34 | The Power of DONE
34 | The Power of DONE
In our productivity-oriented culture, there’s so much focus on the to-do list. Keeping track of what you’d like to accomplish is helpful, yet when we use it as a measuring stick of success it can be disheartening. Instead, I prefer redirecting my brain toward what I have already completed each day.
In today's episode, I will outline why I believe to-do lists are problematic. Then, I’ll share a simple exercise to help you re-frame your days and weeks to focus on what you've done instead of operating in an overwhelming cycle of to-dos. This process builds a mindset of success and is another tool to help you live a more organized life.
MENTIONED:
The Gap And The Gain by Dan Sullivan
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Intro: Welcome to A Pleasant Solution, Embracing an Organized Life. I'm your host, certified life coach, professional organizer and home life expert, Amelia Pleasant Kennedy. I help folks permanently eliminate clutter in their homes and lives. On this podcast, we'll go beyond the basics of home organization to talk about why a clutter-free mindset is essential to an aligned and sustainable lifestyle. If you're someone with a to-do list, if you're managing a household and if you're caring for others, this podcast is for you. Let's dive in.
Amelia: Welcome to Episode 34, The Power of DONE. Hey y’all. I’ve recently returned from Dallas where I attended the annual mastermind of Life Coach School coaches. It was a two-day gathering where we celebrated our individual successes, planned future collaborations, and widened our perspectives about what’s possible in life and in business. I had the honor of being nominated to speak to the entire crowd. There were approximately 800 of us in attendance live and an additional thousand coaches tuning in virtually. This year’s theme was “feel harder,” and the experience of sharing my story and perspective to that many coaches at once was exhilarating.
There were a series of steps I had to complete in order to walk out and face the crowd. First, I had to acknowledge I would be attending the event, and I had to accept the challenge of presenting. Next, I had to pitch my idea to The Life Coach School via an outline and three-minute video submission. Then, I had to wait… patiently. I didn’t hear back from the school for a few weeks, and when I did it was GO time. I wrote my speech, revised it, got coaching from my coach, listened to my inner wisdom, and trimmed the talk down sentence by sentence. The speech was initially expected to be 25-30 minutes, but the final time slot ended up being 20. Then there were the additional details: slides, selecting music and an outfit, expecting a bit of nervousness. and memorizing the 20-minute speech. I took it one step at a time, and I also made one decision at a time. Looking back now, I can see that the process of pulling the speech together could have been a “to do list,” however, in my mind, I was counting how much I’d accomplished each step of the way.
Which brings me to today’s topic: the power of done. In our productivity-oriented culture, there’s so much focus on the to-do list. I, on the other hand, love to redirect my brain towards what I’ve already completed. On today’s episode I’ll be outlining why I think to-do lists are slightly problematic, then I’ll offer that you reframe your days and weeks towards what you’ve done or finished. It’s a subtle tweak I use to move away from overwhelm and build a mindset of success. This shift feels so much better and will leave you feeling a bit more in the “gain” of each day, rather than the “gap.” Dan Sullivan’s concept shows up in a variety of places in the business and mindset world, and I think it can be appropriately applied to our home life as well.
So first, take a moment to pause and think about the way you approach projects or tasks. How easy is it for you to identify the steps involved from here to there? Breaking things down into parts is a skill, and it requires a level of executive function. You may be excellent at applying this skill in your work life but may not have thought about applying it to organizing or other home life tasks in the same way. Or you may be so good at breaking things down into parts that your list of steps is longer than long. Just notice where you are. Notice what kind of list-maker you are. Notice if your current style and approach is working for you in some areas but not others. The goal is to create awareness around whether you’re always trying to keep up, always feel like you’re treading water, or always feeling pressure to keep tackling task after task.
Sure, I encourage clients to write out their thoughts, their plans, their tasks, and ideas so that they’re able to keep their minds clutter-free. Your brain is for thinking, not remembering your to-do’s, so yes, list making is helpful in many regards. For most of you, however, your to-do list turns into a list of required tasks. It’s often jumbled – with critical or urgent tasks being mixed in with “nice to do” or “in the future” tasks. When tasks are mixed in this fashion, every item seems important and necessary. Your brain sees all that it HAS to do and for most folks, this leads to a feeling of internal pressure.
It's this pressure of needing to keep up, or always stay working, that I’m not in favor of. The to-do list is a bottomless bucket. It refills each and every day. It’s sneaky. It’s like when you finally fall asleep at night, little ideas line up at the front of your mind waiting for you to wake up. The cycle of to-do’s begins again with the steady march out of your mind and on to paper. Again, the to-do list is bottomless. There’s no end. There’s no destination. It won’t stop, until you decide that you’ve done enough.
I hear the impact all around me. Folks tell me they’re busy, they don’t have enough time, and that they feel like they’re barely keeping their heads above water. The to-do list tricks you into thinking that someday maybe you’ll reach a place where all the tasks are complete, and your inbox will reach zero. It’s a trap, and it’s messing with your self-worth. I hear things like, “I could do more.” “If I were more productive (or more organized)…” Getting more done gets more done. It doesn’t make you more worthy, nor does it make you more whole. You’re 100% worthy and whole the moment you wake up each morning. It’s the thoughts you have about what you’ve accomplished (or not) that create how you feel each day.
Which is why I much prefer keeping track with a DONE list. Your to-do’s only matter IF you choose to do them. What matters is what you’ve completed. Getting out of bed is worth celebrating. Each moment beyond that is a win. (If your mind is arguing with me right now, I’d be curious to know what’s an accomplishment and what’s not to you. Don’t forget that you create the definitions in your life.) Take a moment to consider what feeling comes up in your body when you look at the list of what’s still outstanding – or left to do – on your list. How does it feel for you?
Humans are excellent at overestimating how much they can realistically accomplish each day. We’re not that great at calculating how long tasks take, nor how much brain power or physical capacity we have to complete them. That’s one reason you may end up feeling less than for not checking off the number of tasks on your list that you told yourself you’d complete.
You can circumvent this self-loathing trap by instead leaning into the power of done. I recognize that this may not be an easy transition. I recognize that it may take practice, however, I do know that this mindset shift works. It will teach you to own all that you prioritized, all that you took action on, all that you accomplished each day. And trust me, it feels amazing the more you practice.
Last month, my mindset coach set a daily reminder for me to write down what I accomplished in my business each day. Completing this podcast would be a great example. I think about each of you on an ongoing basis. I write a weekly newsletter and produce a weekly podcast. I teach workshops. I coach my private clients and help them declutter and organize their homes and lives. I connect with strangers online and provide free content. I read and participate in professional development. I donate my time and skills on a regular basis. My coach encouraged me to notate, for myself, what steps I was taking in service of my clients each day. I posted them to her for accountability.
At first, it was a bit of a challenge. I had to think back to how I used my time for the day. I had to identify the results I’d created (like the podcast recorded). My mind would try to bicker with me. It would say things like, “that doesn’t count.” When you begin tracking what you have done each day, it’s best to expect internal pushback. Your brain is in the habit of seeing the items not checked off the list. It’s been seeking out more to do, and it’s been judging the undone for so long that it may be a challenge at first. Remember, you’re in charge of what qualifies as done.
Each time I completed a step in the Mastermind speech process, I gave myself credit. When I said “Yes, I’m in.” I gave myself credit. When I wrote and filmed the pitch, I gave myself credit. When I submitted it, I got another point. Life is made up of a series of days. Each day is made up of a series of choices and activities. THIS is the journey. If I’d waited to only give myself credit for standing on the stage, sharing my thoughts with the 1800 people in attendance, it would have been much less fulfilling. “Done” is what YOU make it out to be. Done could be the entire project or process, or it can be each step that you take towards the end goal you’ve identified.
Keeping track of what you’ve accomplished gives you the chance to honor your journey. It feels so much better – to point your brain towards what you’ve completed, the steps you’ve taken, the progress you’ve made. Redirecting your attention to what you’ve done places you in the mindset of success and progress. It’s a way of intentionally validating yourself rather than waiting for or seeking out external validation. It teaches you that your life and your contributions matter.
The to-do list keeps us always striving and feeling like we’ve never done enough. That were not enough. That we’re only valued for our ability to tick tasks off the list, not for the impact of those completed tasks. It’s a never-ending game that leaves me, in particular, like I’m trying to reach the horizon (which inevitably always moves further and further away). “Done,” on the other hand, feels powerful. Whether it’s getting my laundry folded and put away or getting a load of groceries for the fridge, acknowledging that the task is completed (even if only for a temporary time) feels like satisfaction. I literally stop and breathe it in. A parallel analogy for the power of done is the glass half full. It’s a conscious mindset shift that reminds me that two or three completed tasks are WAY more valuable than the fourteen items that remain outstanding.
That’s it for this week, y’all. I’m going to consider this podcast, our time together today, done. It feels amazing to have connected with you and offered this one tidbit. You’re more organized than you think, and implementing this one perspective shift will lighten your mental load one completed task at a time. Talk to y’all soon.
Outro: Hey y'all, I'd be honored if you'd take three minutes to leave a review of this podcast. Your time is precious and by leaving a review, A Pleasant Solution will reach more listeners and lives. I'd also love to hear your feedback and share your review on a future episode. Talk to y'all soon and remember, you’re more organized than you think.
