How I’m Currently Approaching My To-Do List

This essay originally appeared in the Monday morning newsletter on 6/14/21.

I was recently listening to a podcast with Lisa Woodruff, founder and CEO of the company Organize 365, as the guest. Lisa gave great organizing tips and tricks throughout the episode, but one in particular really resonated with me. 

Her idea is called “Sunday Basket System,” and Lisa created it to manage the influx of paper piles (bills, mail, etc.) that would accumulate around her every week. And while I personally don’t have a ton of paper piles to deal with, I related to the idea because I DO have “piles” of thoughts and to-dos swirling around in my head. 

Let me know if a scenario like this sounds familiar to you too: it’s Monday morning and I sit down to work, vowing to be productive. I get into a groove and start hitting my stride, but then all the sudden, a thought pops into my head. I need to return those clothes that arrived this weekend. 

Followed by another: I know their return policy is around 30-60 days, but I wonder if I have to return via the post office or UPS. 

Since I’ll be able to find the answer quickly, I decide to break from what I’m doing. I log onto the store’s website and confirm my question, but 10 minutes later, I find myself a few pages deep browsing the new clothing arrivals. 

Wait, what was I doing before this? 

Has something similar happened to you? When I feel the most overwhelmed, it’s often because everything on my to-do list feels urgent and like it requires my immediate attention. It’s not true, but because I can’t think straight and sift through to prioritize, I feel stretched thin and like I don’t have time for what matters most. Not great! But when I heard Lisa’s idea, I thought it could help. 

The crux of the idea is that you have a designated container (a “Sunday Basket”) where, throughout the week, you place paper items that do not require immediate attention. The items remain untouched until Sunday (or your preferred day) when you dedicate time to deal with them appropriately. The magic of this is that it helps you defer tasks that can wait and keeps record of them for later. 

Interested to see if this idea could be useful for non-paper items, I designated a special notepad as my “basket” (the catch-all for all the thoughts) and when a thought popped into my head, I started quickly assessing with one question: “Can I deal with this later?” If the answer was yes, I added it to the list and moved on. I avoided getting sidetracked and avoided forgetting the thought for later! Win-win!

Now of course, this system doesn’t solve for still needing to actually do the tasks you’ve thought of, but after trying out this approach for the past two weeks, I’ve found I’m more likely to make progress on my to-do list in less time and with less energy expended.  For me, this looks like designating Sunday afternoons as my time to deal with those deferred tasks. I light a candle, sit down with a cup of coffee, and get to work. With focus and momentum, I cross things off the list and if there’s something that can’t be handled during the work session, I’ll make a plan for when I can complete it. And for the to-dos that don’t feel like a priority or urgent, I’ll defer again and start the list for next week. 

I find having a designated day helpful, but it’s not a hard-and-fast rule. If an opportunity does present itself on a day other than Sunday, it’s also great that I have an updated to-do list ready to be referenced. But for me, there’s just something about having that designated day and knowing when I’ll tackle my to-do list that makes me less likely to feel like I should be cramming tasks haphazardly into any free moment. The result is I’m more focused on work when I’m working. I’m more focused on my friends when we’re connecting. And I’m more focused on resting when I’m doing something relaxing. 

So, if you find yourself struggling to get focused or feeling overwhelmed on this Monday morning, maybe give this approach a try this week. The next time a task pops in your head, ask yourself if it can wait, and then make a plan to tackle it later. Hopefully, it will help you feel a bit more capable, centered and intentional, just like it has for me.

Want to receive a note like this to your inbox every Monday at 6 AM EST? Sign up here! If you don’t receive the email, please check your spam or junk folder. 

Have feedback, thoughts or a question you want addressed in an upcoming newsletter? Drop an anonymous note to my mailbox here!