Lessen Your Stress: PRIORITIZE!
- BINDZONE
- Jan 1
- 4 min read
If you feel like you have to accomplish everything in one day, and the thought of that in itself stresses you out ... this post is for you. Let's discuss how to create a proper to-do list that will help LESSEN your stress!
Creating a to-do list is a great way to stay organized and helps you prevent forgetting to do something. However, that does not mean you need to complete everything all at once.
One thing that I find helpful is creating multiple to-do lists. As someone who is constantly forgetting to do things, I find it helpful to break my big list down into a little list. What does this look like? Let's break down a monthly list, into a weekly list, into a daily list.
Monthly to-do:
This list will provide you with the general things you need to do for that coming month, and/or on a weekly basis: pay bills, wash laundry, grocery shopping, meal prepping, cleaning, buying gifts for the holidays, study, buy a new book, get an oil change, etc.
This list can consist of things that you only need to do once, weekly, or daily. Listing these things in your monthly list will provide you with a constant reminder that you need to do these things at some point this month. If it's a weekly thing, transfer it to your weekly list. If it's a daily thing, transfer it to your daily list.
I would suggest writing things in order of priority ... so you write the things that should get done in the beginning of the month first, and by the end of the month last. Look at your monthly to-do as a constant reminder that you need to get all of these things done, but they aren't all necessarily a priority. You can use this list to help you break down your weekly and daily to-do's.
Weekly to-do:
This list provides you with things that should get done this coming week. Maybe you need to pay your bills by the end of the week, that would go in your weekly list. Maybe you need to meal prep once you're out of your meals from the week prior, that would go in your weekly list. Maybe something unexpected came up that you have to do that week, but it wasn't in your monthly list ... write that in so you don't forget!
Your weekly list is full of things that should, or need to, get done that week. This is a way to break down your monthly list into a smaller list, which allows you to see what is more important to complete within a smaller window.
Weekly to-do's should be written in order of priority. Write the most important things to get done that week first, and the least important things go last.
Daily to-do:
Your daily lists are things that take 100% priority for the day. It allows you to break your monthly and weekly list into an even smaller window.
Let's say it's now the end of the week and your bills need to be paid, that should take priority as number 1. Maybe you have something that should get done today, but it isn't the end of the world if it doesn't ... put that thing towards the end of your list. Something could've come up last minute and unexpectedly, and it needs to get done that day ... add that onto the top of your list as well.
Your daily list should also be listed by priority, and you should be using your monthly or weekly list as a guide to determine the level of priority,
The things listed first on your weekly list should get done at the beginning of the week since those should be deemed as most important (Monday or Tuesday), whereas the things at the end of your weekly list can get done near the end of the week (Thursday, Friday, or the weekend).
To lessen your daily stress, try to accomplish a few things from your weekly to-do's each day. Your daily to-do's may have reoccurring things, or maybe it looks different each day. Try not to write everything from your weekly list onto one daily list ... that'll just cause more overwhelming stress.
Remember: your daily list should consist of a few things off from your weekly list, as well as things that do truly need to get done daily. If you can wait on the task, then wait if it isn't urgent.
To summarize:
The goal of a to-do list is to help you break down your life into smaller pieces. It can include things that you need to do, or want to do. However you choose to break down your list, try to get the needs done before your wants. This allows you do get things done more effectively, and ultimately, you will feel a little less stressed by the time the week ends. You may even find you have more free time for yourself by the end of the day or week!
Although there are things that we never want to do, getting those things done first will allow you to enjoy the end of your week. If you hold off on the things that need to get done first, then you will end up stressing out over that task at the end of the week. Always try to accomplish the most important things first so you can prevent stressing over it in the long-run.
Remember: not everything needs to get done in a day.
Feel like you need assistance with stress management? Check out our other posts, and/or book your free consultation with BINDZONE to see if we can further assist you!
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