Sunday night, I fell asleep thinking about all the things I needed to do for this week. The list feels exhaustive, never ending. As my brain often does, I immediately start strategizing, thinking through where I am now and where I need to be by the end of the week with all of my active projects.

Thank the heavens, a framework finally unfolds itself and I begin jotting it down in my phone the 4 categories I'll use to organize my TDL: Delete, Defer, Delegate, Deliver.

The interesting and unique thing about developing a strategy for a To Do List (TDL) Framework is that the approach you come up with should be unique to how you work. I'm sharing my TDL Framework in hopes that you can use this one or develop one of your own.

The 4D TDL Framework

1. DELETE — Does this actually need to be done?

2. DEFER — Does this need to be done now?

3. DELEGATE — Does this need to be done by me?

4. DELIVER — What are the three things only I should focus on today?

Delete

As a perpetual planner, procrastinator, and someone with severe ADHD, I have to begin my TDL Framework with DELETE. There are things I inevitably add to my list everyday that are “nice to haves” but not necessary. I delete these. If it becomes critical, it will resurface. These are the tasks no one is waiting on or add little to no value. I just feel good when I do them. Resist the urge to defer these, go ahead and DELETE them.

DEFER

Next, I focus on tasks I can DEFER. These are tasks I can push out one to two weeks. These are your backlogged tasks. Now, if you find yourself consistently pushing the due date for these tasks out, you may need to reevaluate if these items should be recategorized as DELETE. The inability to prioritize these items over time may speak to their inherent diminishing value to you and/or the organization.

DELEGATE

Then, my favorite but most challenging category, DELEGATE. For some of us, our challenge with our TDL is we try to do everything ourselves. This year, my focus has been building my team, automation, and getting acquainted with the AI tools available to me. These are the 3 areas tasks can be DELEGATED: (1) People (2) Automation (3) AI.

DELIVER

And lastly, and hopefully minimally, DELIVER. These are the tasks I reserve for myself. The goal is to maintain no more than a TDL with 3 Top Priority tasks per day. This forces me to intentionally build a support model (future article to come) that enables me to do this.

I hope this article inspired you and helped you navigate your Monday! Drop a comment and let me know how this TDL Framework works for you and/or if you developed your own framework.

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- K.D.

Why would I introduce myself to them as a writer? At this time, I had yet to put words on paper. These weren’t strangers. I was meeting my husband’s extended family for the first time and this was going to be the “news” that circulated the family about who I was. I could have easily introduced myself with information easily verifiable.

I’m not sure why I felt bold enough to proclaim myself a writer having no evidence to show for it. This is happened sometime in 2020. My now sister-in-law and I were doing our rounds together at one of our first extended family dinners. Finding a comrade at these types of events is essential. It made it less scary not being the only new kid on the block at a family function. This was the type of gathering where you introduced yourself for the first time, establishing first impressions and such.

One of the little pods, where women chatter about the day-to-day happenings of life, kids, careers, home decor, the conversation that led to my bold declaration started with “So Keisha, what are your hobbies?”

I responded way too easily for someone who had not yet proved they could even craft a story.

Confidently, I say, “Yeah, I’m actually working on a Christian fiction novel…”

Even more shockingly, there was a sense of excitement and even anticipation from the women in our little pod. They were leaning in, curiosity in their questions, excitement in the upward tilts of their eyes matching their curved, smiling mouths. I was taken aback by what I was seeing and feeling. I stood silent for a few moments. I stared in disbelief, thrown off by the encouragement. I wasn’t expecting more than just mild interest in their responses, you know, the polite inquisition but not meant to mean “I actually care about your hobbies”.

“What is the book about?”, the unnamed host of the family event asked (obviously I know who she is now). They wanted details and I only had some. I had not really put any of my ideas on paper yet; the stories I wanted to write were just ideas circling my heart and mind. Although not yet etched on any document, I had built a relationship with the unnamed characters and storyline I had been spinning and weaving in my mind.

I received a completely different reception than I expected. What about me and what I said was so believable that before even reading a word, I had those around me expecting this piece of work from me.

This was the beginning of me vocalizing what I had only timidly shared with my husband when we were alone. I wanted to be a writer. What felt like childish ambition, even in my 30s, was watered by the encouragement of others’ enthusiasm.

For about six years, I had dabbled with character development and story outlines, listening to podcasts, and reading books on writing and becoming an author. One of the books that shaped how I thought about storytelling was Save the Cat! Writes a Novel. If you're curious about writing fiction, it's still one of the first books I'd recommend. (https://amzn.to/4hyNXbq). It wasn’t until 2024 that I drafted an outline to what is my first Christian Fiction Novel “Hidden Treasure”. In 2025, I wrote a couple of letters to a few people, continuing to share that part of me I honestly did not know existed.

This year, 2026, I started creating and building the habit of writing. That year I participated in a 10-month Executive Program that coincidentally focused primarily on storytelling. One of the unexpected gifts from that experience was leading the writing and co-authoring our cohort's leadership book. If you're curious, you can find it here.(https://amzn.to/3TZZjM0).

Six years later, I realized my heart had made a promise that I echoed out loud in a small crowd of people before I'd ever written a word.

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Stay Inspired!

- K.D.