Your To-Do List Is Killing You—Here’s What to Do Instead

[Image credit: Agustín Farias]

You’re exhausted. You’ve got too many expectations on yourself, and it’s really hard to survive. So you go to therapy, and they tell you to breathe, take a walk, drink more water, try a weighted blanket, make a new friend, paint a picture. None of these things help you get your already huge to-do list done. Why are you paying for this? Sound familiar?

Here’s the thing—your brain lies to you. It tells you that grinding harder will solve everything. That rest, play, and creativity are luxuries you can’t afford. But what if they’re actually the key to survival?

Maya Angelou once said, “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” Creativity isn’t just for artists; it’s for anyone who wants to feel human again. What might happen if, instead of pushing through your stress, you danced? Wrote? Doodled?

This isn’t self-care fluff. It’s ancient. It’s necessary. And it might just change how you move through the world.