I just came back to Atlanta after a month of traveling. It was only natural for me to wake up in the morning on the day after with the longest To-Do list ever?.. First, it was in my head.
When I started to meditate, the only thing I could focus on was my list. I did what I usually do when this happens: I did a Journaling Meditation. In my journal, I put it all on paper, without worrying about what it is or what it looks like. Then, I took a big piece of paper and wrote down the list I had in my head. Everything. Looking at the list I knew that it is not reasonable to think that I, or any human being, would be able to do all these in one day.
The next step was to prioritize and divide it into days. I took 3 papers. Wrote Wednesday on the first one (which was that day), Thursday on the second page and Friday on the third. I took every item I had on my original list and wrote it in the right day and in the right category (Business phone calls, Business emails, Business writings, House matters, others). Then I checked if each list is reasonable and achievable.
I changed things around until I felt it is. Then I numbered the items according to importance. Then I could breathe?. It is not something I will do every day but definitely when I feel that I am overwhelmed. It made my week simple and fun. It is Sunday already. I am done with tasks and I am planning to rest most of the day!
Prioritize. Divide into days. Number by importance. Make sure it is doable and reasonable. Rest.
This might not work for everyone, but it did for me.