Why don't to-do lists always work?

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

To-do lists are very helpful. They help you manage your time rationally, remember nothing and achieve greater success in your professional and personal spheres.

But many are convinced that all these to-do lists are a waste of time, they don't work.

Let's try to figure out where these judgments come from and why to-do lists are not always effective.

There are at least 5 reasons for this.

1. Structural procrastination

Procrastinators are people who procrastinate. But not all procrastinators are slackers. There are those who do anything, just not to do what is really important.

Their to-do lists are usually very long, and they often have tasks such as "write an article" and "sharpen a pencil", "write a business plan" and "take out the trash". Guess what they are more willing to take?

This is what Stanford University philosophy professor John Perry calls "Structured Procrastination." The person ticks the boxes and seems to get satisfaction, but in fact, his to-do system does not work, since he does not move forward in solving really important problems.

2. The paradox of choice

Sheena Iyengar studies the problem of choice: how and why a person makes a particular choice. In one of her studies, she found that the human brain is able to perceive only 7 options.

When there are 58 items on the list of tasks for the day, a person often falls into a stupor - what to undertake and whether to undertake at all? If you want your to-do list to work, try to include no more than 7 tasks for each day.

3. Flexible priority

"Primarily", "urgent", "wait" - almost all to-do-methods teach to mark tasks with similar labels. This is definitely correct. But there is one "BUT".

Some people are so scrupulous about sorting tasks by priority that they forget that "waiting" in an instant can become "paramount." Let's give an example.

You have scheduled two very important meetings, as well as a visit to the service station (in the evening, if there is enough time). But on the way to negotiations, the car broke down. Bottom line: you spent the whole day in the service, did not get to any of the meetings and were disappointed in to-do-planning.

Remember: the priority of tasks can change. And that doesn't mean that to-do lists don't work.

4. Infinity of cases

As already mentioned, it is difficult for a person to choose from more than 7 cases, but this is not the only reason why it is not worth keeping one endless to-do list.

When a person sees a huge list of new and new tasks, he gets the impression that things are endless. Routine begins to crush, decadent thoughts appear, which, in turn, lead to an unwillingness to do anything at all.

To prevent this from happening, keep several to-do lists. For example, a daily to-do-list, to-do for a month, to-do called "Work" or "Repair". Structure your affairs and then it will be easier for you to follow the planned plan.

5. Intentions, not obligations

But perhaps the main reason why to-do lists don't work is yourself. Many people do not correctly understand the philosophy of this technique, writing down and numbering not their obligations, but only intentions, abstract desires to do something.

If you treat items on your to-do list as intentions and don't take responsibility for completing them, to-do will never work for you.

Do you maintain a to-do list? What advice can you give to those who think that lists don't work?