Hey Reader,

There's a fatal flaw lurking behind every to-do list. Whether you're a parent, a founder, or a manager, the list accumulates faster than your capacity. School forms, client decks, snack negotiations, team emails, forgotten laundry, and rinse and repeat.

But a to-do list won't make you successful.

Here’s the mindset trap: It’s easy to fall into the idea that getting it all done is the goal. That leadership is about checking every box off the list.

It’s not. Getting everything done on the list is a Sisyphean task.

Because a to-do list has no end. It's open loop of tasks that keeps you on a treadmill.

And if you’re lost in the to-do list, you might get a lot of tasks done—only to realize it was the wrong work to do in the first place.

That’s why when ​Michelle Florendo taught me about her version of a “To-Do” list, I listened. She renamed her To-Do List as a “Menu” instead of an endless list of marching orders.

Part of the work of a to-do list is the work of deciding what's important and what can be postponed or removed.

Michelle is a decision engineer, an executive coach, and a member of The Wise Women's Council, where she regularly teaches her decision-making frameworks and strategies for our women's leadership incubator.

When you see it as a Menu, you have choices, she shared. “This is a list of things I can pick from,” she said. Knowing that you can choose what to do, instead of trying to always do it all, is huge.

• ✅ Important, needs to be done.
• ⏸️ Do later (not now).
• 👉 Delegate.
• ⛔ Stop doing or remove.

Leadership isn’t about checking every box. It’s about living with the tension of things left undone. It’s about deciding what’s most important right now, and what can wait. It’s about making complex choices and figuring out the right focus for you, your family, and for this year.

From your menu, you'll pick the meal—a main, an appetizer, a drink, a dessert—that matches today.

There might be some things you never eat. That’s normal. There might be some things you eat because you have to (hello, vegetables). But you wouldn’t go to a restaurant and try to eat every meal on offer in one go.

What do you think about to-do lists?

​Let me know in the ​comments​.​

— Sarah K Peck

Leadership | Business | Parenting | Mindset | Humor
​Wise Women’s Council (Leadership Incubator)​
​Startup Parent (Podcast & Essays)
​Founders With Kids (Community)
​

THE WISE WOMEN'S COUNCIL: FALL 2025!

I run a year-long leadership program for ambitious, kind, creative women who want to live life on their own terms. We're kicking off the next cohort of The Wise Women's Council this October. The early bird deadline is coming up quickly. Apply to join us — our next cohort starts in October. Check out wisewomenscouncil.com to learn more about us!