Tackle Your To-Do List Once and For All

Hello Beautiful W3,

One of the questions that came up over and over again during our live event on Monday with Mel Robbins was

“How do I get everything done that I need to in a day?  HELP!”

Let’s face it, we are over-run with tasks, to-do’s, responsibilities and obligations. We are tracking our to-do’s on apps, in our email, on our calendars, in our schedulers and agenda’s, and on pages and pages with a good old-fashioned pad of paper and a pen.

Our minds are racing from morning to night – and we are jotting down new reminders on a slip of paper, back of receipt – I’ve seen one wild and wise warrior in a waiting room writing a list on her hand …. up to her elbow!!

And to add insult to injury – once we’ve completed a task … we just add 10 more! It’s a never-ending list that keeps our minds, and our hearts (and other important parts of our bodies) in a state of high-alert – like being on a rollercoaster with no way to get off.

Since the event we’ve had lots of emails asking about the strategy I described that I use to get through my day … productively, effectively, mindfully, and peacefully (most of the time – I mean let’s be serious … some days just completely fall off the rails from the word go).  So I wanted to share it with you in a little more detail. 🙂  This is an adjustment of a process that I came across in my readings, that I haven’t been able to put my finger back on to give proper credit – so I do apologize for that.

My to-do list is just one iteration of how I use this process – I’ll share others with you in the future as well!


1.  I start with a clean pad of paper (I like canary yellow lined pads but that’s just me).

2.  On a fresh page I make a cross – with four sections
a) Things I NEED To Do (Business)
b) Things I WANT To Do (Business)
c) Things I NEED To Do (Personal)
d) Things I WANT To Do (Personal)

3.  I fill in each of the sections with UP TO 5 items each. Because here’s the truth – having 10 Things prioritized for your business and your personal life each day is … PLENTY.

The beauty is you complete the “Needs” before the “Wants” (taking into account of course if a need isn’t scheduled until later in the day) and celebrate when those needs are complete.

If you’re really on fire one day, or just have so much on your mind to complete – I have done one of these for the morning … and the for the afternoon.  Just so I kept everything clear and in place … knowing that some of the tasks I really needed to complete were important … but not time consuming. I’d just been putting them off!

4.  I create this list as I’m leaving my desk for the day … in preparation for the next day.  Then when I return in the morning, I do a quick review to see if anything has changed – and dive in!

If I haven’t completed something on the list, it will make tomorrow’s list again … unless of course it has dropped off in importance or some other scenario.  A “Want” can stay on my list for days until I have the time, space, energy and presence to tackle it – and a “Want” absolutely CAN move to a “Need” if ignored too long (that’s happened to me for sure.)

I hope this helps anyone who is feeling buried under their to-do list. It works for me – and while simple … does the trick!  Let me know if this helps you rock out your day OR if you have a rockstar strategy you want to share … let us know in the Wild and Wise Women Facebook Group – or reply to this email.

You Are Loved xo
Christa

PS. We are having another poll for the logo for the Wild and Wise YOU Membership Site with the final two designs so far.  I would LOVE if you would cast your vote and help us choose the branding that resonates with YOU! (Because this is all about YOU W3) 🙂  CLICK HERE to vote!

PPS. I provided a little visual for you of my Needs and Wants Quadrant as well. 🙂