Overwhelmed Working Woman: Boost Productivity, Master Time Management, Overcome Overwhelm & Stop People Pleasing
Overwhelmed Working Woman is a podcast for accomplished women who want to feel more calm, in control, and focused without adding more to their already full plate.
This top 2% podcast is hosted by Michelle Gauthier, who has over 7 years of experience coaching hundreds of overwhelmed working women.
Each episode offers simple, practical strategies to help you reduce overwhelm, improve productivity, and stop people pleasing. You’ll learn surprising time management hacks, how to do less without guilt, and why the path to calm begins with changing how you think.
If you're ready to reclaim your energy, focus, and peace of mind you’re in the right place. Start with listener favorite: “The Power of a To-Don’t List.”
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): Overwhelm, Productivity, Time Management & People Pleasing
Do you end every day exhausted, yet still feel like you’ve accomplished nothing?
If your to-do list never seems to reflect how hard you’re working, you’re not alone. This episode reveals why the endless mental load women carry drains energy—even when it never appears on paper.
In this episode, you will:
- Discover why your to-do list feels useless even when you’re checking things off
- Learn a quick 5-minute brain sweep to clear mental clutter and reclaim focus
- Understand how naming invisible tasks can bring instant calm and clarity
Listen now to finally free your mind, lighten your mental load, and make your to-do list feel meaningful again.
Wondering why you're overwhelmed? Take my "why am I overwhelmed" quiz to find out the source of your overwhelm, and what to do about it.
Send Me a Message - Have a question, comment, or just want to say hi? Message me here, I'd love to chat!
Work With Me - Interested in working with me 1-on-1, taking a class, or joining one of my coaching groups? Message me here to get the scoop.
Want More? - If you love the content of this podcast, you'll love our Simple Sunday newsletter too. When you sign up, you’ll receive a simple dose of inspiration, practical tips, and a little fun—designed to help you start your week with simplicity and intention. Sign up here
Life can be overwhelming, but on this podcast, you'll discover practical strategies to overcome overwhelm, imposter syndrome, and negative self-talk, manage time effectively, set boundaries, and stay productive in high-stress jobs—all while learning how to say no and prioritize self-care on the Overwhelmed Worki...
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? You're listening to Overwhelmed Working Woman, the podcast that helps you be more calm and more productive by doing less. I'm your host, Michelle Gauthier, a former overwhelmed working woman and current life coach. 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. 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. 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. Let's dive in. So having a to-do list is great. 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. So then it feels like, well, this list isn't working or I'm not making the right amount of time. That's probably not the case and it's probably not because you're disorganized. It's probably because your to do list is missing so much of what you're actually doing. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. So if you feel tired but unproductive. It's not because you're lazy, it's probably because you're doing like a full day's work inside your head. 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. 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. I'm not going to get anything else done. 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. 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.
Michelle 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. 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. I don't know it's something about the term dump, that's just not that appealing. So take five minutes, grab a piece of paper, open a document and just write down everything that's crowding your mind. You don't have to organize it or filter it or make to do's from it. Just write it all out.
Michelle Gauthier:A lot of times for me, these aren't to do things as much as worries. 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? Or or does my daughter need another skirt before she has her first golf practice? Or whatever it might be. So I will just write down everything that's on my mind. Try this If you give yourself five minutes, you will exhaust everything that's in your brain.
Michelle 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. 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. So there's something about the act of writing it down and just looking at it. 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. Okay, so point number one your to do list is great. There's probably not a problem with your to do list. It just doesn't contain everything that you're actually doing.
Michelle 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? What deserves my time and energy today? 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. If this episode helped you name something that's been quietly draining, you will. You send it to a friend who's probably juggling the same invisible workload aka every woman.
Michelle 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. Actually, a rating takes one second. You just click on the number of stars. 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. It means so much to me when I get reviews. Thank you so much and have a great week. Thank you for listening to the Overwhelmed Working Woman podcast. If you want to learn more about my work, head over to my website at michellegauthiercom. See you next week.
