Ep. 54 Ditch the To-Do List: How a “Done List” Changed the Way I Work

Feb 9

About two and a half years ago, I did something radical.

I formally ditched my to-do lists.

I know what you're thinking. How can a business owner survive without a to-do list? But here's the thing… for years, to-do lists ruled my life. No matter how many tasks I checked off, more would always get added. The list felt never-ending, and honestly, it was stressing me out more than helping me.

It wasn't until I had kids that I finally said, "I'm not doing this anymore." And since then, I've discovered something that's completely transformed how I work: the done list.

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When To-Do Lists Stop Working

Don't get me wrong—I'm not here to tell you that to-do lists are inherently bad. They can be incredibly useful tools. But I think in certain seasons of your life and your business, they can do more harm than good.

To-do lists work great when you have long blocks of time to focus on your work, when you have a predictable schedule, and when you're not getting interrupted constantly. But if you're working part-time, parenting, juggling multiple jobs, caregiving, or managing a household and a business simultaneously, I feel strongly that to-do lists can start to do more harm than good.

Running your life off a to-do list assumes that every day is going to be an ideal day. And let's be honest—they almost never are.

My To-Do List Breaking Point

Before I had kids, I loved sitting down at my desk at eight or nine in the morning and working pretty much straight through until five o'clock at night. I got a full eight-hour uninterrupted workday every single day, sometimes more. At that stage in my life, a to-do list was great because I got to make a list in the morning, check it all off by the end of the day, give myself a gold star, and say, "Wow, Morgan, you were so productive. Great job. You earned your value today."

But when I had my daughter in 2023, that all went out the window.

Suddenly, I was working at weird times throughout the day and evening, in short fragmented bursts—ten minutes here, half an hour there. The constant switching between tasks left me feeling like I wasn't really getting anything done. I would make these long to-do lists like I had in the past, and I would check off one or two things. Then everything would get moved to the next day. And it would pile up. And pile up.

Pretty soon, it was so overwhelming that I didn't even want to sit down to work anymore.

Enter the Done List

Instead of trying to predict what I might have time to do (or what I "should" have time to do—and we hate the word "should" around here), I started paying attention to what I actually was doing in a day. That's how the done list was born.

It's literally so simple: I keep a list of every single task I completed in the day. I do this in my notes app on my phone, and I only track my business tasks. You could absolutely do it for business and personal, or create separate lists for different goal areas if you want, but simplicity is the name of the game for me.

Here's my process: I open my notes app and create a note that says "Done List, January 29th, 2025" (or whatever the date is). Then I just list out everything I did for that day.

I don't update it every single time I complete a task—that would create even more disruption. Instead, once I finish a work block, however long that might be, I'll add a few things to the list. It's not fancy. There's no special productivity app. It's literally just a way that I can look back at the end of the day and say, "Oh wow, I feel like I didn't get anything done, but look—here's a list of ten things I accomplished. And some of them were a really big deal."

Instead of looking at my unfinished to-do list and thinking, "Oh man, look at all these things I didn't get around to today," I get to look at my done list and say, "Oh my gosh, look at how much I accomplished." That has changed the game for me mentally.

As somebody who frankly gets a lot of self-worth out of feeling productive, the to-do list was not doing me any favors. But the done list has been a game changer.

What a Done List Actually Looks Like

Let me share a few examples from my own done lists so you can see what I'm including and how simple they really are.

January 19th:

Submitted weekly copy for review from my copywriter
Created and posted a reel
Cleared my inbox
Celebrated booking a new discovery call
Did a podcast interview
Prepped for a Standout Brand Strategy session.

Six things. I probably would have gotten to the end of that day and felt like I didn't really get that much done. But all of those are huge deals that really move the needle in my business.

January 20th:

Posted on Instagram
Hosted a Standout Brand Strategy session
Had a kickoff call for a designer week
Worked on my taxes.

Four things. Not huge, but again—all big needle-moving activities that I would have probably told myself weren't enough.

January 21st:

Created and scheduled content on Instagram
Scheduled a promo email for a bundle I was participating in
Had a peer mastermind call
Started on a case study for my website
Edited a blog post version of a podcast episode.

Again, all of these are important things in my business that really need to get done, and they actually move the needle—they book me clients and make me money. But I know that on any of those days, at seven or eight o'clock when I'm sitting down at the end of the night, I would have felt like I didn't get enough done.

Being able to look back at these lists is really great for my brain. It helps me remind myself: No, you actually are really productive, even though you're working in nooks and crannies, even though there's a toddler crawling around at your feet while you're working, and even though you get interrupted a hundred times. You're still getting a lot done and you're still taking action and moving in the direction of your goals.

No Task Is Too Small

I think it's important to call out here that when you're making your own done list, no task is too small. I literally put "cleared inbox" on there almost every day. I'll put "sent email to so-and-so"—stuff that I would normally brush off as not counting or too small or whatever. Everything counts.

The really cool part is if you keep this list daily, you can look back at the end of the week and say, "Oh my gosh, you know, I thought I was only doing one or two things each day, but look—I have six or seven things on my done list every single day times five days. I did thirty tasks that moved the needle in my business. That's huge. That's a really productive week."

And that's something you should celebrate, especially when you consider what your unique schedule, life, and limitations look like. If you're a parent, if you're in a slower season, if you're dealing with health issues, or if you have other things going on in your life—having an actual list to look back at and say, "Oh my gosh, I did a lot this week, even though maybe it doesn't feel like it"? I cannot tell you how healthy that is for your brain.

Sharing Your Done List (Optional But Fun)

I only recently started sharing these done lists on social media, and people have been super into it. At first, I was worried it would come across as bragging, like "Look at me, look how much I got done." But the response has been really cool.

People have been saying things like, "Oh my gosh, I love this. It makes me feel so productive and reminds me how much I'm getting done each day." It's been fun to see other people's done lists and tag each other, celebrating what we're all working on and really making the most of the season of life and business we're in.

To be crystal clear, the point of a done list has nothing to do with self-promotion. However, there's a nice added bonus: your ideal clients are watching you. When I share things like "prepped for a strategy session" or "had a kickoff call for a VIP design week," it's a subtle reminder to potential clients of what I do in my business and how they could hire me. It helps humanize you and keeps you top of mind, which is a cool side benefit—but again, not the point.

Redefining Productivity for Your Current Season

For me, this has really been about redefining productivity. I would love to sit down at my computer and have no one talk to me for eight hours and crank out as much work as possible. But that's not the reality for me right now, and it might not be the reality for you for a myriad of reasons.

Keeping a done list every day—whether or not I share it on social media—is such a good reminder to me that my life looks different now than it used to, and it's probably going to be this way for a while. But I am still taking steps in the direction of my goals. I am still productive. And even when my brain tries to trick me into thinking that I've been lazy or I haven't done anything today or I should be working harder, it's tangible proof that I can look back at and say, "No, you're actually doing great."

How to Start Your Own Done List

If you're a parent, a business owner in a slower year, working part-time, juggling multiple jobs, or experiencing personal or health issues—whatever the case may be that's making your work days look different than they once did or not how you want them to—I cannot recommend the done list enough.

Try it out for a few days or a week. There are literally no rules besides making a list of the stuff you did and looking back on it to pat yourself on the back. That's it.

You can make the done list whatever you want it to be. Share it on social media or don't. Save up all your done lists and review them at the end of the month. Do what feels good for you. But this practice has really changed so much for me, and it's so fast and easy.

When I started sharing about it on social media and seeing other people say, "Wow, this is a really great idea," I knew I wanted to share it more widely. So my invitation for you is to start posting your done list on Threads or Instagram and tag me. Let's celebrate each other.

The done list isn't about doing more. It's about recognizing everything you're already doing. And in seasons where productivity feels fragmented and overwhelming, that recognition might be exactly what you need.