There is always too much to do! It’s one of the reasons clutter builds up. It’s too easy not to make sorting stuff a priority because there is literally an endless list of things to do (whether it’s tracked in your head, on your phone or on paper!) It’s making people forgetful, and making people burn out! If you ask anyone if they were able to get everything done today that they needed to, the answer would always be no! And that doesn’t even account for the fun things to do! Even the most productive person would still want to get more done in the day.

Reality check

There are some days that you just won’t feel like being productive! Some days where you just don’t have the motivation, or the desire, or the energy to get done even one thing on that overwhelming list! There will be other days that you will fly through so many tasks on the list, you’ll wonder why you made the list seem so impossible!

Not only should you put some time into prioritizing your list, so that you don’t get lost in all the minor or fun tasks, you should also consider creating a list based on your own energy. Check out my post The Power-list! The power list is all about creating your list first by doing a brain dump of your tasks, then prioritizing the list, then add an expected timeline to each task. It can significantly increase your productivity.

Lately, I have been thinking about my power list, and sometimes just looking at my detailed power list I still get overwhelmed. Sometimes I just don’t have the energy to try to tackle it all – and it actually works against me!

Time to re-sort the list

The power list is a great way to organize your tasks, but dividing the list into low energy days and high energy days can make a huge difference. You may need to add a few tasks to your list to accommodate some low energy days.

Lower energy days

Your lower energy days may have some things on it like “let yourself enjoy a break”, or “let yourself enjoy some time to read a good book”, maybe even “enjoy a long walk on a sunny day”. They are tasks that may not overly help combat the feelings of overwhelm with the house, but they are still tasks that can make a huge difference to the mood of the household – and sometimes, that is even more important than getting a million things crossed off your list. Your lower energy days may also have outings or errands on them. Sometimes I just don’t feel like being in the house and just need to get out. Heading to the grocery store, or random browsing in favourite stores can be fun – as long as you are not needlessly adding to your clutter or chaos at home in doing so!

Higher energy days

Your higher energy days can be packed to the brim with some of those tasks that may take more time and energy to complete. Load them with chores, home projects, crafting or baking with the kids, decluttering areas of the house or organizing a space!

Don’t beat yourself up because you didn’t get as much done. Start by creating your power list, then colour code the list so that you know what items are best for high energy days or moments, and items for lower energy days or moments. That way, you are still progressing towards your goals, even if you don’t have the energy to go all out!

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