Simplify Your To-Do List

Lia Hobel wrote an amazing post for Charleston Moms Blog called “Retiring the Relentless To-Do List.” She wrote about how liberated she felt after she gave up trying to do it all, day in and day out. Unfortunately, the dollar spot at Target makes cute little to-do list notepads that make me want to write down all the things and cross them out with abandon while guzzling rosé from a Solo cup. (By the way, in this particular fantasy, my children are in bed on time and my husband is rubbing my feet.)

The thing is, stuff has to get done, but we need to do it with self-compassion. Just because the notepad has room for twenty tasks doesn’t mean you have to come up with that many. Kelly Newsome, the founder of Ritual Care Company and Higher Ground Yoga, gave me some business advice that I’ve since been able to apply to pretty much every aspect of my life. She told me to do three things for my business every week. Just three. Well, when my second pregnancy put entrepreneurial pursuits on the back burner, I kept that advice in mind. I apply the rule of three to tasks for the month, the week, and the day.

For example:

This Month

1. Schedule kids’ well visits
2. Write a blog post draft
3. Plan a beach day

This Week

1. Buy groceries
2. Meal plan
3. Schedule date night

Today

1. Make the bed
2. Stretch for 10 minutes
3. Prep dinner

It’s almost laughable, right? Most of us would probably want to knock it all out in a couple hours, but the whole point is simplicity. You have to make the to-do list so simple that it actually motivates you to get everything done. And even if you end up missing an item or two, you can just roll them over and make them part of your three tasks for the next month, week, or day. Lia wrote in her blog post, “I’ve learned to accept that it’s okay to have incomplete business. Life will go on – with or without to-do lists.”

So, if you absolutely have to make a to-do list:

1. Limit it to three tasks.
2. Make the tasks super simple.
3. Reward yourself. (Personally, I like ice cream sandwiches.)

Look, I even made your first to-do list for you! And if all that newfound blank space in your Erin Condren LifePlanner is making you batty, then invest in some stickers and washi tape. Or just get over it and go do something fun like ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING ELSE. Unless your planner is your creative outlet to which I will say PUT DOWN YOUR PAPER MATE FLAIR AND GO FOR A WALK ALREADY.

If you’re as obsessed with printables as I am, then check out the ones I made for you below. Click on either image to download a copy and print them out. Feel free to share!