Feeling overwhelmed by your never-ending to-do list? You're not alone! We often think that just writing things down is enough to kickstart our productivity, but that’s a common trap. A to-do list can be a great tool for capturing what needs doing, but it doesn’t actually help us figure out what to do next. In this episode, I dive into the difference between a to-do list and a proper plan, and why understanding this distinction is crucial for moving your business forward.

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Quiet Action, Big Impact

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Quiet Action, Big Impact

Foreign.

Welcome to Unfrazzle, a podcast for solo business owners with a big vision who are ready for a kinder, more sustainable approach to productivity.

I'm Louise Miller and each week I share bite size insights to help you step away from the hustle, stop faffing and stay focused so you can make your brilliant ideas happen and make a bigger impact in the world.

And before we dive into today's episode, if you enjoy what I'm sharing here on Unfrazzle and you'd like to support the podcast, you can buy me a cuppa by going to buymeacoffee.com louisemiller and making a one off donation.

I'll pop a link to that in the show notes.

Okay, grab yourself a cuppa and let's get started.

You know that feeling when things are getting on top of you so you grab a fresh piece of paper, write everything down, feel briefly better, and then realize you've just made a very neat list of all of the reasons you're overwhelmed and you're actually no further forward.

To do lists are brilliant.

And they're also kind of unhelpful because more often than not, your to do list doesn't help you actually get anything done.

It's brilliant because it means you don't have to hold everything in your head.

And with all the things you're juggling in your life and your work, can you imagine not having a to do list and not writing things down?

I can't even imagine what that would look like.

But your to do list is not a plan.

And that's the mistake that I see people make over and over again.

They write their to do list and then they think that's them done and they can now crack on and be productive.

But it doesn't work like that, does it?

And it's not your fault.

It's your to do list's fault.

Because your to do list has no sense of what matters most.

It doesn't know what's realistic in the time you have.

It has no clue how much energy you have, what order things should happen in, or what you're actually trying to achieve.

So when you sit down at your desk in the morning and the only thing you have in front of you is a long to do list, it's no wonder you don't know where to start.

When your to do list is dictating what you're doing each day, it is no wonder that things feel hard for you.

So first up, everything on your list appears to be equally important, doesn't it?

Right there's no hierarchy.

Things get written down in the order they popped into your head, not the order they need to happen.

And when there's no clear order of priority, your poor exhausted brain will likely gravitate towards the quick and easy things, meaning that the things that might matter the most keep on losing out.

And there's also that problem that I know lots of you have, which is that the minute you write something down, especially if it's on a nice new shiny list, you feel like you're making progress.

Your brain tricks you into thinking you did something useful, but you're still no closer to getting that thing done.

And it's pretty soul destroying when your to do list is growing faster than it's shrinking, isn't it?

Right?

And working from a to do list is a surefire way to fixate on all of the things that didn't get done, which, as well as leading to feelings of inadequacy and overwhelm, will quietly erode your confidence over time.

So the point I'm trying to make here, and I hope that it's landing because it's really important, is that a list will tell you all the things you need to do, but it isn't a plan.

A plan will tell you what to do next.

So if you have a to do list but no plan, you're setting yourself up to fail.

So if that's resonating and you're starting to realise that you've been expecting your to do list to do more of the heavy lifting than it's designed for, here's a question for you to consider.

Look at your to do list and ask yourself, if I could only get one thing done today that will actually move my business forward, what would it be?

And asking yourself that question forces you to prioritize, to filter out the noise of all of the other things that are yelling for your attention.

It gives you something to focus on so that you can step out of busy work and into progress.

Now, I'm not saying that the other things on your list aren't important.

You still need to pay your invoices and feed the dog and send your client that thing you promised them.

But when you're clear about which one thing is most impactful, you'll start to find ways to get that thing done.

And yes, I know that isn't always easy, particularly when you have a lot on your plate and you're not used to making those sorts of things choices and then acting on them.

But those moments of choosing are the first step towards making a plan that will make sure you're progressing your priorities, not just responding to what's happening around you and taking care of everyone else.

So choosing what's important, breaking that down into manageable steps, and then thinking about when you're going to take that steps.

That's planning.

And it's way more effective than sitting down with your to do list and seeing what jumps out at you each morning.

So just to recap, your to do list is a brilliant tool for capturing what needs to get done, but that's where its usefulness ends.

It won't help you actually do the thing.

For that you need a plan, and doing that kind of thinking on your own without any structure or any guidance is tricky.

Right?

And that is why I created Make It Happen Club so that I can guide you through a process that takes you from a long list of things to do to a plan you will actually follow.

So if having that level of clarity would feel like a blessed relief to you, head over to louisemiller.uk makeithappenclub to find out more and I'll pop a link to that in the show notes.

And if Make It Happen Club isn't right for you right now, that's okay too.

Just have a think.

What can you do differently to make sure that you're not relying solely on your to do list to help you take the right action at the right time?

And as always, I hope that this helps and I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Thank you for listening to Unfrazzle.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and share it with a friend who needs a dose of calm productivity in their life.

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And if you're struggling with productivity right now, take my free assessment to find out what's really getting in the way of you getting things done.

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You'll find that@louisemiller.uk quiz and there's a link for that in the show notes.

So thank you so much for being here and I look forward to seeing you next time.

Sam.