When I feel anxious or guilty, my first instinct is to blame a long list of things to do. I suspect the heavier part is the quiet promises I made to myself and then let slide.

The distinction I’m drawing

A crowded list is just work. A broken promise to myself erodes my trust in my own word. If that’s right, the fix isn’t a shorter list so much as fewer, smaller commitments that I can actually keep.

What would change my mind

I don’t have a worked example written down yet. If I look at a recent bad week and find the list really was the problem, I’d drop or rewrite this.