LAMROW LETTER #2
Sup peeps...
Warning: You may never use a to-do list again after reading this.
You've been forewarned.
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Chaos, To-Do Lists, and the Turning Point
I remember when I used to live my life in a constant state of chaos.
Every day was a battle against an endless to-do list that only seemed to grow, no matter how much I crossed off.
It wasn't fun.
Looking back now, it seems to-do lists kept me from reaching my highest potential.
Back then, I had:
- No Direction
- No Clarity.
- No Purpose
- No Priorities
And these lists sure as hell weren't keeping me organized and on top of my game.
If you are anything like me, you hate feeling unorganized.
That nagging feeling of not touching your potential- it's exhausting.
I used to think productivity was about hustling harder, grinding, and getting as much in during the days.
I would sacrifice sleep, ignore my health, and convince myself it was the price of progress.
Turns out it wasn't.
I didn't last long going this way.
Instead of feeling accomplished, I felt stuck, spinning in circles on an endless treadmill of tasks.
It all hit me one day when I realized my to-do list wasn't the solution-it was the problem.
My life wasn't chaotic because I lacked effort; it was chaotic because I lacked a system.
I fired myself as my to-do list manager that day and started building something better.
Why To-Do Lists & Checklists Don’t Work
To-do lists aren’t fundamentally bad—they just don’t go far enough.
They’re a temporary fix to organize your thoughts but fall short when it comes to driving meaningful progress.
Then there are checklists.
Unlike to-do lists, which are often a chaotic brain dump of tasks, checklists focus on precision and consistency for recurring processes.
They’re great for things like packing for a trip, onboarding a new team member, or ensuring a specific task is done properly.
Both have their place, but neither compares to the power of a system.
• To-do lists keep you reactive. They’re a scattered collection of tasks without context or prioritization.
• Checklists provide structure but are rigid and often one-dimensional.
• Systems integrate everything—your goals, priorities, habits, and tools—into a cohesive framework that drives intentional action.
I was stuck in reaction mode when I relied solely on to-do lists.
My day was dictated by what felt most urgent, not what was most important.
Even checklists couldn’t help because they lacked flexibility.
A system, on the other hand, is adaptive and intentional.
It’s not just about checking off tasks—it’s about aligning your actions with your goals and creating a flow that works with you instead of against you.
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Ryan's Old To-Do List 12/31/2021
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Ryan's 2022 Check List
Now, we can discuss all the small details about systems for personal life or business, but for the sake of this letter, we will solely focus on systems for personal life.
This is when I turned to a software called Notion.
Notion is a tool that allowed me to design a flexible personal system tailored to my work, life, and thinking.
Instead of a chaotic to-do list, I created a system that aligned my actions with my priorities.
This allowed me to make more intentional decisions and control my personal life's outcomes more fully.
The Birth of My Power Calendar System
Here’s how I turned chaos into clarity:
1. Identify: I started by pinpointing the string of actions I was already doing daily, weekly, and monthly.
2. Map: I broke those actions into intentional, manageable steps.
3. Adapt: I built a rolling system that I could tweak as life changed—because life rarely goes according to plan.
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The result?
• My schedule stopped controlling me. I controlled it.
• Every action I took had a purpose.
• For the first time, I felt in control of my outcomes.
This wasn’t about building a rigid routine or micromanaging every moment. It was about creating flexibility while staying aligned with what truly mattered.
The Big Idea: Systems Create Freedom
You need Systems that will adapt to you - not the other way around.
The problem most people face isn’t a lack of effort or motivation.
It’s that their tools (or lack thereof) are working against them.
Without a clear, adaptable system, we waste energy reacting to problems instead of solving them proactively.
Intentional living isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing what matters.
When you have a personal system in place, you remove the guesswork from your decisions.
You stop second-guessing yourself. Instead, you create peace of mind, knowing every action you take moves you closer to your goals.
Imagine This
Imagine waking up daily with clarity, knowing exactly where your energy needs to go.
Imagine the peace of mind that comes from knowing your decisions are intentional, not impulsive.
This is the power of systems. And here’s the best part: the same principles apply to your professional life. Whether you’re:
• Building a side hustle,
• Escaping the 9-to-5, or
• Launching your next big idea,
Systems create the freedom to focus on what truly matters.
Your First Step to Freedom
You don’t need more hustle—you need clarity.
Freedom doesn’t start with a massive overhaul.
It starts with one small, intentional shift: designing a system that works with you.
A system that simplifies decisions, aligns your actions with your goals, and gives you peace of mind.
That shift started when I built simple systems in Notion to align my life and priorities.
Whether you create your own or explore tools that I’ve built for myself, the goal is the same: to reclaim your time and energy.
Ready to take the first step?
Check out the systems I use to run my life: lamrow.com/profile/personalsystems.
Remember this:
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Peace of mind isn’t a luxury—it’s a choice.​
Till next time,
Lamrow~
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