Wondering if you should let go of outdated items on your to-do lists?

To-do lists are much more than tasks that need to be completed.

At their core, to-dos represent brief moments in time.

They reflect where we were and what we were thinking at a particular point in time.

If you haven’t taken the time to regularly review and weed out unnecessary or unwanted, you may be inadvertently wasting your time and energy.

Here are five crucial reasons as to why you should consider letting aged to-dos go so you can move on with your work.

You’ll be able to better focus on what’s in front of you.

Does it feel like there’s too much information in your mind vying for your attention?

Shifting your attention from the past to the present can help give your mind a much-needed rest.

Removing outdated or unnecessary to-dos can help you reclaim your daily focus.

You’ll no longer have to keep these items at the front of your mind.

This welcome change may be just what you need for a refreshing start to your daily routine.

If you are unwilling to part with to-dos, at least consider temporarily moving them off your daily list. Place these to-dos in separate handwritten lists, spreadsheets, or typed documents.

Make a note in your calendar to review these items at a future date.

You’ll eagerly welcome new ideas and opportunities.

Entrepreneurs constantly find solutions to challenging problems.

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to find creative ways to move forward in your work when you’re thinking about a to-do list from six months ago.

Removing outdated or unnecessary to-dos from your daily routine allows for fresh energy to circulate in your business.

You may experience a flash of new ideas and insights or you may simply be more receptive of fresh new ideas, opportunities, and situations.

You’ll open your mind to new solutions for old problems.

Sometimes the best way to go about solving a problem is to take a break from it.

And giving yourself a conscious break from an issue may be just what you need to find a solution.

Do your best to put a to-do on hold for a day or two. Then, revisit the to-do item in a few days’ time.

Pay attention to any new ideas, thoughts, information, or connections that have popped up during that time.

You may be surprised by what you find!

You’ll take care of what really matters.

Have you been putting off tasks in your business that you know you should complete sooner rather than later?

Lightening your to-do list can help create the necessary time and space to work on other issues.

Take a moment to identify urgent and important tasks in your business at this very moment in time.

Next, determine which of these tasks should be taken care of first, second, and third.

Lastly, work on the task yourself or delegate the item as necessary.

You’ll be more resilient in the future.

Here’s the cold hard truth when it comes to to-dos: there will always be incoming tasks that will find their way onto your to-do list.

That’s just the inherent nature and life cycle of tasks. Tasks are created and tasks are completed.

The more comfortable and understanding you can be with this fact, the better prepared you’ll be to efficiently process tasks in the future.

Practice task awareness. Make note of when new tasks come into your daily routine.

Ask yourself which tasks, if any, are now unnecessary or unneeded.

Create a plan to deal with these tasks, be it removing them from your daily list, adding them to a list for future review, or delegating them.

The point here is not to become attached to any particular task, but rather to be aware of the never-ending cycle of task creation.

Taking a big-picture approach like this will help you better manage tasks on a daily basis.

Learn How to Stay on Top of Your Work

Productivity skills are important if you want to consistently get things done at work and home.

My to do list online course will teach you how to prioritize to-dos, manage tasks, and get things done.

If you want me to show you how to manage your to-dos at work and home, then check out my productivity consulting services. Book a strategy session with me today!

How about you? Which items are you going to remove from your to-do list? Join the conversation and leave a comment below!

This article originally appeared on Inc.com.