One Tip That Changed How I Prioritize My To-Do List Forever

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Last updated on August 30th, 2023 at 09:01 am

My to-do list is a mile long. It used to be that if I only crossed off a couple things on my list, I felt like my day was a failure. I accomplished nothing if all I did was get the laundry done. But now I realize, the problem isn’t the to-do list –it was the way I looked at each item and how it fits in the grand scheme of life.

I’m back today to talk about living intentionally. Since a lot of women struggle with having enough time to do EVERYTHING, I want to share the way I set my priorities and intentions for the day. This is in no way perfect, but I’ve found that this works for me.

Everyone says to set priorities and make lists every day. There are a lot of experts who recommend writing 3 priorities down for each day and work on those at your peak time. But I think that advice is for people who are only working jobs. In an office. What about us mamas who are doing multiple things …like all the things and are constantly being derailed by tiny humans?

Here’s the answer: only set ONE priority for the day.

Yup, that’s right. Just one. Because when there’s only one thing you’ve set out to accomplish, you’re more likely to get it done. And when you start crossing other things off your list, it’s like getting bonus points.

Once you get one thing accomplished, it starts a momentum of getting more done …as long as you don’t get interrupted …which we all know very well will happen.

But now you’re not feeling like the day was wasted because you accomplished the ONE thing you set out to do.

Now, the big question: how do I know what to prioritize?

I’m going to walk you through exactly how I set my ONE priority for the day.

Step 01: Write it all down

My Day Designer planner has a list on the right side that lets me make my to-do list, so I make use of it. I try to write down everything I can think of that I “need” to do the next day in my planner the night before. This way, I can try to get it off my mind and actually go to sleep. (I’m not a good sleeper, so this has been a good exercise.)

Step 02: Pray about it

Each morning before heading into my office, I spend time in prayer and ask for guidance in knowing what to work on that day. It makes me feel better knowing that I’ve offered up my task for the day. I feel more confident that I’m doing the right thing.

Step 03: Align it with my goals

I keep the monthly Tending List from my Powersheets open on my desk. I’m constantly reminded of the goals I set for the month. (You can read about my goals for 2019 here.) Since each month I review my goals for the year and set up smaller goals for that particular month, I know I’m on the right track.

I’ll have one thing on my Tending List that tops everything else, so I’ll prioritize that. I’ll make changes if there’s something happening that day that would push it down the list.

Step 04: Check my schedule

The left side of my planner has an hourly schedule. I’ll schedule in the non-negotiables and things I must do, like school drop-offs, activities, exercise, and time to eat. After that, I can figure out when I’m going to work on my priority. (It’s usually first thing in the morning since that’s when I’m at my best.)

I’ve started using the Pomodoro technique to keep track of my time, and it’s worked really well. I actually feel like I’m getting more done, and the things I have to do feel more bearable. Basically, you work on something for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break. You schedule however many Pomodoros you think it’d take to complete a task. (You can check out this video from Megan Minns if you want to learn more.)

Prioritizing for Different Seasons

Life happens in seasons. Everything has to be adjusted depending on what’s happening in your life. I know there are some seasons I’ve been through where I just need to get a couple of loads of laundry done. And that’s ok. Laundry and dishes are not insignificant priorities because they are acts of love for your family. And when I’m not feeling it, I ask St Therese of Lisieux for her intercession. She gets it when it comes to these little daily things.

So that’s my super simple way of prioritizing my day: I write it down, pray about it, and check my goals and my schedule. I keep it simple because I can’t handle anything more than that. It takes some work upfront to know what my goals are so I can work toward them, but it’s well worth it.

This is the first year I’ve set real, intentional goals. I want you to do that too, so I wrote a post about how I did it. Click here to read about intentional goal setting to get inspired and start setting out to do the right things every single day.