Tired, Overwhelmed, and Behind? The To Do List Tweaks That Saved My Sanity.
If your to-do list looks like a tornado hit your planner, and you’re ending every day wondering what in the heck you even accomplished, I’ve got a few tips for you today. :)
Running a business is not the same as running a household or running errands. When we've got "edit client gallery" next to "make a dentist appointment" and "don't forget to shower" ... it's not the most efficient list.
And the reason most To Do lists fail isn't cos you're lazy or disorganised - it's because you're treating every task like it has the same weight. That's a fast track to "do not pass go, do not collect $200, go straight to zero momentum and burnout jail".
We're reacting, instead of planning. We're busy, but we're not productive.
You are not lazy. You are not bad at this. You just need to tame the chaos. Coming from someone who has been there and done that for YEARS. You just need to structure your list like you mean it. Not like the current overwhelmed, half-caffeinated alter ego that's just trying to survive Monday....
And no, I'm not saying you need a 17-tab spreadsheet - unless that's what floats your boat, then, y'know, spreadsheet away...
I'm saying: structure your list with intention. Know what moves the needle. Know what pays the bills. Know what is ACTIVELY bringing those goals closer. I'll show you what I mean.
Prioritise with Intention
Today I want to share some tactics to clean up your to-do list, prioritize with intention, and finally start seeing results from your weekly workload — instead of just spinning your wheels.
I want to share a few tweaks that I've been implementing this year that've helped leverage my weeks from just "busy", into productive. And I've still got miles to go to be like these top CEO level productivity types, but I've leveled up my game with these few small tweaks and I wanted to share that first step with you.
Because if your to-do list is just a long, random brain dump with no prioritization, strategy, or structure... then it’s not a tool — it’s a trap.
Not that my workload is less per se, but the results of what I'm doing are starting to bear fruit.
Imagine getting to the end of the year and actually being in a completely different space... instead of "groundhog day" for another year. I've literally had panic attacks on New Years, stressing that the next year would be like the last. I just can't sit in that space anymore.
The truth is, most of us are using our to-do list as a dumping ground, not a tool for growth. It isn’t because you’re lazy or disorganized. It’s because you’re treating every task like it has the same weight. Whatever the task is - if it's building steps towards your goal - it should have more weight.
And if you treat “make dentist appointment” the same as “launch new course” — you’re gonna stay stuck in busy, hustle mode. And lets be honest, the quick win of making said dentist appointment, and getting those few dishes done, and popping to the supermarket for dinner - for a procrastinator? That's fuel for the fire.
And I think it's not that we're lazy procrastinators - it's that we're overwhelmed and overstimulated procrastinators, and some jobs just FEEL exhausting to look at, so we pick the low-hanging fruit.
And that was a massive one for me.
I was reacting instead of planning. The "to-do list" got filled as necessary, rather than looking forward and blocking out time and space purposefully.
Your to-do list should start before the chaos hits. If you’re building it while putting out fires, that’s not a plan — that’s just surviving the week. Been there, done that, don't recommend it.
So let’s jump into the 4 tweaks I've made to my to-do list recently, to treat it more like a business owner, rather than just an overcaffeinated multitasking squirrel...
1. The first tweak was simply making a decision.
I chose one thing to focus on and put everything else on the backburner.
Not because it was more important than anything else—but because I needed something I could feel really good about building. I needed one thing that I could anchor my week around. And I needed something I had full control over.
That’s why I chose YouTube - which is not to say I think you should. Simply that out of all the projects I wanted to do, or should do, or could do - I made the call to just nail ONE thing.
I can control whether I make a video. I can control whether I upload it. I can control the schedule of it. I can control getting better at aspects of it. AND I know I want to get into doing videography too - so this is definitely part of that stepping stone. Becoming comfortable on camera and confident in what I was saying was a HUGE thing fo rme.
That alone gave me momentum. Which lead to more confidence in what I was doing, which lead to more momentum... You've heard of a vicious cycle? This is the opposite. I think they call it a virtuous cycle.
But that's what I was missing. That momentum has lead to building an email list, has led to more blog posts because I'm re-using the content from my scripting, which is slowly increasing my website views, and is now leading me to do the podcast...
Is this the complete list of everything I need to do in a week?
Not remotely... but by creating systems for recording a YouTube episode, it's not much more effort to then tack on a few extra tasks associated with it. Like creating a freebie to go with a video. Starting an email list. Re-using the content for a blog post...
ONE anchor, is now expanding. It does mean that when I made the ONE choice, I let go of other things. I barely post on instagram or facebook, and I'm not taking as many photos as I'd like. But once all of this is fully systematised and I know what I'm doing, I can start to expand back into those other things.
Half the battle, is not understanding how much time something's going to take. And also when you start doing stuff, it takes you longer at the beginning, but once you become more efficient at it, it becomes easier to plan, and then it just settles into your brain easier. It's predictable, and our brain likes predictable.
2. The second tweak was putting that thing—YouTube—into my weekly schedule.
Right alongside work, the kids’ activities, and church on Sunday. So now, it’s a non-negotiable, unless I’m sick or something major comes up.
By doing that, it’s jumped off the “to-do” list and onto the “this is what I do each week” list. It lives in my routine now—not just in my goals.
But trying to fit EVERYTHING in is where you'll hit the go straight to burnout, do not pass go, do not collect $200. So, see tweak one, and keep it simple. Choose ONE activity to get this process started, and build from there.
And also - it doesn't matter what other creators are doing. I'm doing YouTube. Other photographers might focus on Instagram. And just as an aside, you can have a massive Instagram following and still not be getting clients. A lot of the people who follow me, and whom I follow, are other photographers. So when you're choosing your ONE thing to do - make sure it's fitting in with what you want to accomplish.
For instance, let’s say you did choose Instagram - that's your ONE thing to focus on each week. If your goal is just to get started and start to understand it and just get content up to see what works? Great. Throw spaghetti at the wall for a while and get some data back. It's a great starting point. But if your goal with Instagram is to get clients - your whole strategy is going to have to change to target locals. Because I live in NZ, someone from Australia isn't going to hire me. If 99% of my followers are made up of people outside my immediate work zone - that's a HUGE waste of time and resources if I'm looking to get bookings.
But that's not today's topic. So - focus Tracy! lol.
3. The third tweak was going back to using ClickUp—and learning how to use it more effectively.
It's actually a really powerful tool when you start getting into it's features - but even just starting at a free basic level - I'm using it for the calendar and list making - it's 10 times better than just a list in your notebook.
I’ve got separate “lists” for every part of my life and business now. So instead of thinking "oh, I'll go check my "to do" list and getting stuck on some other task like making dinner or taking the rubbish down or fixing my daughters trousers (still on my to do list) - now, I set aside "YouTube" time - and I ONLY go to my YouTube list. It's such a simple way to stop procrastination. Because even if you choose just one small job on that list - at least it's moving the needle in an area you WANT to be moving the needle in.
For YouTube specifically, I’ve listed all my video ideas as tasks, so at any time I can go in and add new ideas, rearrange them, or drop in inspiration.
And you could totally do the same thing with clients you want to approach, photography ideas you want to try, website updates you need to do, blog posts you want to write, or if you are doing brand building on Instagram - use it for reel ideas or carousel ideas, etc.
And the bonus is that I can store everything related to that video idea—notes, clips I’ve watched, conversations with ChatGPT, graphics... You name it.
It's a one-stop organisation shop.
That means if I suddenly have extra time one day, I don’t need to think about what to do—I can just jump in and make progress somewhere towards that goal.
I've also set up sections for product ideas, recurring tasks, and one-off to-do items.
Basically, by forcing myself not to be more organised, but to be more intentional with my list writing, things stay grouped together instead of getting lost in my brain dumps. (And by the way—there’s nothing wrong with grabbing a piece of paper for a brain dump. Sometimes that’s exactly what I need. But the key is—then I transfer it into ClickUp so it doesn't get lost.)
4. The fourth tweak was creating second and third-tier lists. Or “other things to work on in the background” lists.
Each week, YouTube comes first. That’s my main priority.
After that comes client work.
And if there’s no client work that week, I have a list of “next level” things—like updating my website or starting to prep the podcast.
Once the podcast is up and running, it’ll move onto the weekly schedule just like YouTube did. It won’t be just another item on the to-do list. It’ll become part of the rhythm.
But here's a key takeaway that I've learned:
I know all the exact steps from "start" to "done". Completed. Don't need to look at it again till next week. And that's really important.
Especially if you're a parent - I don't know how many times I've heard other business owners talking about when they're with their kids, they feel guilty that they're not getting work done; and when they're at work, they feel guilty for not spending time with the kids or their spouse.
By understanding the EXACT start and stop of a project, you can start to reduce that. And yes, there's ALWAYS more to do - but if I accomplish nothing else in a week, as soon as I hit that upload button, I know I'm good.
And it really helps your nervous system relax too (once you get into the swing of it). You’re not stuck in that constant guilt loop of never doing enough. Because you know what “enough” looked like for today, or this week - and you did it.
A few bonus pointers:
Get real about your bandwidth - most people overestimate what they can do in a day, but underestimate what they can accomplish in a year. That's why I suggest starting with ONE new task, and build from there.
If it's not physically possible for you to do everything on your list, you're not broken - the list is. The system is. Your priorities are. And it's fixable.
Lists work for things like "make a dentist appointment for next week" - but they don't work for things like "start a photography business". That needs to come down to systems, scheduled weekly must do lists, and sticking to the really important stuff. Spending 20 minutes deciding on a font for your reel is really not that important if you haven't sent out your invoices for the week and got back in touch with the prospective clients who contacted you.
And lastly - maybe it's time to start considering if you can delegate some of the tasks in your day. Could the kids do the dishes? Could you do week-about with another school parent - one week you take all the kids to and from school, and the next week they do?
So if you want to stop just "spinning your wheels" and not seeing real results - it's time to ditch the hurricane that is your to do list, and start working smarter, not harder.
The big takeaway here is that to-do lists should be the flow-on effect from a bigger plan - not the plan itself.
And they work best when they're categorised and prioritised.
