🌙 December: Overloaded?

Some practical tips on ending the year with realistic priorities.

December has a very particular kind of energy.

A strange blend of twinkly lights, mild panic, and the silent pressure to “finish the year strong”... whatever that even means.

Every year, I watch myself slip into the same pattern: I get tired. But my desire to wrap everything up bloats my task list (and my wildly unrealistic sense of capacity).

It’s like an annual productivity hangover. The year catches up with us, and instead of acknowledging that we’re stretched thin, we double down, squeezing tasks, goals, and expectations into every free corner of our December days.

This year, I’m not doing that to myself.
And I don’t want you doing it either.

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🖍️ A tiny moment that shifted my thinking

Over the last month, I’ve been feeling weirdly reflective. Quietly noticing how I’ve spent my time this year. Not what I got done, but how it all felt.

One evening, something small but important happened.

The screens were off, the fire was on, and my youngest son asked me to color with him. My eldest also joined in, and we all ended up belly-down on the living room floor, gathered around one coloring book, each of us doing our own little section.

There is nothing “useful” or “productive” about this. I could have been cleaning the kitchen after dinner.

Instead, I kept on coloring. The kids chatting about school and a YouTube video where someone freed their pet octopus – as you do.

I’d somehow stepped into the version of the November evenings I actually want.

It dawned on me – I don’t leave myself nearly enough room for moments like this. There’s always a message to reply to, an errand to run, a cupboard to clear out, a work project to get over the line. The demands of my task list were swallowing up the little moments of joy.

A friend of mine recently read me this quote: “It’s not about adding more days to your life, it’s about adding more life to your days.”

Somewhere along the way, my to-do list had become a place of pressure, not support.

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🥴 The December productivity hangover

Here’s what seems to happen to so many of us at the end of the year:

• We’re tired.

• We want closure.

• We overload ourselves with “one last push.”

• Our systems, designed to help us, start feeling like scoreboards we’re trying to look good on.

• And inside all of that… December stops feeling like December.

Your to-do list should not be a place where joy goes to die.
Nor should it be the place where you prove your worthiness through sheer productivity.

December is for perspective, not punishment.

So here are a few actionable tasks to add a little more pep in your step this month by inviting joy back into your life. I’m doing these, and I’d love to invite you to do them as well.

1. Delete the December deadweight

Those tasks that have followed you from October → November → December? Just delete them. The ones you think you “should” finish before the year ends, but secretly have no interest in doing? Let’s let them go. Completely. I promise the world doesn’t fall apart, and whatever genuinely matters always finds its way back.

2. Add joy tasks – and do them.

Sometimes joy lives in the weirdest places. I have a task to get my work expense reporting up to date, and I know I’ll feel joy in getting that done. I also want to have a hot chocolate date with a friend. Which is probably more normal. 😅

Add things to your list that will bring you a little joy. But not the Hallmark versions (“go ice skating!” etc.) or the things you see other people doing online. What would feel wonderful and realistic to get done? And what would feel like it adds a little joy to your days for absolutely no reason but the joy itself?

3. Reduce the scope. December isn’t the month for heroics.

At this stage in the game, if any task feels herculean, it’s probably not realistic. Shrink it, split it, or turn it into sub-tasks you can actually handle with December-energy.

Lowering the stakes is not necessarily lowering your standards. Deprioritize liberally.

4. Use Upcoming + Task Durations to see your actual capacity.

This one is humbling, but in a good way. If you have a Todoist paid plan, you can do this in Upcoming view, but fear not, if you’re on the free plan (or don’t use Todoist), you can simply use your calendar or planner.

• Drag your tasks into your Upcoming view (or create events in your calendar).

• Add durations for how long the task will take to complete (be generous).

• Watch how quickly your time fills up.

It’s meant to be clarifying, rather than discouraging. Your time is finite. So treat it with the precious care it deserves. Repeat our first tip (delete tasks) if you’re feeling the pinch.

5. Leave space for coloring

If you think back on the most fulfilling and joyous moments of your year, they probably happened in the edges. In the moments when your time wasn’t accounted for, and you left room for spontaneity and connection. In that long, post-dinner conversation at the table with friends, in that impromptu meeting with a coworker that sparked a great idea, or in coloring on the floor with your kids.

That’s the biggest lesson I think I’ve learned lately. The importance of having a system that supports your life, but that also allows time for life to just happen.

"Beware the barrenness of a busy life."

Socrates

A little help for overwhelmed December brains

If your mind feels a bit fuller than usual at this time of year (mine certainly does), you might love our newest feature: Ramble.

Ramble lets you talk the way your brain actually works – messy, nonlinear, slightly chaotic – and instantly turns that stream of thoughts into a clean, organized list of tasks inside Todoist. It’s surprisingly calming to offload everything without having to structure the “perfect” task first.

If you haven’t tried it yet, here’s a quick walkthrough from Heather to get you started.

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What are you wrapping up this month? And how can you add a little joy along the way?

Be kind to yourself. We’re nearly there!

See you in 2026. 🎊

Naomi and the Todoist team

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One more thing… 🙏

Before we close out the year, I’d love to hear from you.

If you’ve got half a minute, here’s a question that would help us a lot in 2026.

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