How to tackle to-do list overwhelm

I have too much on my to-do list, and it’s overwhelming.  I feel this way most days of my life.  And one of the most common problems my team would bring to me over the years was they had too much on their to-do list and were overwhelmed. Unfortunately, most type-A and driven people have too much on their lists.  I hope there’s a small amount of solace in the fact that we all share this problem in common, but that probably isn’t enough.  There’s perhaps more solace in knowing what we can do to tame the overwhelmed feeling we all have. 

• It’s normal to reprioritize constantly. New things come up that may be more important or urgent, and you have to decide if you should adjust for them and then make the necessary changes to put them before other things.   I always think many of these discussions are important to recognize that this is normal and something most people are struggling with.  I’m not sure if it’s cathartic to everyone, but I find it to help me keep perspective.  I frequently need to reschedule a meeting, push something out, or just not get something done on a particular day.  My to-do list is constantly moving and getting reprioritized, and that’s okay. 
• It’s essential to articulate and visualize what you’re full or overwhelmed with or the broader context. When I feel particularly overwhelmed, I will do a complete “brain dump” of everything on my plate and radar.  For me, a brain dump is less of a to-do list and more of a project, open issues, open discussions, everything currently requiring my time type of list.  Something like this can help to aid a conversation with your boss or yourself to get aligned on what’s most important, what’s most urgent, what can wait, and what someone else can help with.  If you just bring up one item to someone else and ask for guidance on prioritization, then whoever you’re asking is missing the broader context to give any perspective.  The Eisenhower matrix is a popular and helpful tool for bucketing what is urgent versus important and often a useful way to think about how to deal with each of those categories of tasks.  And for those less familiar with the concept of urgent versus important:  Urgent means that a task requires your immediate attention and are often the to-dos that we need to do now and puts us in a reactive mode.  Important tasks are things that contribute to our long-term mission, values, and goals.
• You are empowered! You might feel more or less empowered in different situations. Still, suppose you tackle the articulation and visualization of what you’re overwhelmed or full with. In that case, it makes it much easier to be empowered to broker the discussions and renegotiations needed with stakeholders, your boss, or yourself to move things around as needed.  Many people often feel they have no control over reprioritizing, stopping, or delaying stuff on their to-do list, but I’d argue the average person has more control than they think.  To act on that control and empowerment, you need to be organized and not afraid to broker discussions with the people expecting those items to be completed. 
• Think through your solutions and recommendations. You are often in the best position to think through what is most important, most urgent, and what you’d recommend putting on hold for a while or delaying.  Try to come to any discussion with others with a recommendation, ideas, or options.  It’s hard to ask for help without a starter recommendation.  In some unique cases, you could be in such a state of overwhelm that you need to ask for help without this step, but this step is necessary in most cases. 
• Another opinion can be helpful. Seeking another perspective from a peer, friend, or boss could help.  Sometimes just reading through everything on your plate right now can be very helpful.  By sharing it with someone else, I’ve found that they can very quickly point out and dismiss less important things that felt so critical to me.  A new and fresh set of eyes can help.
• Peaks and valleys are normal. It’s incredibly normal to have peaks of high-demand times and then valleys or lulls where things slow down a bit, and you can catch your breath.  Lean in during the peaks and take a breath during the valleys.  This is the reality of how personal and professional life flows.  There are also seasons and times in life when the peaks are longer than others.  Your personal brand is often created during the peak times when people need someone willing to step up, lean in, and go above and beyond to get through a challenging period.  I can attest that a great deal of success throughout my career is attributed to my willingness to step in and step up during the peaks, which is when people needed it and appreciated it the most.   
• Communicate. As you’re shifting priorities, deliverables, and to-dos, the most important thing is to communicate.  People are often much more understanding of not getting something they need if they are told in advance or if you have to renegotiate a timeline, versus finding out at the last minute just doesn’t feel good and doesn’t look good on your part.   
• Step away and slow down. Sometimes it’s just too much, and you need to slow down and step away to be able to decide how best to move forward.  For example, when you’re feeling overwhelmed or like your disk is full, consider doing a breathing exercise, meditating for a couple of minutes (or longer if you can), going outside and getting some fresh air, or getting away from your desk to grab a cup of tea.  And sometimes you’re having a bad day, and you just need to give it 24 hours. 
• You can’t do it all. You can’t do everything.  You may disappoint someone. You might mess up.  You might fail at something.  It’s okay.  This is life.  Don’t beat yourself up over it.  Just do your best, and communicate and be transparent with those around you along the way. 
• Just start doing something. Once you are done stepping away, giving it 24 hours,  or slowing down, just start something.  You have to start somewhere.  Many will tell you to start with the most important tasks, and that’s fine for some people.  But sometimes, you just need to start with something, and that momentum of getting something done and checked off your to-do list will help you build momentum and energy to keep going and get more done. 

I hope these thoughts are in some way helpful to you. I struggle with a feeling of overwhelm and an overflowing to-do list every day that I let myself think about it.  The only days I don’t struggle are when I am on vacation or when I just allow myself a day to relax and ignore my to-do list, as it will be there tomorrow.  And let’s be honest, it’s not like I’m perfect at ignoring my to-do list on vacation, but I’ve been getting better and better at that over the years.  The good news is we can all get better at managing our to-do lists, prioritizing our work, and handling the mental challenges that come with that all.  Here’s to tackling your to-do list!

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Written while listening to Island in the Sun by Weezer

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