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Reduce Your To-Do List So It Is No Longer Controlling You

You’re about to learn how to reduce your to-do list so it is no longer controlling you. It is possible to have a buttoned-up home management system.

I know that a huge piece of managing all of the things in life really does come down to the to-do list. Before I tell you how to magically get rid of 90% of your to-do’s every week, I want to address the typical way of keeping up with the to-dos. 

This is what we see all the time. You may use a pen and paper, the notes app, a whiteboard, sticky notes or keep it all up in your head. Does any of that sound familiar to you? Are you currently managing your to-do list in any of those places? Probably! 

The running to-do list is a problem. You are using it as a guide for what needs to be done this week. It really is the foundation of what is wrong and holding you back. Random to-dos are forcing you to feel overwhelmed by this list. But it only really needs to have one or two things on it every week.

You Are Managing Your To-do List in the Wrong Way 

We have already identified on day one and day two that your schedule and your house are way too full. That is also true with your to-do list. You have way too much written on your to-do list. 

Each of those items feels like they do need to be done, so how do I break that down into just 2 or 3 things? What do I do – just take these off my list and not do them? No, it’s the opposite. You should be doing this work instead of the other meaningless things you have already identified that are consuming your time. You should be using your time intentionally. The problem is the way that you are telling yourself to do them. 

There is one thing I am confident in: everyone I have helped has been managing their to-dos the same way. No one manages their to-dos the way that I do until I teach them to do it. Today is your day to stop that classic approach to getting things done. Begin automating your to-do list so that only the random things go on the to-do list. 

Ground Rule to Reducing Your To-Do List by 90%

All the things that you have to get done every week are not supposed to be on your to-do list. There are two ground rules when it comes to reducing your to-do list by 90%

Rule One: Use a Separate To-Do List for Home and Business

First things first: you need a separate list of what you need to do in your business and at home. If you are homeschooling, you must have a separate list for that too.

You cannot have a list of everything you need to do at home and in your business together. When you are in your AM or PM block, you can’t look at a list of items you need to do for work. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you need to check out the Fundamental Needs workbook and Time Blocking workbook here. This will cause you to want to do those instead of the home to-do’s you should be focusing on. You’ll gravitate to certain things regardless of what time block you are in, and that is a big hard no-no!

Rule Two: Stop Having Random To-Do Lists Everywhere

The second ground rule is no more random to-do lists ANYWHERE. You can not write things in a million different places, lose lists, and duplicate lists. You need one central place. I recommend that you use your paper planner for this list for that week and that week only. You can write it in your planner and your communication board or just the communication board in your command centre.

How to Finally Reduce Your To-Do List and Keep It That Way

How is this actually going to get done? You will take 90% of your to-dos off your list. Right now. By the time you go to bed tonight, this will happen for you. Here are the steps to get this done. 

Redefine What a To-Do List Truly Is 

The first thing is that I need you to redefine in your mind what a to-do list truly is. People are putting everything together in a jumbled mess. Everything that you have to do in a week you are adding to the to-do list. I understand it needs to be done, but that does not make it a to-do. 

From now on, the definition of a to-do list is truly something random. Keep that in the back of your mind right now. It has to be something that doesn’t come up regularly, or it wouldn’t be a to-do. It would be something different which we will get to. You must begin to tease these two things apart because your to-do list is drowning you. It is micro-managing you down to the very minute, and you are never getting through it. You are constantly putting things on there because you have no idea how to be a project manager. 

“Your to-do list is drowning you. It is micro-managing you down to the very minute, and you are never getting through it. You are constantly putting things on there because you have no idea how to be a project manager. “

Your life as a CEO of your family is literally project management. You would not go into any fully functioning business and find all of the project tasks on one big long to-do list. If this happens, everyone becomes overwhelmed and stressed, and this will be passed on in your marriage. You and your spouse will bounce this back and forth and pass it on to your kids. Stop considering your to-do list as space just to write everything down that is lingering in your brain. That is how you create a culture of putting out fires

What Tasks Are You Consistently Repeating?

I want you to figure out what your patterns are. What tasks are you repeating each week? What isn’t actually random? Some things are happening without you realizing it over and over again. They might not have the exact same name, but that type of to-do is consistent. You have just never looked at it that way. 

They are repeatable, expected and predictable things that are happening in your life. For example, you do a lot of errands for your family on a particular day or have a large number of phone calls that have to be made on a regular basis, or emails are heavy based on your personal life.

There was one that was happening to us repeatedly, and I was guilty of putting it on my to-do list, and then I realized that it was being repeated. It was the filters, lightbulbs and toilet paper replacements. I would write them down on my to-do list when this is something you expect, predict and repeat constantly. It wasn’t random that I needed those items. I just hadn’t created a system or automation around replacing them. These little things you put on your to-do list that you could add to your systems derail you. 

Things that truly are random could be things like going to the post office or getting a birthday present. You don’t do those things every week or every month. 

Stop Putting Predictable Tasks on Your To-Do List

You will learn the difference between what is random and what is predictable. Things that are predictable means that you can plan for them. They are not technically a to-do, and they should be part of your recurring home management. 

This is how you manage a home. You need to make time for these things that are constantly coming up. This will ensure that the time to do them will be there. Feeling that these things are random is one of the biggest reasons you are putting out fires.

Analyze Your To-Do Lists and Find the Patterns

Get your to-do list for this week, the past few weeks, or next week’s to-do list that you’ve already started. Gather up as many of your to-do lists as you can find. Highlight similarities or common tasks that are repeatedly happening. Do this on every single to-do list. If you do not have any of these lists, you can start writing down your to-do list for next week and see the patterns building up. 

We are looking for tasks that fit under an umbrella, such as appointments, house projects, phone calls etc. What are some umbrella categories for the kind of tasks that you are doing? 

I want you to know what is repeating on your to-do list and know that these tasks should NEVER live in your head, be in the back of your mind, or be written down as a to-do for that week. You will just know that every week you spend an hour on phone calls. Or every Costco trip, you need to get two packages of toilet paper to last until your next trip so you don’t run out. 

This is what you need to manage your home. A huge part of having a home management system is understanding how to take these methods and concepts and begin to make them work in your life. It is really not complicated. It’s just about having the guidance there to make that happen!

90% Of the Tasks on Your To-Do List Aren’t Random

Recently I’ve been working with some really high-level business owners. I’ve been taking them through their business and inventories and working through everything. They come to the conclusion that none of their to-dos are random. I keep telling everyone that everything on their to-do list is not random. You could actually prepare for your week every single week. You do not have to fly by the seat of your pants. This stuff doesn’t have to catch you off guard. 

I want you to get up and run your house like a dang boss every day. Every day I want you to wake up and lead everyone in your family to their highest level of success with confidence, organization and systems.