How to Prioritize Your To-Do List When You're Overwhelmed (4 Things That Actually Help)
I'm an "Elder Millennial" so I grew up in the golden age of Beanie Babies.
I mean, I collected ALL of them. And don't you DARE remove the tags... otherwise they won't be worth anything someday. (That was the promise, right?)
Of course, I don't own a single one from back in the 90s. And honestly? I'm not sure they'd be worth much of anything now anyway.
But I DO keep one little Beanie Baby on my desk.
A tiny sloth I "borrowed" from one of my kids' Happy Meals a while back. (Sorry, buddy.)
Now, I absolutely ADORE sloths. But that's not why he lives on my desk.
He's there as my daily reminder to SLOW DOWN.
Because there was a time in my business (not that long ago, actually... before the sloth came into my life) when I was completely stressed + overwhelmed.
Every single day, I'd look at my to-do list, see all the things on it, and feel like I'd NEVER get it all done.
Then the emails would roll in. And the client messages. Which just piled MORE onto the list... if they didn't completely hijack whatever I'd planned to do that day.
I felt like I was working non-stop. Skipping meals. Working every night. Never getting a real break.
I was on the edge of burnout. And I knew if I didn't change SOMETHING, the whole thing was going to collapse.
Here's the part that made no sense to me...
I've ALWAYS been a planner. As a kid, I loved getting a new calendar at Christmas so I could write down every day off school and every friend's birthday. In college, I mapped out my whole day... class, study time, and when I could just be a college kid.
So WHY, now, could I not seem to get my sh*t together?!
Why does my to-do list feel so overwhelming?
Here's the deal... your to-do list isn't the problem. Your list being a mile long isn't the problem either.
The problem is you're not PRIORITIZING your time + your tasks.
You're staring at 37 things with no idea where to start, so you grab whatever feels easiest (hello, redesigning your Canva graphic for the 4th time)... and end the day feeling like you didn't actually move anything forward.
That's not a productivity problem. It's a prioritizing problem.
And the good news? It's fixable. You don't need to do MORE. You need a little structure around what you already have.
Structure creates freedom.
So here are the 4 things that helped me slow down, focus, and actually cross the RIGHT things off my list each day.
ONE || How do I get everything out of my head?
Start by getting it ALL out of your brain and onto paper.
There is NOTHING wrong with having a to-do list a mile long. That's pretty standard, especially for moms running a business.
We're the CEO of our company AND the CEO of our home. We've got A LOT swirling around up there on any given day.
And if you're anything like me... if it doesn't get written down, there's zero chance I'm remembering it. (Perimenopause brain is REAL, y'all.)
So at the start of each week, do a "brain dump."
What do you need to get done this week?
What DIDN'T get done last week that needs to move forward?
What do you want to remember for later... but might squeeze in if there's time?
Write it ALL down.
Getting it out of your head and onto paper instantly lowers the overwhelm + anxiety you're carrying around about your week. You can't hold 37 open tabs in your brain and expect to feel calm.
(This is exactly why I built brain dump pages right into my SYS Planner. That mental clutter needs a home.)
TWO || How do I prioritize tasks when everything feels important?
Ok, I know I just said a brain dump lowers your overwhelm. And it does.
But let's be real... that giant list can STILL feel like a lot. Especially when you don't know where to start.
So most of us just dive in, grabbing random tasks with no real reason behind them. And we get to the end of the day feeling like we spun our wheels.
Here's what to do instead: pick 3 things to focus on each day.
How do you choose those 3?
First, look at what's due SOON. If something HAS to be done by tomorrow, it's obviously a top priority today.
If nothing's urgent, ask yourself: what actually MOVES my business forward? Did I do something to sell today? Send the email? Follow up with the lead? Post the thing?
That's where your time should go first.
But the big thing here... instead of working off your mile-long list, you just pick THREE.
Three feels doable. Thirty-seven feels like a reason to go scroll Instagram.
THREE || How do I stop bouncing between random tasks?
This one works hand-in-hand with picking your daily 3.
Once you've handled anything urgent, batching is what tells you where to point your focus for the rest of the day.
For me, batching looks like giving each day a THEME. So I'm not making a fresh "what should I even work on" decision every morning.
Here's what my week actually looks like:
MONDAY: admin + CEO day (checking my data, prepping for the week ahead)
TUESDAY: client calls + marketing (podcast interviews, calls, writing marketing emails, updating my sales page)
WEDNESDAY: project day (bigger projects, funnels, member content)
THURSDAY: client calls + SEO content (blog posts, Pinterest pins)
FRIDAY: CEO reset (planning + reviewing for the week ahead)
Now, instead of blindly grabbing 3 random things off my list, I pick the 3 that fit that day's theme.
Marketing email? That's a Tuesday. Big scary project? Wednesday. Blog post you're reading right now? Thursday.
One less decision. Every single day.
That's the whole point... busy is not a badge of honor. Structure is what gets you out of busy and into productivity.
FOUR || How do I actually focus on one thing?
Real talk... as a woman, I feel like I have to be busy ALL the time. And I genuinely LOVE what I do. I could work 24/7 if I let myself.
But I'm also a big believer in rest + FOCUS.
And here's what's actually happening when you "multitask"... you're not doing 5 things at once. You're doing 5 things badly, switching between all of them, and torching your focus in the process.
So if you struggle to stay on ONE task (because multitasking is KILLING your productivity)... my go-to is a simple focus timer. I use an app called Focus Keeper.
Here's my rhythm:
Set a timer for 25 minutes
Focus on ONE thing (no tabs, no phone, no "quick check")
When it goes off, get up for 5 minutes... walk around, drink water, tidy up
Sit back down for another 25
That's it. And I get SO much more done in those little sprints than I ever did "grinding" for hours.
Rest is productive. Those 5-minute breaks aren't slacking. They're what let you focus for the next 25.
So how do busy moms actually get more done in less time?
Here's the reality... you don't need a fancier app or a longer list or to wake up at 5AM.
You need 4 simple things working together:
Brain dump so your head isn't holding everything
Pick your top 3 so you know where to start
Batch by theme days so you stop deciding from scratch
Use a timer so you actually focus
That's the whole system. Simple but structured.
And it works whether you've got a full workday or you're building your business in 15-minute cracks between snack requests and meltdowns. (I built mine during 90-minute plan periods when I was still teaching full time... so I KNOW it works in the small pockets.)
So take the pressure off. Try these out this week and see how much you can actually cross off.
Ready to make prioritizing automatic?
I built the SYS Planner around this EXACT system... brain dump pages, weekly top 3, and space to plan your day around what actually moves your business forward (not just busywork).
It's simple but structured... designed to work WITH your real, full life. Not add to it.
Not ready for the planner yet? Start free with my CEO Weekly Reset... the exact weekly planning process I use every Friday to prep for the week ahead.
FAQ
How do I prioritize tasks when everything feels important?
Start with what's due soonest, then ask which task actually moves your business forward (like selling or following up). If it's not urgent and it doesn't grow your business, it's not a top 3 task for today.
What are the 3 most important tasks I should do each day?
Pick your "daily 3" by looking at deadlines first, then income-producing activities second. Working off 3 focused priorities beats grinding through a 37-item list you'll never finish.
How do I stop feeling overwhelmed by my to-do list?
Do a weekly brain dump to get everything out of your head and onto paper, then choose just 3 things to focus on each day. Overwhelm usually isn't a productivity problem... it's a prioritizing problem.
Does time blocking or batching really work for busy moms?
Yes. Giving each day a theme (like admin Monday, marketing Tuesday) removes the daily "what should I even work on" decision, which is one of the biggest energy drains when your time is already limited.