Hello and welcome to episode 104 of the nourishing. Amy podcast. In today's episode, we are going to be talking about amplifying, your to-do list, how you can utilize a to-do list to feel really good for yourself. Instead of it feeling, like I still have 100 tabs open in my brain. I'm feeling overwhelmed and also writing a to-do list for some people can kind of feel like a bit of an eye roll. It's like okay. Yeah. So like I know Everyone says I
should do one, but actually why. And how can you make it work best for you? What feels good for you. So, before I jump into that topic, let me give you my recommendation for the week. Now, this is a recipe. I actually have two recommendations for you. The first one is a green juice recipe because I only just recently remade a green juice for myself.
It's currently Alma here in Australia if you are listening, while this episode is being released and also if you're in Australia, hello to my International listeners, if you are not in Australia but I just made a green juice and it's a recipe that I've been using for ages and I haven't made it for such a long time and I forget how refreshing it is and how nice it is. So if you are a green juice fan, I have a recipe for you now, I had some celery left over from a
A dinner that I made at the start of the week and like, celery is just super random for me. Like I'll use a little bit of it and then I'm like, okay, I still have like three quarters of a bunch left. What do I do with it? Which is exactly why I made this green juice. So I have and look like, I am not super specific with the amounts of things that I use here. I like, I'm like that with a lot of my recipes. So celery was literally just like, you know, three handfuls of chopped up celery.
I have one banana I used about half of a pretty big cucumber. I used a full green apple. I use the juice of one lemon parsley. Probably like, you know, a big handful of parsley. Also, then some ice and some water and that's all my ingredients. You could also include if you wanted to baby spinach, I just didn't have any in my My fridge at the time. And also, if you are looking to make it a little sweeter, I have also included in this one brief before a pair or also some
frozen mango. If you've got some frozen mango in your freezer as well. So this will generally make enough green juice. For me for look, I'll probably have two cups of it today. Ali will also probably steal a couple bit, so that's a 3 cups and then I'll also have a little
bit of Tomorrow as well. So if you want to, like, if I was only going to make be making up for, like one serving, or like a day of servings of this green juice, I would just generally, like, have the ingredients realistically, I'd probably still use a full banana but half everything else just because the banana does add that nice sweetness to it. I feel like also, I would still include a full lemon as well because that's that tang. And that's the freshness that
comes. In. You could actually probably also include some ginger. If you've got some ginger, that's a good idea. But anyway, I literally just Chuck it all in my Thermo. My water with this. I just used a liter of water, so I've got two liter, drink bottle and I had filled that up and I just poured the whole thing in and mixed it all together. So yeah, it made a little bit over a liter of juice.
When you think about all the ingredients that was also in there too, and I love it. It's so refreshing. So of green juices. Thing then, give that a go. Also, my second recommendation, a bit of a random one, but I have been watching manifest over on Netflix and I didn't realize that other people were watching it, too. I just kind of thought, oh, this sounds kind of cool. I'll give it a watch and then I saw quite a few influences
posting about it this week too. And I was like, oh this must be like a bit of a thing now. So it's super weird because I am I'm so hooked but I also don't really know why I like I'm not as I was watching the first few episodes. I was like, okay, like I'm kind of obsessed with this now and I feel like I need to know what's happening but also it's like not the best show that I've ever seen.
So I feel really torn. Look, I don't know the the directors and producers are obviously doing a good job at making the show because I am fully hooked, I need to know what happens and from what I can gather, that's the general. Answers from everybody else that I've seen, that's watching it
online as well. So it's called manifest, it's on Netflix and the gist of the show is that there is this group of people that are on a plane and they leave that could take off and then they get back and I think it's something like seven years later or something. They just go missing for seven
years but they don't realize. And so when they get back and they'll and they think it's just like the same day, And everybody else in the world and their families and friends, and all that kind of stuff, have kind of like moved on, because not moved on, but it's been seven years, you know, and then they've got all these like, funny things that are happening to them after it. So look, it's cool.
It's a bit of a switch off TV show and it's just something that I've really been enjoying watching an episode or two of after I've finished work to wind down after the day. So that's my two recommendations for you for this week. Now, let's jump into the topic at hand. You guys will know if you follow me over on Instagram or if you talk to me in general day-to-day life, that a to-do list is something that I find really beneficial for myself.
And also that so many of my clients find really beneficial, especially if I have a few newer clients on board that hadn't actually ever done. To-do lists or planning of any sort of like there. We call their month. It was very kind of just like fly by the pants. Is that even the saying? I don't know.
But anyway, Way. It was very just my kind of go with the flow but also recognizing I'm actually feeling pretty stressed and overwhelmed and I feel like I'm trying to remember all of these things that I have to do for work and for home life and with my friends and my relationship and all of that kind of stuff that it was feeling quite
overwhelming. So we have started to implement a few things and I've been getting feedback from them over the last few months and few weeks that this is something that is also really helping. Them to feel a lot less overwhelmed. And I'm also going to give you one of the key takeaways and action steps. In a few minutes that I would really like you to be focusing on as well. So let's start at the very top
and work our way down. So first of all we are going to be planning out our month so that might look like getting towards the end of a month and sitting down and doing this or maybe you do it at the very start of the upcoming month and you sit down and you grab your, I don't know, wherever it is. That you write all of your appointments and things down. So maybe you've got Google Calendar, maybe you have a diary, maybe you have a monthly desk.
Planner, maybe you've got all three like me because, you know, why have one when you can have three. So I want you to sit down and write down all of your appointments. So your doctor's appointments, catch ups with friends, family stuff that you've got coming up. Dentist appointments if you have kids stuff with the kids, like anything that you know that is coming up. That is already booked in that, you don't want to forget that, you can't forget. So that's going in there first
for the month. And then I also want you to think about, okay, that's all of the like non-negotiable stuff for these are all of the things that I already have booked in with, say, other people. Now, I also want you to consider what am I doing for myself, though? We're out of all of these things. Is there any anything? Already that's booked in that is time for me. So maybe you have a gym class or a recurring pilates class that, you know, that you do every
Saturday morning. And that's your thing. I want you to book that in maybe you can see that there's a Sunday that you might have an hour or two spare and I just want you to time block that out so that it is booked in. As time for you you don't even necessarily have to actually book in a specific activity just some In the month that is going to be specifically. Oh my goodness my words specifically allocated time for you, so that's our month, plan
to start off with. Now the month plan is definitely subject to change. You might notice that maybe some of those appointments get rescheduled or moved around because other people need to change them. You might notice that you get halfway through the month in this extra stuff that's been added in. That's fine. That's very normal. But we're just starting to create a bit of a base. Then what we are going to do next step is, we are doing a
weekly to-do list. So, this means on either a Sunday, maybe Sunday afternoon, Sunday, morning, Sunday night, whatever, it doesn't matter when you do it, or maybe for some of my other clients, they like to do it on a Monday. They're starting their week fresh, they're sitting down on a Monday morning and they're doing this. So sitting down and brainstorming everything that you can think that you need to get done for that week or that you want to be. Done for that week.
So this is the big things and the small things. It's all the work staff, it's all the to-do list, it's all of the house chores. It's the, I don't know, like content scheduling if you need to schedule content. All of that kind of stuff. And it's also the miscellaneous, you know, it's okay. Am I cleaning the bathroom this week? A, my decluttering, my wardrobe. What, where am I things? That I've got booked in with my family or All my friends or have.
I got something booked in for myself, when a my gym appointments, like what workouts am I doing? When a, my scheduling in my movement? Where's my meal? Planning happening? All of that kind of stuff. Everything that you can think that you want to get done is on that list for that week, then what you're doing. Once you've done that brainstorm is you're actually breaking it in two days.
So okay, Monday I know I've got this amount of time from to myself or that I can allocate to Work and home stuff. And so you might allocate two things in each and then you're doing the same thing for each day.
So we've got it, then a general idea of like, okay cool, yes, I've done my brain dump and my brain storm, but I can also see that each of those things is now allocated to a day and I'm feeling less overwhelmed because I feel more organized and I can see that I've got those things planned in and they're going to happen and I'm going to make sure that they do happen. So that's our weekly. We plan and then we are going to
take it the next step further. And every morning you are going to be sitting down because I can guarantee you that. Let's say for example we hit Wednesday, there might be one or two things that overflowed from Monday that you didn't get around to. They've then moved into Tuesday. Maybe there's one or two things from Tuesday, their overflowed. And now we've got two or three or four things that are now flowing into Wednesday. That's okay, this is Very
normal. Again, we want to be aware of that perfectionism driver of like, well, I have to get all of this stuff done the key here and the main thing that we are doing is reducing our overwhelmed by getting the things written down, so that your brain knows that you're not going to forget about them. Absolute worst case scenario, if
you get to the end of the week. And it's Friday at Saturday, it's Sunday and you're looking at your list, and you realize, jeez, I've still got like eight or nine things that excuse Me, I haven't gotten around to this week, that's okay. There's nothing wrong with that. They're still written down, they go into the next week, that's fine. So that's our perfectionism driver or maybe our all-or-nothing thinking pattern that you may or may not notice
that comes in for you. So every day we're going to sit down and you are going to write out, okay? This is all my stuff for today and this is all of the big things. And all of the small things, it's the meetings. It's the And it's the to-do
list, it's the miscellaneous. Mopping, the floor, vacuuming the floors, cleaning, the bathrooms tidying, the kitchen doing two, loads of washing unpacking, the dishwasher cooking, your meal prep for the next three days, making some healthy snacks, going for a walk getting to the gym, whatever it is, your big things, your small things, all of the focuses for the day. Now, what I want you to do and
this is the important part. Because what this is going to help you to do is it's going to reduce some of that procrastination. So it's very tempting. Say for example, you've got 20 things on your to-do list for the day. 15 of those things are semi small, they're quite easily accessible and they're ready to go. There the easy things, it's the smaller tasks of the day. You've got those easily accessible smaller tasks that you can smash out, and maybe you do 10 of them before lunchtime.
So you're feeling accomplished, you're feeling achieved, you're looking at your to-do list, you're Crossing off all these things and you're feeling really great. Then you get to You are 3 p.m. and it's the afternoon and you realize still got six or seven things left on my list to do and they're the hard things. It's the things that I've been procrastinating on that, I've pushed back till the afternoon.
Now, I've only got another, maybe, I don't know two hours of work if you're at work or however many, however, long it is, until you're then doing like the nighttime routine and the evening routine, the dinners, the bedtimes, all that kind of stuff. And I realized that At these big things are actually the important things and now I'm feeling overwhelmed and stressed and rushed because I know I don't have enough time to finish these other things.
And what do we know about time? It's not about time management, it's about priority management and recognizing that, what I've actually done is, I've prioritized all of my other 10 things in the morning, which felt really good at the time. But now that means that I have under prioritized my Important things. Now, I'm procrastinating. Now, I'm feeling rushed, and overwhelmed. And now, some of those things need to get pushed into the
following day. So you're doing your brain dump for the day you're writing out your to-do list of everything that you're doing and then this is the important part. You are writing down highlighting, putting a star next to whatever it is your main three priorities. Your three absolute non-negotiables for the day. If only we three things on that list, get done, you're going to
be happy. Now, I'm going to be completely honest with you, I have been at so many different ends of the spectrum with my to-do lists of like, work-life balance mum, life, balance, that some days. My to do list has previously looked like, absolutely smashing out end of month and working in the corporate world. And, you know, important meetings that I had with bosses and all of that kind of stuff. And they were my top priorities and they would be part of my
non-negotiables. I have also been on the absolute other end of the spectrum where I have been a new mum with a newborn baby and part of my top three non-negotiables was getting up and having a shower. And washing my hair and making myself a cup of tea or coffee and enjoying that while it was hot and that was my three non-negotiables, so please don't
get confused. In me saying that you need to write down your three non-negotiables or highlight, your three non-negotiables in them needing to be huge things for the day. But the question that you're asking yourself here is what is going to move the needle for me. Today. What is going to make the biggest difference for me today? If there is only three things that I get done today, what are those things on this list? That I know? I am going to feel empowered.
I'm going to feel happy. I'm going to feel satisfied. I'm going to feel like I have accomplished something with my day. And then, you know what? If you get to completing those three things and you feel like you do have some more time or you would like to pray Our ties getting some of those other things. Done fantastic, go for it, but the pressure isn't there. You know that the main focus has been those three things and anything else on top of that is a massive win.
And so, what that what we're doing is we're really focusing.
Yes. On that accomplishment and achievement but we're reducing that sense of overwhelm instead of looking at a to-do list that might have 20 things on it and then buying into that and feeling more overwhelmed by having a to-do list, we're prioritizing No ties in those top three things we're really focusing on them and what we're doing then is moving that needle and moving you towards the person that you want to be the goals that you want to be
achieving and getting the things done that are really important to you. Even if they're hard things that you feel like you have previously been procrastinating on all that you notice, you would normally procrastinate on, that's the point of highlighting your top three priorities. So I mean, Surely that's it. So we've had a look at your monthly breakdown and just putting in all of the appointments and all of them meetings and all of the stuff
that is like the regular things. Then we've broken that into the weekly breakdown and helped that to feel more achievable, by breaking it down day by day. So you've got your big to-do list, your big brain dump for the week of like, everything.
The miscellaneous things, the big things, the Small Things, the house things, the work things, the mumfie, Things, the friend things, the relationship things, and that's all been broken down into your big brain dump and then your days on your weekly planner or in your Google calendar or on in your diary wherever it is and then you are breaking it down into your days.
And the reason that we do these three is because you'll notice that even on your weekly planner or your weekly organizer and to-do list when you write those things down, Day by day, extra little things will pop up for you and so doing the daily one, helps to close out some of those tabs. So we're all about reducing that overwhelm. Closing out those tabs in your brain. I hope that this helps I hope there's some ideas that have come to mind for you if you are looking for some planners.
Look, there's so many different places that you can go. I have my meal planner my magnetic meal planner, which I think I spoke about In the last episode, is just simply from Kmart. I've got my diary and my desk, planner and my weekly planner from Steph piece planners. I already mentioned, I use Google Calendar, which is the desktop version as well as the app and they both sync together.
You guys will have heard me speaking about Trello before another app that I use, which is kind of like, I guess, like Pinterest, but for to-do lists for yourself, which is also desktop and app, and they both stink together as well. So, that's The really useful tool that you can be utilizing but yeah, like makeup work for you and think about how can I make my weeks feel less overwhelming while still
feeling? Like I'm achieving things and getting things done and really doing the things that feel important to me that are going to feel really good for me this week. That's it for me today. You guys, I hope you have a fantastic week. Thank you so much for listening along. Of course it goes without saying if you have any questions if there's any Topics that you would like me to cover.
If you have any specific things that you would like me to be talking about any feelings that are coming up for you. Any situations that are happening, please let me know. Come and drop me a message over on Instagram or come and be my friend over on Facebook and send me a message over on messenger there and let's get this podcast happening for 2022. Topics that you would like me to cover.
If you have any specific things that you would like me to be talking about any feelings that are coming up for you. Any situations that are happening, please let me know. Come and drop me a message over on Instagram or come and be my friend over on Facebook and send me a message over on messenger there and let's get this podcast happening for 2022.