EP 219 Are you a prisoner to you to do list?
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Sara Mayer: [00:00:00] Welcome to the bold goal crusher podcast for anyone looking to stop letting life get in the way and start crushing bold goals. I'm your host, Sara Mayer, and I'm thrilled to navigate this journey with you because it's time to start boldly achieving without working double time. So let's dive in.
Sara Mayer: Hello Bold Goal Crushers! I sent an email and it set you all off. I got a lot of responses to this email, and so we're going to talk about this email I sent, oh I guess it was two weeks ago now, called Breaking Free from the To Do List Prison. Many people ask me, oh my gosh, are we not doing to do lists [00:01:00] anymore?
Sara Mayer: We are. But let me break down this email. Actually, I think I'm going to read it to you, and then I'll break it down. So I hope this email finds you well. I start many emails like that. That's not what set everybody off. As we navigate the daily demands of our personal and professional lives, I've recently been reflecting on a common habit that many of us share.
Sara Mayer: The addiction to do lists. Are you addicted to your to do list? I'd like to know. All right, so let's jump into the email. Being organized and productive is undoubtedly important. But have you ever considered the possibility that our constant need to add and cross things off items on our to do list might be turning us into prisoners of our own productivity?
Sara Mayer: It's a thought that has been on my mind lately and I wanted to share my insights with you. In our quest for efficiency and accomplishment, we often find [00:02:00] ourselves meticulously curating to do lists. While those lists can be powerful tools for managing tasks, they can also become a source of constraint, trapping us in a cycle of perpetual busy ness.
Sara Mayer: The more we focus on the minutiae of daily tasks, the less we might actually concentrate on our broader goals, vision, and strategic planning. It's like being in a prison where the bars are made of tasks and check boxes, and we become so fixated on completing immediate tasks that we lose sight of the bigger picture.
Sara Mayer: And so instead of strategically working towards our long term objectives, we find ourselves perpetually caught in the to do list loop. Breaking free from this cycle requires a shift in mindset and we need to view our to do list as tools to support our goals rather than goals themselves. I'm going to [00:03:00] repeat that.
Sara Mayer: We need to view our to do list as tools to support our goals rather than goals themselves. It's about striking a balance between staying organized and ensuring that our daily activities align with our broader vision. So let's challenge ourselves to reassess our approach to productivity and find ways to be more intentional in our actions.
Sara Mayer: What are your thoughts on this? I'd love to hear your perspective and perhaps share some strategies for breaking free from the to do list prison. Looking forward to your insights. Cheers, Sarah Mayer. This one. Woo. I got a lot of responses but it's good because it really made many of you think about your relationship with your to-do list.
Sara Mayer: And so I'm going to ask you are you prisoner to do your to-do list is your to-Do list the goal or are [00:04:00] your goals on your to-Do list.
Sara Mayer: For many of you, your to do list has become your ball and chain, if you will, and I want you to really think about it as a way to accomplish your goals. So how do you break up with this cycle of putting things on the list to check them off, but not moving closer to your goals? First of all, you have to take a step back.
Sara Mayer: You need to really look at your goals and make sure they're compelling. And then each week, you want to set for yourself three actions, first steps to those goals that you will accomplish no matter what. And many times when we're striving for our bold goals, those are not easy. And so because those are not easy, we put them off.
Sara Mayer: Because it's easier to go do the laundry. It's easier to go to the grocery store and go shopping. And at least you're accomplishing [00:05:00] something. So pick three. Start with three. If you haven't done this exercise, pick three things. Whatever your goals are, pick three things you're going to do that week and commit to doing them.
Sara Mayer: Alright, you're going to do those no matter what by Sunday. If your week starts on Monday, but now it's time to put them in your calendar, not just on your to do list, put the time in your calendar and then pick other things that you need to do for the week. And add those, but don't add too many. So many times on Monday, you're so motivated that you put a ton of stuff on your plate.
Sara Mayer: When you know, you're going to have life get in the way. Tommy's going to need to go to soccer practice and doesn't have what he needs and the washer's going to break. Something's going to happen. So set yourself up for success. Pick three actions that are tied to your goals. Pick maybe six things you can do in a week on top of [00:06:00] that.
Sara Mayer: And then if you end up in the middle of the week, you're like, wow, I've already accomplished this. You can add more. Instead of setting out your week and saying, I'm going to accomplish this 30 things, set yourself up for success. So you do not need to be prisoner to your to do list. In fact, your to do list should be working for you.
Sara Mayer: It's a tool to accomplish your goals. So let's use it as such. If you haven't checked out my task trackers, I highly encourage you to check them out. Go to sarahmayer. com and then navigate over to Favorite Things. You can land in my Amazon store where you can see the task trackers that will help you get to your goals because that's what's really important.
Sara Mayer: All right, bold goal crushers, it's time to break up with our to do list and put our to do list to work for us. So let's get to it.
Thank you for tuning into the bold goal crusher podcast where we [00:07:00] crush goals and everything that gets in the way.
