![]() Zooming into the true purpose of the to-do list, we discover that a significant problem is that we’re just not good at constructing our to-do lists. At the same time, it’s a nagging tool that can induce unhealthy and disarming anxiety.ĭo the cons of a to-do list outweigh the pros if we’re not ultimately getting everything done? Problem 2: Think of the to-do list as a starting place for planning ![]() We have so much to tackle, and a to-do list helps us remember everything. Which, of course, leads to our health tanking, which makes our productivity get worse. As described in Willpower, psychologists Robert Emmons and Laura King discovered that the worry that results from having too many conflicting goals causes our productivity and our physical and mental health to suffer. This constant disquiet has negative effects in tackling the very tasks that are so worrying. Overstuffing our lists causes a continuous thrum of worry in our head. Sounds like a setup for failure if there ever was one. They also say that a typical executive’s to-do list for a single Monday could take more than a week to finish. Social psychologist Roy Baumeister and journalist John Tierney, authors of Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, report in their book that one person typically has at least 150 different tasks at a time. Problem 1: We have too many to-dos on our listįirst of all, most of us put way too much stuff on our lists. It seemed too facile to chalk up the poor figures to the simple failure of to-do lists and/or humankind, so we wanted to take a closer look at why people aren’t good at completing their to-do lists. ![]() Or does the weakness lie deeper in ourselves in our human struggle to impose order and control? The popular to-do list, then, appears to be rather ineffective, and it’s this paradox that may explain the spiky love/hate relationship that people have with to-do lists. Tasks that are reported as done don’t correlate with planned to-do tasks.Tasks that do get completed are done quickly.People aren’t that great at completing their to-do tasks.10% of completed to-do items are done within a minute.18% of completed to-do items are done within an hour.50% of completed to-do items are done within a day.41% of to-do items are never completed.Is my list-making just a futile exercise in productivity-flavored self-torture? Is the to-do list just a blunt instrument to wield in the quest for personal productivity and getting stuff done?Īm I actually achieving more in a given day because of my list? We went to the data from our users to find out.Īnalyzing the efficacy of our users’ to-do listsĪt I Done This, we used to have a to-do task feature, and we discovered some interesting numbers demonstrating the common struggle to conquer our to-do lists: I sometimes worry they’re just a form of self-flagellation. I don’t love to-do lists but found it odd that I still continue to use them. Most of us, including to-do list haters, keep one, and the fact is, they can work when you find the to-do method that works for you. It is our very human attempt to create order in our disorderly lives and an expression of our ability to impose self-control. It does not store any personal data.The to-do list is an inescapable, age-old productivity tool. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.
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