Moving Mountains - How to actually get stuff done

Too Long, Didn’t Read: The high level summary for turning mountains back into molehills

• Step 1: The Everything List (Mountain)
  Brain dump everything that needs doing — no filter, just get it out of your head.

• Step 2: The Weekly List (Boulders)
  Break big tasks into smaller ones that can be done within a few days. Prioritize and identify dependencies.

• Step 3: The Daily List (Stacked Stones)
  Choose realistic, bite-sized tasks for each day. If it’s too big for one day, split it up.

• Step 4: The Moment List (Pebbles)
  Create a tiny, doable to-do list for right now. Each item should be completable in one sitting.

• Cross it off
  Physically mark tasks as done — this builds trust in your agency and encourages momentum.

• Celebrate your wins
  Daily and weekly celebration boosts motivation and reinforces progress. Project celebration helps to reinforce new neural circuits.

• Ask for help if you’re stuck
  You don’t have to do it all alone. Support systems work!

• Take off more than you add
  Even small progress counts. One stone at a time is still movement. Ignore that impulse for perfection.

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Turning a Mountain Into a Molehill: A Practical Guide to Getting Things Done Without the Overwhelm

Ever looked at your to-do list and thought, “Wow, that’s just all a bit too much?” That looming mountain of tasks can feel impossible to scale. But here’s a mindset shift: you don’t move a mountain all at once, you move it one stone at a time.

Let’s turn that mountain into a pile of stones you can actually lift. The key is breaking big, overwhelming tasks into smaller, manageable actions. Here's a four step system to help you get from stuck to steady.

🪨 Step 1: The Everything List (A.K.A. The Mountain)

This is the brain dump. Every single thing that needs doing - personal, professional, errands, creative ideas, future plans - all of it goes here. Just write it down in a big ‘ol list. Don’t worry about organizing yet. The goal is to externalize the overwhelm and get it out of your head.

Once it’s all out on the page, then you can try sorting it into categories like “home,” “work,” “relationships,” or “health.” You can also sort by priority (high, medium, low, etc), or by time. Whatever helps impose some order onto the chaos. The point here is NOT to focus on perfection, it’s to get moving. You don’t need everything down, you just need a start. You’ll return to this list as you add new things, and with some effort, start crossing things off.

It can be helpful make subtask lists at this point, using this lists as an initial outline that you can revisit. That might look something like this:

• BIG PROJECT (longer than a week)

  • Week long sub-project (there are likely a few of these bullet points)

    • Day long tasks that accomplish the week long task goals

      • Single serving tasks that accomplish the day long task goals

You can you pen and paper, the note taking app on your phone, or a dedicated task organizer like a kanban board to organize this big list. There are tons of ways to do it, the best one is the one that works, and that you will stick with.

🪨 Step 2: The Weekly List (Boulders)

This is where we start breaking down the mountain into more manageable chunks. Scan your Mountain list and make a rough guess on how long each task might take. If something looks longer than a week, break it down further. Keep creating more tasks until each one takes less than a week. “Write a book” becomes “outline the chapters.” “Clean the garage” becomes “organize the storage bins and the tool shelves.” Each task here should feel doable within a few days, maximum.

This is also a great phase to prioritize, identify dependencies, and recognize deadlines. But remember at this stage, it’s still too big to act on directly. We’re not done breaking things down yet.

Again, it can be helpful make subtask lists at this point, using this lists as a“staging point” from which you will track the daily progress outlined below. It can help a lot with prioritization, and also, can help with that all important feedback loop of celebrating your wins!

🪨 Step 3: The Daily List (Stacked Stones)

This is where weekly tasks are turned into bite-sized goals for the day. Think: “call dentist,” “prep slides,” “put cleaning chemicals away.” You can even rank them by necessity, like must-do, nice-to-do, or bonus if it happens.

If it still feels too big, keep slicing. “Clean apartment” becomes “vacuum bedroom” and “put away laundry.”

Each item should feel like something you can and will finish today. And all the tasks you identify for today should realistically be doable within the day. If the list feels too heavy, spread the load across a few days. Don’t forget to allow for complexities, and for person time. This should include some rest and relaxation!

🪨 Step 4: The Moment List (The Pebbles)

This is the actual to-do list you work from in the moment. The now list. These are tasks you can complete in one focused sitting: one effort, one subject, one hour long sprint, one breath, one cup of coffee.

Include everything here, not just the “productive” stuff. Walk the dog. Drink water. Meditate. Shower. Eat lunch. Text your friend back. These count. Life admin is real work.

Once you’ve got your list? Do the thing. One thing. Then the next. And the next.
This is where the work gets DONE.

Stick to ONE task at a time. Try to avoid or at least limit multi-tasking. If you need to, recognize that you are switch-tasking, this will actually make you more efficient, as it keeps you focused. This looks like: load laundry (switch), put away groceries (switch), clean kitchen counter (switch), put laundry in dryer (switch), clean bathroom (switch), etc…

Humans, for the most part, actually CANNOT multitask, and we are not very good at rapid switchtasking. If you don’t believe me, take a few minutes to take this quiz, and see for yourself.

✅ Cross It Off (Yes, physically, or at least digitally)

Every time you cross something off, you’re doing more than just completing a task, you’re training your brain. You’re showing yourself that you are someone who takes action, who follows through, who gets things done. And that builds trust. You are building a new identity, stone by stone, task by task. Each choice to act is a vote for that person you are choosing to become.

Celebrate. Yes, even the little stuff. Especially the little stuff. Celebration increases dopamine in the moment, improving continued motivation, and drive to complete the next task. At the end of the day, review your list. Seeing all those completed tasks releases serotonin, creating a sense of satisfaction, which improves rest and recovery. This makes you ready, and maybe even excited, to do it all again the next day. Celebration makes it all feel like less of an endless grind and shows your brain that yes, it all adds up and you are going somewhere. It reinforces and counts that votes for who you are becoming.

At the end of the week, look back at your crossed-off graveyard of tasks. It’s proof that you are indeed moving the mountain. And more importantly, that it’s working. You are actually moving that mountain, stone by stone.

💡 Bonus Wisdom

If at any point you feel stuck, foggy, or overwhelmed, ask for help. Have someone sit with you, listen to your list, and help sort the stones. You don’t have to build your system alone. You can ask for a remote accountability buddy, a sit-in co-regulating coworker, or even someone to directly help you sort things out. Body doubling works, and co-regulation is a thing. Just make sure that your accountability resources don’t turn into distractions. 

And most importantly, remember:

If you take more off the mountain than you add to it, that’s a win for the day. It’s not about perfection. It’s about consistency. And if you miss, don’t miss twice.

So next time the mountain looms, don’t panic. Break it down. Pick a stone. Move it. Then pick another. And watch that mountain slowly shrink.

You’ve got this. One stone at a time.