Once you've sorted out what's actually worth doing, the next trick to get through your to-do list is to put a time next to each item.
Instead of:
- Reply to Sam
- Review Sam's draft
- Change the batteries
- Hire a drummer
Do this:
- Reply to Sam (2)
- Review Sam's draft (15)
- Change the batteries (1)
- Post a job ad for a drummer (30)
By putting a time, in minutes, next to each item, the list will feel less overwhelming.
Notice that "Hire a drummer" became "Post a job ad for a drummer". A big task like hiring isn't a single to-do item; it's a project. Don't leave a massive task sitting on your list, because you'll keep skipping over it. Break it into the next concrete action you can actually do, and put a time on that.
If you don't know the time because the task is an unknown or it's large, then add a "Research X" task with a timebox of 15 minutes to scope it out.