How To Check Off The Most Stubborn Items On Your To-Do List

Say goodbye to even the most stubborn items on your to-do list.

Do you ever feel like you just have way too much on your mind these days? That appointment you really need to make, the phone call you've been meaning to return, the pictures you swore you'd put into frames, the bedroom it's time to clean out -- it can be overwhelming having all those unfinished tasks swirling around in your head. If your mental to-do list has become more of a source of stress than organization, it's time to address the "psychic clutter," says author Gretchen Rubin.

As the writer behind the best-selling The Happiness Project, Rubin devoted a year of her life to making manageable-but-powerful changes in her routines to achieve real, practical happiness. In her quest, Rubin realized how much clutter was connected to the experience of being happy, and, as she tells Oprah during an interview on "SuperSoul Sunday," spending just one hour a week on various unfinished projects can have a huge impact on your ability to be happier.

"Every week now, I have an hour called 'power hour' where I do a bunch of tasks that I've been procrastinating," Rubin says. "The light bulb, the shredder, get a new desk chair, figure out where I lost my passport, all that stuff that just keeps getting shoved down the list."

As that list grows, so can your unhappiness. Certain people, like Rubin, have a real affinity for simplicity, cleanliness and order. Even though you may not have a physical mess to confront, the psychological mess created by an endless to-do-list can be just as harmful.

"It's just clogging up my mind," Rubin says.

By devoting 60 minutes each week to power through the items that have piled up, Rubin has not only been able to create a sense of serenity in her life, but she has also opened up more mental space to focus her energy on the things that do bring her happiness. All thanks to this simple exercise.

"Power hour: March through that list," Rubin says. "Eventually, everything gets done."

"SuperSoul Sunday" airs Sundays at 11 a.m. ET on OWN.

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