Why getting through your endless to-dos is impossible—and freeing

You arrive at your desk with a steaming mug of coffee, ready to ‘crush the day.’ Your mind buzzes with reminders—emails to send, presentations to polish, groceries to pick up later. You panic: there’s too much. You try juggling tabs, endless to-do lists, even a fancy new app—but the pile only grows. I might be wrong, but it took me years to notice it wasn’t about being disorganized; it was about the fundamental fact that the incoming stream of tasks is effectively endless.
Then I tried something radical: I wrote down every task I could think of in five minutes, from “pay rent” to “find new hobby.” My heart raced as the page filled fast. I underlined tasks destined never to end—the inbox, the laundry, the social media backlog. And here’s the release: I circled just three things that mattered today. I crossed out the rest and felt my shoulders drop.
No more scrambling to tame infinity. Instead, I tackled the three circled tasks with a fierce clarity: drafting that chapter, calling my friend, fixing the sink. Hours later, I looked up and realized I’d been genuinely absorbed, energized by progress rather than drowned in obligation.
Behavioral science calls this the “limitation effect”: when you accept that you can’t do everything, you free up the mental bandwidth to actually achieve what counts. It’s the paradox of getting more by admitting you’ll never get it all.

As you sip that coffee tomorrow, take five minutes to list every task buzzing in your brain. Underline the never-ending ones, circle just three that truly matter, then cross out the rest—trust they can wait. Notice how your mind unclenches and your focus sharpens. Give it a try before lunch.