How multiple to-do lists might be good for mental health.

Photo by Jessica Lewis on Unsplash

Have you ever been in a moment where you are at the absolute bottom of who you are?

I have.

Plenty of times. Especially in the last year.

One of the things that I learned from therapy is that it is ok to give yourself permission to have a bad day. Sometimes that permission looks like a day at the house. Those days of finding comfort in self-care. With as many Harry Potter movies as you can watch before half your body falls asleep and you run out of snacks.

But that can’t work always. And sometimes moving forward means figuring out the minimum of what you need to do so you can move forward.

When we finish things we feel better. There is this thing that builds up our identity when we are doing things we are passionate about doing. The research behind the power of finishing is great. (1) I love it. I also lean DEEPLY in CliftonStrengths. Strengths show our unique energizers and how they activate when we are living into them in a healthy way.

So this might sound a little weird, but having several different to-do lists is good for my mental health. And hear me out and think about what this might look like for you. It has been a massive help. Even on those days when I want to go into Harry Potter land, I have learned to adjust, finish things, and feel great.

I like to segment my life into three buckets. let’s call them “I’m not ok, I’m alright, and I’m great”. They mean exactly what they sound. In my work coaching ministry leaders, I use the terms “draining, dealing, and developing” in much the same way. The three categories give us a narrative for our energy. I use this ecosystem when to design work within my own mental and emotional health.

So imagine it like this.

I’m not ok. You are at a sub-optimal level. Getting close to burnout (or already there). You are in the space where your identity is being de-formed. At this moment the most important thing is to try to gain some agency back over who you are.

I’m OK. Things are alright. You are managing stuff pretty well. While you might not be growing at an accelerated rate, you aren’t worried. You feel like yourself. This is actually the space many of us strive for. Nothing is tripping our danger indicators and things seem easy. This is a false ideal.

I’m Great. In these spaces, you are growing. Who you are isn’t necessarily changing...but becoming more clearly defined. You feel like you are accomplishing a greater purpose in life. New things are happening and you are at ease with how you have a say over things. Stuff might come at you, but because of the mental state you are in, they slide off your shoulder fast.

With this laid out, we can get to the multiple to-do lists.

These aren’t about having some huge list laid out in front of you and churning through it like a mad person. This is about clearly defining the tasks that lie before you and intentionally approaching them according to where you are in the moment. We do the most important work when we are in the best mind space of our day and expand it across the table. If we aren’t in the best space we simply avoid those tasks that are in the “I’m great” territory. We also intentionally avoid the sort of thing we save for those rough moments if we are in the middle of a flow state and can be the best of who we are.

Think of it like this.

You have a bad lunch meeting. You get back to work in a defeated state. You had a big project that would take focus…but we know that can’t happen now.

BUT, what if you had a list of things that are important and can be done when things are at a low spot? You can organize some files. Clean out the email inbox, or those sorts of tasks. Take advantage of the lack of mind space AND set yourself up for better work down the road. When I plan out larger projects, I save tasks for these moments.

That middle space, the “I’m alright” is a great time to schedule or plan important things. You can edit writing projects, read and research, and other critical items. The middle space is when I schedule social media posts and create social content. I work on agendas for meetings and handle more critical email tasks, that sort of thing. I can do a lot of sermon work, especially the writing and image creation here. I find myself in this space more when I get deeper into my week and have a few days of work under my belt. I find myself in the middle space most afternoons.

And then you get to those great days.

This is when you need to be doing those tasks that only YOU can do. Things that bring joy. Because you being in that sweet spot of “I’m Great” means you are in the mental space to do your absolute best work. These are the tasks that develop us and build our identity. For each of us, depending on our strengths (#clifton), these sometimes might mean not even “doing”, but making sure we have the time and space for “being”.

So how might creating a few different to-do lists change things for you? For me, assigning tasks to those lower energy zone times means the things I am always putting off have a place to get done. It also lets me turn my mind off towards them when I am in a high-energy space. I also have learned to defend that “I’m great” space and by defending it actually grows!!!

Having this approach to our vocational work allows our mental state to have a say. It honors who we are and how we are feeling. It lets our life become more holistic. And for the productivity side of things, it carves out the space for tasks to be appropriate to our moods. Plus we benefit from the accomplishment boost that finishing something gives us.

As we go deeper into this we also realize there are tasks that don’t belong in certain states and have the ability to keep us there or bring us down. I HATE running errands, but if I save them for those moments when I feel like I can’t do anything else they tend to prolong the funk. Instead, I run errands when I am in my middle space. I fire up a good podcast and can’t wait to jump back in the truck so I can start listening again.

So think about making those separate lists. Hammer out just one of them and save them for when you find yourself in one of those moments.

Footnotes
1. This is a study HBR focuses on to talk about the relationship between finishing things and self-reporting a “good day”.
The Power of Small Wins | Teresa M. Amabile and Stephen J. Kramer