to dive in and talk about. All of the ways that you can get more productive using very intentional strategies to fit your specific lifestyle, your business. Because I don't really agree with everything that is out there, but all of the different ways. To get productive. I don't think that there is a one specific productivity strategy that's going to work for you. I think you have to customize and do a mix of, uh, different strategies to ensure that you are being productive and you're still getting rest. You're still practicing self care. And you're still running an efficient business that doesn't burn yourself to the ground. So if that's what you're all about, then go ahead and make sure that you follow the podcast. That way you can stay tuned. All right now, This episode. We're going to focus on the fact that overwhelm. Does it. Actually always come from the number of tasks you have. Yeah, I know. I know. I know he looking at your to-do list, even that in itself gets overwhelming. However. It becomes overwhelming because it is specifically one super long to do list. And it's not categorized. It's not in a specific order. There's no real system behind it. Besides you just writing it down. List after list or, or a task after task. So this overwhelmed feeling that you get from looking at your to-do list and how long it is. Actually comes from the fact that that to-do list is not organized. And it's the task on that to-do list. Aren't being managed very well. So. We want to really help you go from feeling buried in your task. To feel empowered and in control. With your to-do list. So that's what we're going to cover in this episode. So let's start with. The problem with these traditional to-do list. And let me say that I have always been, or I always used to be. A paper planner girl, where I had my day. You know, the day of the, that I was working on. And then I just had the list of the tasks on my favorite planner. And that worked for a long time. I worked when I was in school, when I was in college. And up until I had a business, because now there's so many hats that we're wearing. And then it stopped it failed. It's not working. And the reason is because one. These to-do lists are very reactive. You think of something and then you write it down, you think of something else, and then you add that to the to-do list. And a lot of time you're adding to the to-do list or that. That task to the same day or the same week. And there's not really a lot of thought or effort put into this. You're just adding it to the list. So it's a very, it's a very reactive thing. You're not being proactive about this to-do list. So your tasks end up sitting there without any clear plan for when, where, or how you're actually going to get them done within the time that you have. Amongst all of the other things that are already waiting for you to get them done. So this number, this overwhelming number of tasks can really feel like you're just always playing a catch-up. And so what you want to do, if you are struggling with this, a massive to do list is to really break that task down into smaller, more manageable sections. And to prioritize them based on deadlines or importance. And especially when you are planning your week. You want to make sure that the tasks that you're putting into your weekly planner, whether it's digital or paper, that you are being super specific with what that task includes. So if you do want to dive deeper into how I plan my week, especially using Trello, then there's going to be a link in the show notes that sends you to my weekly planning and S and Trello training and the Trello board template. But like I said, at least a breakdown that task into smaller manageable things and then prioritize them. That's what you need to do. If you do currently have does a super long to-do list. Okay, so let's talk, let's talk a little bit more about this reactive versus proactive. In your to-do list and your task management. reactive task management is pretty much when you're running around and putting out fires as a task pop up, which just leads to stress and inefficiency. So if you feel like you are constantly putting out fires, that is a very common saying, especially for business owners, because yeah, things always come up. There's going to be things that come up in your life and in your business that are going to be like, you know, it's creating more chaos. And now you're in this cycle of just trying to put out those fires and just trying to survive and just trying to get the things done instead of you being the one in control. So you feel like your tasks are the ones that are controlling you versus the other way around. And that's why we love having a proactive task management. weigh your system because what this does, it's when you set up these systems to handle tasks, before they pile up, you've already put, thought into it. You already know what tasks could potentially come up. You already have a plan, you have a backup plan. You, you know, What things could or will arise without you having to wait until they happen. For example. Whenever you are working on a new, creating a new digital product they use as example, a lot, you are creating a new. Course let's say you're creating a new course. And you you're working on this course, right? This is reactive task management. You start on the course and then you're like, oh, okay. Yeah. Now I need to create the course lessons. Oh crap. But before I create the course lessons, I need to go back and I should probably do some research on this. Okay. Do the research now you're going back to creating the lesson. Oh yeah. I forgot. I also need to create the graphics for the course. Or, oh yeah. I also should record the video. Oh. When I record the video, I need to edit it. So now you're kind of in this reactive mode versus if you had done proactive task management. You would already know, like, okay, I need to create this course, but what this course, what does creating a course include? Okay. And means I have to record lessons. It means that when I record those lessons, I have to edit. I have to. Edit the transcript. I have to upload it to my hosting platform. I then have to take the embed code and put it into my course platform. You've already done this work ahead of time. You already know what is going to include. So when you actually, when it's actually time to do it, You already know. You already know what all is going to include. So this is when you are setting up those systems to handle the task, to let you know what the tasks are going to be. Before you just start remembering them in your head and you're like, oh yeah, I have to go back. And I do this. Oh my gosh, I forgot. Oh, no, I over-scheduled because I forgot I had to do this thing. so if you. Already have some task flows in place. If you already have some ways to track your tasks and all of the things involved, but one way to get around this is to go ahead and think about what you want to get done the night before or first thing in the morning before the week starts. Perferably I love planning for the week. the day to day is. It's a bit an efficient, because when you plan day by day, you're kind of just dragging on everything you didn't do today into the next day. But when you're doing a week at a time, then you're already being proactive and planning for the entire week. So I want you to plan the night or day before. First thing in the morning. Organize your tasks by what must get done first, and then leave some room for flexibility and also know what those specific tasks include from your proactive task management approach, which was already knowing that if you're going to be working on creating a course this entire week, Then you know that on Monday, the first thing you need to do is record the lessons. Maybe day two on Tuesday is to go through and edit the transcripts and then create the course lesson description or whatever it is. So you plan it all out and you already know what all of those different tasks are. This proactive task management approach really leads to a clear. And more, a clearer mind and more focus. So I talked about. This concept of task flows. I talked about it in the previous episode. And so what a task flow system is because that is what is going to help you have this proactive task management approach. Is by having the strategic, simple and detailed task flows. And so what this is, it's a type of system. That helps you move tasks through your day with purpose without overwhelming yourself. It's really like the next level of your to-do list because not only is it just one super long list of what you have to get done, but it's a very actionable in organized series of steps. So yes, that one, this organized to do list you're essentially turning it into one or multiple task flows that are. Actionable they're organized. They're in the proper order, they're broken down into even smaller steps. And so now you get the bigger picture of what the project that you need to get done involves. So tassels really help you take this. Super long and messy to do list. To the next level. And helps you be more proactive when you're trying to start any project or task. So what I want you to do is take a current project that you have and break it down into a task flow with clear stages. So I want you to think about what needs to happen first, what needs to happen next and what could be delegated or automated? Just like we talked about in the last episode, what can be batched again, go back and listen to the last episode. If you're not sure what I'm talking. About. So what needs to be prioritized when needs to be batched or what could be batched? What could be outsourced, delegated or automated? This is the example that I gave of creating a digital course, right. That is the project. And then you want to break it down into even smaller steps of what needs to happen. And when this happens, what else will need to happen? You're being very intentional about sitting down and taking a moment to think through what is going to come next. And then you set that up. You make it a task flow for yourself that you can reuse over and over and over again for that specific task or project. Okay. So if you have a current project, that's came to your mind that you're like, oh yeah, I should probably, I, this resonated, there's something that always comes to mind where I'm like, oh yeah, I forgot to do this. Or I forgot to do that. Go ahead and turn it into a task though, is going to make your life so much easier. And the bonus is that it makes it so much easier to also plan out your week as well. So I do have a course that helps you with getting your task flows created. So if you are ready to stuff, feeling behind and start moving through your tasks with ease. Tassel magic. We'll show you how to set up these systems so that way they work for your brain and your business, and specifically for your tasks, for the tasks and projects that you want to get done. And turn it into a repeatable process for every single project that you work on in your business. So the link is in the show notes. If you want to check that out. But the whole goal here that I at least want you to walk away from or with is. Shifting from this reactive approach of thinking about a new task and then just adding it to your, to do list. To this more proactive approach where before you're actually getting started on the task or project you're already know, you're already thinking ahead of what potentially could come up. What could arise. What would need to get done if you get this task done for this bigger project? Just shifting from this reactive to proactive task management approach. And these making these small changes in your systems can help you feel and be more in control with your tasks. So make that change. It's a simple mindset shift. that you can start implementing, even if it's with baby steps and it doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't have to, you know, you don't have to change your entire business structure, just even this small little change, a small shift in mindset can help you so, so much. So go ahead and do that. Let me know how this resonated. And I will be back next week for the hundredth episode. Oh my goodness. I. I'm so excited. I can't believe it's going to be a hundred episodes. I have no idea what the episode's going to be yet. I think I want it to be a special one. But I don't know. I just know I'm excited for it. I finally have reached a hundred episodes that is wild. So be sure to tune back next week, follow the episodes to follow the podcast. If you're not yet. And I will talk to you. And next week on the hundredth episode, all right, my friend. Thank you so much for listening to the Cheerful Productive Chats Podcast with me, Lucy Reyes.To view the full transcript and all the links mentioned in today's episode, visit cheerstoproductivity.com/podcast. And before you go up, make sure you follow or subscribe wherever you're listening so that you know once the next productive chat is released. Talk soon and cheers to your productivity and success