Should I reschedule everything that’s overdue?

There’s no need. Rescheduling thirty items is a lot of work and can leave you feeling worse. Finish one thing first, then deal with the rest bit by bit.

Is it okay to delete tasks I never got to?

Yes. If you wouldn’t start a task today, it’s probably more of a wish than a to-do. You can delete it, or move it to a list you don’t check every day.

How do I stop falling behind again?

Keep fewer things in view. Seeing one next step at a time is much less overwhelming than seeing everything at once, so it’s easier to keep opening your list.

Fallen behind on your to-do list? You can start again today

Maybe you missed a few days, then a week. Now your list is long, lots of it is overdue, and just thinking about opening it makes you feel stressed. So you avoid it, and it keeps growing. This happens to most people at some point, and it isn’t a sign that you’ve failed.

The hardest part is feeling that you have to catch up on everything before you can move forward. You don’t. Trying to clear thirty items in one day usually ends with none of them done. Starting with one is enough.

Get back on track in two steps

Step 1 · Today · About two minutes

Look through your list and pick the one item that would cause the most trouble if you left it another week. Write down its first small step, something you can do in five minutes, and do it. Leave everything else for now, even the overdue items.

Step 2 · Once you’ve finished a step or two

Go through your list once and sort each item into one of two groups:

Group	Ask yourself	Example
Keep	You’d want to start it this week	Renew the car insurance
Let go	You wouldn’t start it today	“Learn Portuguese”, added months ago

You can delete the “let go” items, or move them to a separate “someday” list you don’t look at every day. For each item you keep, write down a small first step before you start it.

Should you start a fresh list?

Rewriting everything on a clean page can feel good for a day or two. But if the same big, vague tasks come back in the same words, they’ll feel just as hard to start. A fresh list helps when each item on it has a small first step you could begin in a few minutes.

Nearer lets you start with one card

When you open Nearer, you see one card, not your whole pile of tasks. That makes it much easier to begin. If a task feels too big, press Break apart and start on the first small step.

Start from one card

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Common questions

Should I reschedule everything that’s overdue?: There’s no need. Rescheduling thirty items is a lot of work and can leave you feeling worse. Finish one thing first, then deal with the rest bit by bit.
Is it okay to delete tasks I never got to?: Yes. If you wouldn’t start a task today, it’s probably more of a wish than a to-do. You can delete it, or move it to a list you don’t check every day.
How do I stop falling behind again?: Keep fewer things in view. Seeing one next step at a time is much less overwhelming than seeing everything at once, so it’s easier to keep opening your list.