I thrive on being busy. Give me a packed calendar, multiple sports schedules to juggle, unanswered emails, and a kid frantically searching for a water bottle that was “just here,” and I’m operating at peak performance.
Productivity makes me feel accomplished. Crossing things off a list gives me joy. But the problem is that I tend to function in extremes. I am either doing everything or absolutely nothing. There is rarely an in-between.
When I am in go-mode, I can juggle work deadlines, school emails, sports schedules, laundry, meal delivery orders, and somehow remember it is Spirit Day at camp. But the moment I stop to rest or take a break, I fully shut down. Suddenly, I am scrolling, ignoring responsibilities, and convincing myself I deserve to sit for just five minutes.
Five minutes becomes an hour. Then comes the guilt, and the mental spiral begins. I start to feel behind, overwhelmed, and stressed about everything I did not accomplish while I was supposedly “resting.”
Recently, while doing what all moms do during their rare quiet moments, scrolling Instagram, I came across a productivity strategy called Must, Maybe, Move. And honestly, it might be the first system that actually works for my real life.
The problem is that my old to-do lists were ambitious and completely unrealistic. They looked something like this:
- Schedule blog posts
- Clean the house
- Return emails
- Carpool pick-up
- Organize closets
- Schedule appointments
- Exercise
- Be a present mother
- Solve world peace
Every task felt equally urgent, which meant everything felt stressful.
When everything is a priority, nothing actually is. I was setting myself up to feel behind before the day even started. The Must, Maybe, Move method is beautifully simple. Instead of one overwhelming list, you divide tasks into three categories.
MUST
These are the non-negotiables. The things that truly need to happen today. Not someday. Not when you feel motivated, but today.
- Work deadlines
- Sports pick-ups and drop-offs
- Paying a bill due today
- Grocery shopping because cereal for dinner has already happened
- Picking up a prescription
I limit myself to three to five Must tasks. That is it. If I add more, I am lying to myself.
MAYBE
These are tasks that would be nice to accomplish if time and energy allow.
- Cleaning out a junk drawer
- Answering non-urgent emails
- Folding laundry immediately instead of living out of baskets
If I get to these, amazing. If not, I’m not allowed to feel bad.
MOVE
This category changed everything for me. Move means intentionally rescheduling tasks instead of mentally carrying them all day. I’m not avoiding or failing; I’m just moving them to another day.
I used to believe productivity meant doing more. Now I realize it means doing the right things. When I focus on my Must list first, something incredible happens. I actually finish what matters. And when those priorities are done, I can step away without feeling like I am abandoning unfinished responsibilities.
The guilt fades, and I am no longer sitting on the couch thinking about seventeen things I should be doing.
I am present. I watch my kids’ games instead of answering emails in the stands. I sit at dinner without mentally reorganizing tomorrow’s schedule. I laugh more. I listen more. And surprisingly, I feel more productive doing less.
The biggest shift has been learning that rest does not equal laziness. For moms who thrive on momentum, stopping can feel dangerous. We worry that if we slow down, everything will fall apart. But structured priorities give rest boundaries. When my Must tasks are complete, rest becomes earned and intentional.
Sometimes that still looks like doing absolutely nothing. And now I am okay with that.
