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Rachel Hollis has written novels and cookbooks; launched a fitness app, catering company, lifestyle media brand; has multiple product lines (including journals and priority planners sold at Target) and is a mom of four kids. But most people probably know her from one of her New York Times bestselling books (ahem, Girl, Wash Your Face).
Just listing it all can make your head spin. How does one person fit so much life into her days?! It’s a topic she delves into frequently, and in Girl, Stop Apologizing, she shares her unique approach to to-do lists, which can be a game-changer for anyone who feels like they rarely accomplish a third of what they set out to do. Or just keep spinning their wheels as they push toward a goal.
How Rachel Hollis Makes Her To-Do Lists More Effective:
First off, she doesn’t write to-do lists at all. That’s one way to succeed, right? Don’t even do ’em?! She prefers “Results Lists,” which are honestly to-do lists with a little more direction. Instead of a brain dump of vague things she needs to do in a day, like “work on book proposal, do laundry, work out,” she focuses on less than five things she wants to tackle—ideally two or three—that day and she makes each one very concrete and actionable. So those three things may look more like “write 2,500 words for book proposal, wash & fold three loads of laundry, run 3 miles.”
That way, she writes, there’s no questioning whether you achieved your goal. You can cross off “work on book proposal” if you brainstormed a couple title ideas then spent half an hour scrolling Instagram and replying to DMs. Technically, you worked on it…but how much closer are you to your goal?
She limits the list to less than five things just because she hones in on a few things that will take up a large chunk of her day, and she wants to give them space to get it done. It’s clear prioritizing, saying no to some things so she can say yes to what really matters. And, in the end, she gets the high of achieving what she set out to do, which motivates her to keep going.
Simple enough, right?
You can find Girl, Stop Apologizing on Amazon and at most major bookstores.
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Lead Photo by Jazmin Quaynor on Unsplash.
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