I love making a todo list.

Seriously, it's the one thing that I've found that actually reduces the overwhelm in my brain.

I get overwhelmed with all of the things that I need/want to get done; so much so that sometime's I just end up sitting down and doing nothing.

I used to really hate this myself.

For so long, I wished that I was someone who could just relax and flow through life and just somehow magically get things done.

But now I realized that writing todo lists is my biggest life hack. Here's how writing todo lists have changed my life:

#1 it helps me stay focused.

I find that I'm someone who can easily get distracted with a new thought or a new idea while I'm focusing on something else. With a todo list in front of me, I know what I need to get done which helps me keep my distractions to a minimum.

#2 I can better manage my time

Without a todo list, I find myself always asking, "What am I supposed to be doing?" with a todo list, I don't have to think about it anymore. It's there and I just have to execute it. I've found that the lack of indecision helps me get things done a lot faster, and I'm also able to see just how long certain things are going to take which can help me better prioritize my tasks.

#3 It helps me stay present

If I'm off hanging out with friends or doing something else, there is usually a lingering feeling of all of the things that I need to get done in the back of my mind. By creating todo lists on the go, I'm able to pass those thoughts on to paper which helps me enjoy what I'm doing now without having to worry about all the things that I need to get done.

Free-flowing todo lists are really the only way I've found to help me reduce some of my anxieties and feel empowered to take on the day to day.

As I check things off of my todo list I know that my time has been allocated properly and I am working intentionally towards my goals.