Welcome to the Elevated Edit Podcast.

I'm your host, Blakely Ramsey, and the goal of this podcast is to discuss all things personal development, wellness, and the art of editing your life in an elevated way.

From mastering morning routines to mastering your mindset, we're going to sift through the noise and empower you to take elevated action.

Make sure you catch the show notes for all the details.

Enjoy the show.

Hello and welcome back to the Elevated Edit Podcast.

I hope y'all are gearing up for an amazing new year, whatever that looks like for you.

We are probably going to be going to bed early because the thought of staying up until midnight is just not feasible anymore in my life.

But if you are like me, you're probably overwhelmed with your social media right now and your email and your text from different companies, because everything is about new Year, new you.

Everyone is trying to sell you some kind of organizational system to help you have your best year ever and be the best version of yourself.

And you're probably making all of these to do list with all the things you want to accomplish in the year and all the things you didn't get done the last year, and you're probably super overwhelmed.

And I think that today's topic is probably going to trigger a couple of people.

If I had listened to this podcast a couple of years ago, I would have laughed and been like, okay, I'm glad that works for you, but please stick with me until the end because I promise you it will make sense and you'll be like, okay, maybe she hasn't completely lost all of her marbles, at least when it comes to this.

But how many times have you written a to do list only to feel more overwhelmed by the end of the day?

To do lists seem like they should help, but often they're the very thing that is holding us back.

So today we're diving into why to do lists can hurt your productivity and how systems can simplify your life and help you focus on what truly matters.

I don't often share quotes on here, even though I am such a quotes girl.

I know people get tired of them, but I found this amazing quote from the Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke that said, the things which are most important don't always scream the loudest.

And I loved that because I feel like when we look at a to do list, at least the way I used to look at a to do list, everything was equal, everything was a priority.

And often the things that I would gravitate towards first were things that were either easy or things that didn't push me outside of my comfort zone.

Whatever it was, I was automatically doing those things first.

And then I was getting to the end of the day and wondering why I wasn't making big progress in my life.

But when I really sat down and analyzed things, I was like, oh, it's because I am tending to the things that are screaming the loudest.

I'm tending to things that people need from me.

I just got another email about this.

Somebody text me and reminded me.

So all those loud things were what was getting done first and the things that I actually needed to do to move the needle in my life and make progress in my life.

Those things were falling to the wayside.

So let's talk for a second about why to do lists don't work at least to do lists in the traditional sense.

So the problem with traditional to do list is they are just an inventory.

They don't actually give you a clear path forward.

And what's worse is trivial tasks hover over us because they're on the list and they make us feel like we have to do them even when they aren't important.

So I was thinking of some examples when I was walking earlier, and a great example would be like if you have a couple things on your to do list and one of them is you need to get new fingernail clippers and the other one is you need to schedule a call with your accountant to go over your taxes for 2024.

If you have them on the same to do list, they are going to have the same priority in your mind.

Obviously, consciously, you know that making that appointment with your accountant is way more important.

But when you were on autopilot during the day and you're just checking things off and you just look at that list, you're going to get the same dopamine hit from checking off buying new nail clippers as you are checking off, I need to make an appointment with my CPA or my accountant or whoever it is.

And that is where we often end up in trouble.

Because technically we check things off of our to do list.

But are we actually doing the things that are the most important?

Are we actually truly being productive?

Or are we just staying busy and convincing ourselves that we're doing a great job because we're mindlessly checking things off.

So let's go through a few more examples of why to do lists fail.

So number one Overwhelm and decision fatigue.

We only have a finite amount of decision making in a day.

That's why routine is so important.

And systems are so Important because if we take up the majority of our decision making skills on minuscule tasks that we have to do every day, when it comes to really important things like prioritizing a to do list, we often drop the ball.

And things that really need to get done tend to fall to the wayside over things that are shiny and loud and fun and things for other people.

It all just tends to pile up and we get super overwhelmed because of the sheer length of a to do list.

It overwhelms our brain and it leaves us unsure of where to even start.

So instead of making progress, we freeze the decision.

Fatigue sets in and we often end up getting nothing done.

Or we only focus on the things that are quick and give us a quick dopamine hit.

Another example of why to do lists fail is tasks that aren't actionable are on our to do list.

So I used to be the world's worst at this.

I would have things on my to do list and they'd be on there for weeks at a time.

And I was like, why can I not get this thing done?

And it would be such a simple task.

So I put an example on my outline.

It's something I need to do right now.

So I'm giving y'all a real example of how I am not perfect at this.

I need new curtains for our living room because my cats have just absolutely destroyed them.

I mean, that's the only way to put it.

They are ripped to shreds.

And on my list, even though I've got a very organized trello board that I put this in on my list, I just have new curtains.

And in theory it's like, okay, yeah, I do need new curtains.

But new curtains is not an action item.

Breaking it down into clear steps would help me actually get this done faster.

So instead of every time I look at new curtains, I get overwhelmed and I'm like, oh, I'll do that later.

If I put measure windows, that's an action item.

If I put choose a color, that's an action item.

If I put choose a fabric, that's an action item.

So instead of putting these essentially end goals on our list, we need to put these small action items so that we can actually create a path to completion.

But most traditional to do lists don't have that.

They just have new curtains.

And then we get overwhelmed because that's not the next step that we actually need to take.

And it never gets done.

Hence why it's been probably six months and still don't have curtains.

So I'm still working on this with y'all.

And then another example of why they fail is lack of prioritization.

To do lists don't distinguish between urgent, important or irrelevant tasks.

So you might spend time on what's easiest and not what truly moves the needle.

Like I said, that's going back to the nail clippers and a call with your CPA if you don't ever buy the nail clippers.

Yeah, you probably need to work on your hygiene a little bit, but it's not going to be a huge ordeal if you don't get your taxes sorted out.

You're probably going to have to pay penalties, you're going to get letters in the mail.

It's going to bring all kinds of stress on your life.

It's going to end up costing you more money.

It's going to end up turning into a really big deal.

And if you have both of those things on the quote unquote traditional to do list, you technically are prioritizing both of those items as having the same amount of importance.

And yes, obviously if y'all are like me, I do not want to talk to my cpa.

I don't want to know anything about taxes because just the thought of it stresses me out.

But it's something that is very important.

It's something that needs to get done.

And if I am truly looking at a list of things I need to get done, that needs to be a priority.

Way above nail clippers and buying new shampoo and all these things that I love to fill my to do list with because it makes me feel like I'm getting things done, but I'm not actually making big progress towards my big goals.

So what is the answer to this?

If traditional to do lists are failing us, what can we do?

And y'all know I love a good system.

I love systems.

I think that they're so important and I think they're kind of the answer to our modern day overwhelm problem.

But systems are so important because systems provide structure, turning a long inventory into manageable, prioritized actions.

They help you break tasks into actionable steps and actually focus on what really matters.

And I'm sure everyone knows Pareto's principle.

If you have never heard of it before, maybe do a little side research into where it actually came from.

Um, it's actually pretty fascinating how the principle came to be, but Pareto's principle is essentially the 8020 rule.

And I love this rule because I feel like it gives our minds some relief and it lets us know that we don't need to do it all.

We just need to do the 20% of tasks that will drive 80% of the results.

So I'm going to repeat that one more time.

You just need to do the 20% of tasks that will drive 80% of your results.

So instead of feeling like you have to do everything all the time, if you don't do everything, results will never happen.

You can really look at your days, your weeks, your months, everything that you're responsible for, all the things that you have to do, and ask yourself, okay, what are the 20% of the things that I have to do in order to get 80% of the results in my life?

And systems are so important because they help you identify and focus on that crucial 20%.

So this is how systems work.

They help you break down tasks.

So instead of feeling stuck, you can ask yourself, what is the first step?

We can go back to the curtain example that I talked about earlier.

So if new curtains is on your list, your first step is going to be measuring your windows.

That is what I need to do today.

I don't need to install my curtains.

I don't need to do all this stuff, all the things, pick out a curtain, all the things.

Today I need to measure my windows.

Tomorrow I can sit down and choose a color.

The next day I can sit down and choose a fabric.

And look, you don't have to break it down into, I do one thing a day.

But for me that really helps because I do get overwhelmed very easily, especially with tasks like that.

And it helps me to go, okay, I don't have to do this whole thing today.

Today I can just measure my windows.

Okay, I've got the measurements.

Tomorrow I can sit down and look at different color options.

The next day I can look at different fabrics.

I can narrow down which companies that I want to use.

I might put on there.

Ask Hunt, ask husband's opinion.

Probably not going to put that on there because he would not know the difference between custom ordered curtains and curtains that I got from the Dollar General.

And I'm not hating on Dollar General.

They have some really, really cute curtains.

Actually, the curtains that we have currently in the living room are from Dollar General.

But maybe that's why the cat destroyed them as quickly as she did.

But you catch my drift.

Systems help you break down your tasks.

So instead of having this quote unquote to do list of essentially end goals, you can break it down into tasks that are actionable and that your brain can understand.

Like, okay, this is my actual next step.

This is the actual thing that I need to do.

New curtains is not an action.

Measuring your windows is an action.

So it kind of helps you break things down into manageable tasks that you can actually get done.

And I want to emphasize this next portion.

Scream it from the rooftops.

Start simple.

The best system is one that you will actually use.

Start small and refine over time.

So if you are completely overwhelmed, your to do list right now is just a piece of paper on a refrigerator.

The thought of buying a planner and doing all the things, it's completely overwhelming to you.

Start with what feels good.

I have a ton of organized friends in my life that get a lot of things done and they all have different systems.

I have different systems from them and I also have different systems based on the seasons I kind of bounce between.

I love a paper planner for daily action steps.

I love Google Calendar for breaking down my weeks.

I don't love to put like little tiny tasks in Google Calendar, but I do like to put my big tasks that I'm needed in a certain place or if I need to be on a zoom call.

Anything that has a time constraint on there, I love to put in Google Calendar.

So that way when somebody says, hey, can you do lunch on February 16?

I can look at my Google Calendar and let them know yes or no right in that moment, I can say, yes, I am free.

Or I can say, actually, you know what, I'm coming back from a trip the day before and I will not be good conversation.

So why don't we move it to the week after?

And for me, that works.

I also use trello.

I use Trello more for checklist.

As far as this is how I plan my week, this is how I plan my month, just so I don't drop the ball on things.

And then ChatGPT, I use, I don't use it to store action items necessarily, but I have used ChatGPT before to help me break down a project.

So back to the curtains example.

And I should have thought of more examples, but I like sitting here.

I'm like trying to think of something and there's a thousand things in front of me I could probably use, but my brain is just not comprehending that.

Oh, let's starting a podcast.

That's a great example.

If you want to start a podcast, start a podcast is not an action item.

If you have that on your to do list, you will never start a podcast.

Trust me, I know because I had started a podcast on my to do list for like, I don't know A year, maybe a little less, Maybe six months.

I think a year's a bit extreme.

Probably about six months.

And I, of course, never did it because Start a podcast is on an action item.

And so I put it in Chat GPT and I was like, I need help with starting a podcast.

Can you let me know my next step that I need to do?

Break it.

And I tell Chat GPT break it down into the smallest step that you possibly can.

And I use ChatGPT for that all the time because I feel like, especially when we are personally connected to something, we have a hard time breaking things down into what actually needs to get done.

Because for me, my first task would have been, oh, I need to come up with my brand colors.

I need to book a photo shoot, because that is what is fun and exciting to me.

But when I actually looked at it, I needed to narrow down my niche, figure out my topics, figure out my SEO keywords and things like that that kind of make my eyes glaze over.

But those were the tasks that actually needed to get done in order for me to start a podcast.

So that's kind of a perfect example of using technology to break down a project into the next actionable step.

And I am someone that used to be stuck in the cycle of unending to do list.

I was constantly overwhelmed by tasks that never seemed to get done.

I was kind of, I'm not going to say famous, because that's so arrogant, but a lot of people in my life would comment because I would take a picture of my to do list at the end of the day and post it on my Instagram stories.

And I would carry around this legal pad, and I still have legal pads everywhere, but now they're more of just like a brainstorm session versus.

I used to carry a legal pad around, and that would be my, quote, unquote, to do list.

Everything went on this legal pad.

If I needed to buy groceries, whatever grocery it was went on there.

If I was planning an event, all of my event stuff was on there.

All of my stuff for work was on there.

If I was doing marketing for another company, all of the marketing stuff was on there.

I mean, like, literally everything that I needed to do, I wanted to do, somebody asked of me, was on this legal pad.

And I would lug it around all day.

And oftentimes I would sit in front of my computer for hours, hours, hours, hours at a time, and I would check things off my list and I would feel this pride in myself, and I would get to the end of the list and check the last thing off and take a picture and put it on social media.

And then I'd get home and I'd be like, what did I do today?

Like, did I even get anything done?

And in my head, I kept telling myself, oh, well, I just don't have time to do X, Y and Z.

Or maybe one day when I have time, I'll have a hobby or I'll start working out or whatever it is.

But I was stuck in this endless cycle that I was never going to get out of if I didn't make a change.

And so for me, switching to systems was an absolute game changer.

And now, and I don't want to overwhelm you with what I do, but I am gonna.

I'm all about transparency.

And I do want y'all to see, like, kind of the behind the scenes of how I do things.

This is how I simplify and turn my quote unquote to do list into an action list.

Because inevitably, as life progresses, as we're at work, people ask things of us.

We are going to end up with a list, and that's perfectly fine.

But it's what we do with that list that really matters.

So usually once a week, sometimes I have to do it daily, just depending on what is needed of me in the week.

With December, I've been able to do it monthly and probably January as well, because they're a little bit slower.

But back in August, I was having to run this system.

I'd say once or twice a week because it was obviously a lot busier.

But I will brain dump everything into a list.

And people get really overwhelmed when they hear about a brain dump.

Because putting everything that pops into your head on a piece of paper can be super overwhelming.

And I think a lot of people think, well, if I brain dump everything that I have to do, I will be more overwhelmed than ever before.

And it will stress you out at first.

Like the first time.

The first time I did this, I had three or four pages of things that I needed to do and I was like, why did I do that to myself?

Why did I write everything down?

Now it makes it look so much worse than when it was just stuck in my head.

But a, it'll get easier as you go on.

You'll stop dropping the ball on things, you'll stop forgetting things, and your brain dump won't end up as long.

But the biggest reason and the biggest benefit from this is that if it's not on paper and your brain doesn't feel like it has a system that it can trust.

Your brain is constantly remembering all that stuff constantly on replay.

Even if you aren't consciously constantly remembering it, you are subconsciously constantly remembering it.

So as you are carrying on about your day and you go, oh, shoot, I need to call so and so, oh, shoot, I need to pick up this.

That thought didn't just come to you.

Your brain has been remembering it this whole time.

And so imagine the overwhelm of, yeah, it's overwhelming to look at four pages of things that you have to do, but imagine those four pages of things being stuck in your head and your head constantly feeling like it needs to remember that all the time.

And that goes back to when your brain is having to remember all of that.

It does not prioritize things for you.

Your brain doesn't know the difference.

So in your head, buying new nail clippers, buying a new vase for the hallway, ordering socks for the kids, soccer is all in the same category as meeting with your cpa, getting your oil changed.

That's one that I tend to drop the ball on.

I'm trying to think of, like, really important things that need to get done.

Picking up insulin, like things that need to get done that are high priorities in your brain.

If you're not writing things down, it is just remembering everything is one in the same.

It is not prioritizing like, okay, this is the most important and this is the least important.

It is just a running to do list in your head constantly.

So, yes, a brain dump is going to feel overwhelming at first, but I promise you, it is going to be a game changer for you.

So once you brain dump, categorize it, and this is where you can have fun and create systems for yourself.

So I do have a book recommendation here.

It's called Getting Things Done by David Allen.

I wish I could say it was a really fun and interesting book, but it is the most boring book you will ever read in your whole entire life.

And if David Allen ever listens to my podcast, which if he did, I would just fall out on the floor.

I apologize for calling your book boring, even though it really is.

But it is such an impactful book.

It is so good.

It will teach you so many things about prioritizing and creating action lists.

But the biggest thing that I took from it, and this is how I categorize, is the delete, defer, and delegate.

So once you brain dump, you can go through and delete.

And this is my absolute favorite part.

It used to give me some anxiety, but with these new boundaries I've got.

I'll be deleting everything.

Delete.

So a lot of the things that you carry around that you feel like are your responsibility, that need to be your priority probably either don't need to get done or they don't need to get done by you.

So delete them.

Scratch them off the list.

Take it off.

Take it off.

Take it off.

Take it off.

I can usually knock down about half of my brain dump just by deleting things.

Just take it off of the list.

If it's not something that is going to move the needle for you, is important to you, is going to truly give you any kind of progress in any area of your life, just delete it.

If it's meant for you and it's something exciting, it'll come back around the second one that I love.

Especially like I said, now that I have boundaries, delegate.

If it is something that needs to get done, but it doesn't have to be done by you, delegate it.

And if you know me in real life, you know that this has not always been my strong suit.

But I read a book at the beginning of the year and he said, if someone else does a task to 80% completion, it is always better than you doing it to 100%.

And in the book is Buy Back youk Time by Dan.

I think his last name is Dan Founder.

And when I first heard that, I was like, why would I ever be okay with anything being done to 80%?

Like I am 100% above.

I always strive for excellence.

Like that's not okay with me.

But I have learned with my assistant and it's been a work in progress, that her doing something to 80% completion is way better than me doing it to 100%.

Typically, 80% is all that we need.

People usually don't Notice the missing 20% is one thing I've noticed and learned is I always felt like in order to be excellent and in order to be respected and in order to be a professional, I always had to give everything 100%.

But I'm learning that getting things done to 80% is good.

It doesn't.

I don't have to go over the top all the time.

I don't always have to be striving and pushing things.

Getting done to 80% checks them off to completion.

They are done well.

They might not be perfect, they might not be over the top.

It might not have that extra little pizzazz, but that's okay.

And allowing someone else to do something to 80% frees up my time to knock out the 20% of the things that are going to make an even bigger difference for me.

So if someone is doing my tiny task at 80%, I can then turn around and focus on the things that are actually going to move the needle.

Instead of me trying to do all these minuscule tiny tasks that don't actually need to be done by me to 100%, I'm able to use my time more efficiently and actually get things done and move the needle.

And then defer is the last one.

So defer is going to be a little difficult if you don't have a system in place yet because your brain is not going to feel comfortable deferring things.

If you go, okay, I'll do this later, I'll do this next month, I'll do this six months from now.

And you write it on a piece of paper and you stuff it in a drawer.

That's where I use trello.

I have a, literally, it's called a maybe one day board.

And it's things that are not a priority for me right now.

They are things that I don't have the capability to do right now because I've got other priorities.

But there are things that maybe one day I would love to do.

And I'm going to give my brain the peace and the just relaxation that it is stored somewhere and I put it on my maybe one day board.

You can put this in a journal, whatever it is.

I used to be really bad about constantly keeping things on my to do list that I either didn't have time for right then or I didn't even maybe want to do right then.

Like, I was like, I'd love to do that one day, but not right now.

But I would just keep it on that same to do list.

Put it on your for later list, put it on your defer list, whatever you want to call it.

Mine is maybe one day.

And that makes me feel good because it's like, I don't ever have to do it, but if I want to do it, I certainly can.

And then from there you can break down your categorized list into actionable time block steps.

So instead of having all these big end goals on your list, you have the next right step, the next actionable step, and then you can time block it in your calendar if you feel comfortable.

Time blocking.

I have recently started time blocking and I absolutely love it.

And for me, when I say, quote, unquote, time blocking, I'm not time blocking my morning from every single minute in the morning to every single minute at night.

But I'm like, okay, if I'm going to sit down and email so and so, why don't I go ahead and email these other six people and that way I can spend 30 minutes in my email and I'm done.

Instead of, oh, I need to email this person in the morning.

Oh, I need to make sure I email so and so back and I'll hop on email at 11.

Well then I checked my email and something else came in and you know, it's a back and forth cycle all day.

I'm like, okay, at 11:00, I'm gonna turn on my timer, I'm gonna sit down in my email and I'm gonna give it 30 to 45 minutes of dedicated time.

Then I can actually get things done.

I put a window around it, I give myself a time limit and I knock things out.

And then I can not check my email the rest of the day or not check it for a couple of hours.

Because email for me is a time suck.

It kind of turns into its own to do list.

And then all of a sudden I'm doing things for other people and not once again getting my own things done.

So.

So by focusing on the 20% that matters most, I have been able to free up my time and energy for not only being more productive, but for things that bring me joy and are fun.

And it's just been such a game changer for me this year.

So y'all know I'm all about practical, actionable steps.

So let's talk about practical steps to replace place to do list with systems.

Number one, brain up everything.

We just talked about this, but I'm going to say it again because it's so important for you to clear your head and write down every task, every idea, every commitment.

And then number two, you're going to categorize and prioritize, sort tasks into urgent, important, or can wait.

And this is, you can organize this however you want.

I love delete, delegate and defer.

And then prioritize the 20% that will have the biggest impact.

Next, break down tasks into actions.

So turn vague items into actionable steps.

Once again, y'all are going to be so sick of me.

And these curtains, like, y'all are going to be like, do I need to come over and order these curtains for you?

But once again, for example, new curtains, which is totally something that I would put on my to do list, becomes measure the windows, choose a color, research options.

Those are tasks that your brain can comprehend.

Those are tasks your brain's like, oh, I can do that.

I can measure a window, I can choose a color.

New curtains, your brain, like, instantly paralyzes because it's like, what do I need to do next?

Like, new curtains.

There's too many steps involved.

Next time, block your day.

Like I said, this is something I've started doing in the last year.

I'm not super strict about it, but I do try to time block my tasks so that I am taking all my calls at one time.

I am on emails at one time.

I do all of my showings on two days a week.

I just try to categorize everything as closely as I can.

Of course, there's always going to be outliers to this because life happens.

Clients have things come up.

I have things come up.

Y'all have kids that have a thousand things come up.

But what this will do is it will reduce decision fatigue and keep you focused.

Next, you're going to want to set deadlines.

Avoid procrastination by assigning clear deadlines for each task.

Remember Parkinson's law?

Tasks expand to fill the time you give them.

So if you give yourself two weeks to get something done, whatever it is, you say, okay, I'm going to get this done in two weeks.

Two weeks from now, I'm going to put it on my calendar.

I'm going to have this completed.

It's going to take you two weeks to do it.

If you take that same thing and say, okay, on Saturday, I'm going to dedicate three hours to this.

It'll take you three hours to get it done, and you cannot.

Believe me, I didn't believe this for a long time, but it works.

We expand tasks to the time that we give them.

So be reasonable, but sit down and really analyze before you give yourself a deadline.

How long is this actually going to take me?

How long is it going to take me to get really good and really do the 20% that's going to make an 80% impact.

And I promise you the time that you are going to give yourself, you need, you can cut it in at least half.

So just remember that Parkinson's law task, tasks.

That is really difficult for me to say.

Tasks expand to fill the time you give them and then the last one.

Review and adjust weekly schedule time to evaluate your systems, what's working and what needs tweaking.

I have been working on these systems, my personal systems, for I'd say maybe like six, seven years is kind of when I got into all of this stuff.

And I still adjust constantly.

Don't feel pressured to Buy the newest, fanciest thing.

Don't feel pressured to do what your friend is doing.

Don't feel pressured to do what I do.

Start with something that feels comfortable and every week you'll be like, oh, that really worked for me.

Or that did not work at all.

Do whatever will work for you.

The system, the best system is a system you will actually use.

You don't have to have Trello, you don't have to use ChatGPT, you don't have to have a fancy planner.

Although I'm gonna have to post a picture on Instagram.

My planner this year, a friend recommended it to me and it is the most gorgeous thing I've ever held in my hands.

It is leopard print, it is leather, it is gorgeous.

The font is beautiful, it's got gold and oh, it is a stunning planner and I want to carry it around and show it off to everybody.

But you don't.

You don't have to have that.

Go down to the DG and get you a $5 planner.

Whatever system you will use is the best system.

And one more.

As if all of this wasn't enough of a reason to start using systems versus traditional to do lists.

Systems are great because they build your confidence.

Consistency and momentum come from sticking to systems.

Systems help you see yourself as someone who actually get things done, and that momentum is going to build even more confidence and more motivation.

So each week as you review, you're going to be like, wow, I actually stuck to that system and I got all these things done versus, oh, I checked all my things off of a to do list and I still didn't finish anything like, what's wrong with me?

Your mindset about yourself, your vision about yourself is going to start changing and you're going to look at yourself as someone who gets things done, who isn't constantly in a rush, who doesn't drop the ball, who doesn't procrastinate, who doesn't whatever it is, you're going to feel good and feel confident and be like, okay, if I tell myself I'm going to do something, I'm going to get it done.

I am someone who does hard things.

I am someone who does things well.

I am someone who doesn't feel the urge to do everything, to 100%.

I make sure things are done at 80% and I feel okay with that.

And that is going to be such a different mindset.

It's going to be so freeing.

I'm positive it will for you.

At least it did for me and other people.

That I've talked to about this.

They feel the exact same way.

And one more thing I want to talk about with systems, because I've heard so many people say this as kind of like a rebuttal.

When I talk about how important systems are, they say, oh well, I don't want systems because systems will restrict me.

But systems actually do the opposite.

They free you up mentally, emotionally.

They free up your calendar, your free time.

By focusing on the 20% that truly matters, you reduce overwhelm across the board and you find more time for the things that you actually love and you actually have joy doing.

And all of this wrap up comes back to traditional to do lists just don't work.

They are overwhelming.

They lack structure.

And systems simplify your life by giving you clear actions, priorities and time to focus.

So I want you to start today, brain dump your tasks, break them into actions and time.

Block your day.

Focus on the 20% that makes the biggest difference.

It does not have to be perfect.

Just get started.

And if you start this this week, if you do a brain dump and you're overwhelmed, I want you to find some joy in it and be like, okay, there's other people that are going through this too.

Post it on Instagram, motivate other people and tag me in it because I want to hear your results.

And if you have a friend who you think might benefit from this, maybe they're in the same space where they just have all of these never ending to do list and they are not ever actually getting anything done.

Send them this episode and share it with them and be like, hey girl, I think you might benefit from this, but I hope you got a ton of amazing information out of this episode and I will see you in the next one.

Thank you for tuning in to the Elevated Edit Podcast.

I hope you found today's episode inspiring and full of actionable tips.

Don't forget to check out the show notes for all the resources and links mentioned.

If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe, leave a review and share it with your friends.

Follow us on social media for more updates and inspiration.

Until next time.

Keep growing, glowing and elevating your life.

See you soon.