#244| Why Organizing Your Tasks Won’t Reduce Overwhelm (And What Actually Will): Overwhelm, Productivity, Time Management & People Pleasing

What if your overwhelm isn’t coming from big projects—but from the tiny tasks you keep avoiding?

If your to-do list feels endless and your brain never seems to shut off, the real problem might be the small, unfinished tasks constantly pulling at your attention. Every time you delay something quick—like replying to an email or scheduling an appointment—you’re reopening that mental loop again and again, adding unnecessary stress and mental clutter.

In this episode, you will:

•  Learn why small, incomplete tasks create more overwhelm than you realize 
•  Discover the simple two-minute rule that helps you take immediate control of your time 
•  Create instant mental clarity by closing open loops and building momentum throughout your day 

Press play to learn how a simple two-minute habit can quickly clear your mind and help you feel calmer and more productive today.

Featured on the podcast
Getting Things Done by David Allen

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. 

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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...

Transcript

Welcome And What You Will Learn

Michelle Gauthier 0:00

You're not doing the task just the one time, you're thinking about it five times. You're listening to Overwhelmed Working Woman, the podcast that helps you be more calm and more productive by doing less.

Michelle Gauthier 0:16

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.

Michelle Gauthier 0:35

Hi, friend. Thanks for joining. On this quick Thursday episode, I am going to teach you a tip that you can do in two minutes or less that will help you reduce your overwhelm. It's a simple rule and it can really change and shift the way that you're feeling. Today you're going to learn why small tasks are actually sometimes the thing creating overwhelm. It's not always the big projects, but the hidden reason that your to-do list feels so heavy and long, and how this two-minute rule can help you feel immediate

Why Small Tasks Feel So Heavy

Michelle Gauthier 1:04

relief. I think sometimes we have the assumption, or I do anyway, that big projects and big things create overwhelm. And sometimes that's true, but often it is the constant presence of little tiny unfinished things that make us feel stressed. And let me explain what I mean by that. Let's say there's an email in your inbox and you've opened it like three times and thought about it but haven't replied to it, or that appointment that you need to schedule, but you just keep putting it off. Someone was just telling me the other day that they've been meaning to schedule their mammogram for like six months. The form or paper sitting on your counter that needs a signature, or that mess that you just keep walking by. The reason why these feel overwhelming is because it's like keeping a tab open when you haven't done the thing. So for example, if you need to schedule something like a mammogram and you're thinking about it for six months, how much time do you think you have spent having that come to mind and thinking, oh, I need to do that and maybe set an alarm to do it and not doing it, imagine how much time that takes up. And then when you think about that and add in that email you haven't replied to, the form or paper sitting on your counter that needs a signature, that little mess that you keep walking by without cleaning it up, it takes up so much time in our brain every time we have to see it again, think about it again, and then decide what to do about it again. It just continues to ask continues to add to our mental load. So you're not doing the task just the one time, you're thinking about it five times. Every time you touch something, like if you have a task that you wrote down for today and you move it tomorrow, and then tomorrow you move it to next week, every single time you're rereading it, redeciding, and thinking about it. And this really simple rule can create instant momentum and help you start checking off those small things that are just hanging around, getting on your nerves and distracting you from the big things that you really want to focus on.

The Two-Minute Rule Explained

Michelle Gauthier 2:56

This is a concept from a book called Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity by David Allen. And in that book, he talks about something called the two-minute rule. And it's just like it sounds if something takes less than two minutes, just do it immediately. Don't write it down on your to-do list, don't organize it or plan a time to look back at it. Just do it. Send the quick email instead of saving it for later. If you're checking your emails and someone asks you a quick question that you can immediately respond to, do it. Open your calendar and schedule that appointment. Pick up your phone and make that call and reply to that text as soon as you think about it. And when you do this, a couple things start to happen. Your to-do list, especially the one in your head, gets lighter and your brain can just be more quiet because it's not carrying around all of those open tabs, so to speak, because you just close the loop.

Tiny Resets That Calm Your Brain

Michelle Gauthier 3:45

Something that I have a really bad habit of doing, I'm always moving on to the next thing and I don't even notice that I'm doing it. If I take off my workout clothes, get in the shower, get out and get dressed, I am very likely to leave my workout clothes on the floor of the bathroom. And when I come back to the room later, I'm like, oh, that's so annoying. Or I will leave cabinet doors open, or I'll not finish my coffee, but just leave it on my desk. And if I find that I get in the habit of doing this two-minute thing and I focus on, wait, what can I quickly finish so I don't ever have to think about this again? Let me clear my coffee. Let me pick up my clothes off the floor, let me close that cabinet door. It just makes my brain feel so much calmer. And if you're already doing that, if you're the kind of person who just closes the cabinet after you open it, kudos to you. I don't know how you do it. Definitely not my strong suit. Once you start doing this and you do a couple of them in

Email Routine Using Two Minutes

Michelle Gauthier 4:38

a row, you really start to feel momentum instead of pressure. I've probably shared this with you guys already on the podcast, but I check my email just a few times a day. And when I check my email, I apply this concept and I just quickly go through. And if there are things that are going to take me a while, then I mark them as important. I reply immediately to those that I can reply to in the moment. And then I delete. I don't think I'm going to come back and delete these later. I delete those immediately. So if you cruise through your inbox a couple times a day and do that, and then set aside some time later in the week or whenever you want to do it to answer the ones that take more time, then you're consistently applying this two-minute rule and your inbox does not become overwhelming.

Quick Challenge And Closing

Michelle Gauthier 5:19

So instead of organizing your list today, just scan it and try to finish anything that takes less than two minutes. That is my quick and easy Thursday tip for you. I hope you have a great day, and I hope you take two minutes to do something really quick so that you can feel productive. 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 MichelleGauthier.com. See you next week.