August 20, 2024- We live at a time when “to do” lists are very popular and often critical to a person’s self-esteem. People often talk about the importance of having a “ to do” list in order to set priorities in their lives. The problem is, the list can overwhelm the individual as it keeps getting longer and never seems to get finished. It is not just procrastinators who become overwhelmed with “to do” lists. No, it is anyone who tries to do so many things that they cannot hope to get them done and the end result can either be getting overwhelmed by what is not done or the situation where many things are started but not completed because new priorities go to the top of the “to do” list. Either way, the person feels lost and a failure. Perfectionists in particular can have problems with a “to do” list because they never feel anything is done right or done as well as it could be. The result can be a never completed list loaded with perceived failures. Something to remember is that computers slow down when we have too many open tabs. The brain works the same way. We tend to not focus as much on things that are completed, but focus on things that are not completed. As a result, persons can spend countless hours focusing on what they are not getting done in their “to do” list and not realizing they may actually be doing fine. Most people, if they are really being honest, will admit they have spent many hours not sleeping thinking about things they have not completed that they feel need to be done or many hours at all times of a given day focusing on things that are not completed. My point here is not for you to not have a “to do” list. On the contrary, it can be very helpful to set priorities and get things done that need to be completed. The problem is if the “to do” list keeps getting bigger and the activities that have not been completed on the list begin to overwhelm the person‘s brain. Ways to not get overwhelmed with a “to do” list and have it be effective for you would include the following: 1. Determine the night before what priorities you have and what you feel needs to be done the next day. 2. On a daily basis, take a look at your “to do” list, and cross off all things that are not that important at this time and only focus on those things that can reasonably get done on a short or long-term basis. 3. Complete the most important activities on your “to do” list. 4. Do not focus on what you have not completed or things further down the list that you may or may not get done based on needs of the time…These may seem like easy things to do, but they are obviously not for many persons. One need not be a psychologist to meet persons overwhelmed by their “to do” list. No, they are all around us. Now is the time to take control of your life and use your “to do” list in a reasonable way to make you more effective as you meet priorities and do not get overwhelmed with non-priority tasks.