Your To-Do’s Are The Problem, Not You

A little while back, I was chatting with one of my colleagues about my ‘to-do list paralysis’. I was venting about how overwhelming my to-do list felt, and how I just could not get started on it.

I found myself stuck, particularly with tasks related to the business and administrative side of my work. Despite my love for my business, I struggled with these tasks. Most of them felt like burdens rather than steps forward. My life had changed, my priorities had shifted, and yet, these tasks still clung to my daily routine.

That's when they gave me a piece of advice that resonated deeply: "If you're having problems with your to-do list, it's not you; it's the to-dos that are the problem."

They suggested that the problem wasn't my ability to manage tasks, but rather the nature of the tasks themselves.

"Know when to push and when to be pulled," they advised. This simple statement made me reconsider a lot.

I started to reflect on the advice. I asked myself: Am I being pulled? Do I need to push?

The answer was clear—I was being pulled.

My efforts to push through these tasks were met with resistance, leading to what I could only describe as "to-do list paralysis." This resistance was my brain's natural way of protecting me from burnout, as I overloaded my life with commitments.

I began to identify where I was being pulled. What parts of my business did I still love? I wrote down all of the ‘tasks’ that came with my business, and highlighted the ones that I loved to do most.

The answer lay in the creative parts, the connections, the ideas, the big picture, the research, and the mentoring.

With this, I reflected on my approach to my business. Why was I doing this? It wasn’t my sole income source, so sales didn’t really matter to me. To me, it is a creative outlet and a means to connect with younger students.

Using this why, I restructured how and where my business sat in my life. I highlighted the aspects of it that brought me joy and passion, and removed the others by outsourcing or just getting rid of them entirely.