The One Thing Guaranteed to Reduce Your Stress

You are busy. I am busy. We all are busy. No arguments from anybody about that.

Somewhere along the way, we have adopted the idea of the “daily to-do list”. You can find all sorts of cute notepads with this catchy phrase written across the top of the page. I love a good list. 

There is the grocery list, the personal “to-do” list, the workplace “to-do” list, and the “honey-do” list. I don’t trust my memory with so many things to do, so compiling a list, in theory, makes me feel less stressed. The logic is: if it is written down, it will get done.

The size of our “daily to-do list” can quickly get out of control!  In an attempt to not forget what needs to be done, and thus feel less stressed, we write things down; but then the stress of not completing our lists starts to build.

It’s a vicious cycle – the stress to do all the things and to do them well, and on schedule. What’s a person to do? 

I have found a great way to reduce my daily stress level and wanted to share! ✨ 

Instead of trying to plow through a “daily to-do list”, I create a “weekly to-do list” that I work my way through. 

Then each day, I figure out what THE ONE THING is that needs to be accomplished to achieve the greatest impact…and I do that one thing! 

✨Sometimes it’s business related.
✨Sometimes it’s personal in nature.
✨Sometimes it focuses on self-care.
✨Sometimes it’s all about a family member. 

When you have that ONE THING identified and you nail it, everything else you are able to accomplish feels like icing on the cake! You are setting yourself up for success! By focusing on “the one thing” for the day, I immediately feel more present with that task (or person) and it feels as though I’ve given myself permission to relax and thoroughly enjoy myself. 

My old way of thinking, with the “daily to-do list”, often led to frustration and my feeling like a failure when I didn’t complete every single task each day.

Let’s face it, some things are simply more important! A week-at-a-glance “to-do list” makes the more important tasks easier to identify 🔎. 

🌻 Some other benefits:
This technique allows you to better prioritize and even batch your tasks. Instead of running haphazardly all over town with your errands, for example, when you are eyeing up your weekly errands, it is easier to group tasks together to allow for more efficient travel times. 

You may also find an opportunity to get some chores OFF your “to-do list”…to delegate. Women especially fall prey to the idea that they have to do it all, and our “to-do lists” are proof of that. 

Take a long hard look at your list. Do YOU absolutely have to attend to all these tasks on your own? If your talents and expertise aren’t required for the task to be adequately completed, consider passing it along to somebody else. Often others are willing, and more than happy, to help lighten our loads, they simply don’t know what we need help with. It’s okay to ask for assistance.

You are ultimately responsible for your schedule, your “to-do list”. What you allow to be on your list is up to you. If you are finding yourself overly stressed, irritable, frustrated, and resentful of everything that you feel responsible for, ✨ it may be time for you to take a step back.

Most activities that have you busy and stressed out are things you have agreed to take on. Take control of your schedule! Clean it up by delegating what you can and working toward removing tasks and responsibilities that you are no longer passionate about or that drain you. 

Focus on compiling a weekly “to-do list” vs. a daily list. Prioritize that list and each day select THE ONE THING that you intend to dedicate all your attention and energy to and give it your all! It feels great to end each day feeling accomplished and fulfilled.