Has your to do list lost its way?

In a recent coaching session with the brilliant Sue Belton, I realised that my to do list had lost its way.

It was no longer a summary of the key actions to take to move forward.

It had turned into a long list of things I could do, a faffing-around-the-edges list.

It wasn’t useful any more.

It used to be. But I’ve spent the last 18 months working through it, and also added a lot of useful structures and systems in place (hello scheduling!).

I still have things I want to focus my attention on, but so much more of what I do has a consistent rhythm.

I’m keeping things moving rather than starting from scratch.

It feels VERY weird. And quite uncomfortable too.

My inner perfectionist, and the part of me that loves nothing more than ticking something off a list, don’t quite know what to do with themselves.

They keep asking - “But how will you know what to do?” and “What if you miss something?”.

They are taking a while to adjust to a new way of working.

So what do I do instead?

I know my 6 priorities across life and work, structure my time around them, and focus on what’s important for each of them in the moment.

The regular actions are now the default, and the small tasks get popped into a calendar slot instead of a list so they have a home.

I’m trusting myself to follow my energy and keep the big things in mind.

My new challenge is sticking with it, and not defaulting to filling my time up with distractions :-)

This is a very new way of working, but if feels right for where I am right now.

Sometimes we need a long to do list - to have everything on a page (or more) and work though it steadily.

Sometimes we don’t. It’s about the process of integrating and experiencing, and finding a rhythm.

Has your to do list lost its way?

Are you faffing around the edges?

If you ignored all the little things, what would the big things be?

Wishing you all a week of inspired action,