To-Do Lists: The Bane of My Existence
Many people in their personal and professional lives use what is commonly called “The To-Do List” – the list of things that need to get done in a particular day.
I’m torn between the advantages and the disadvantages of the To-Do List.
Advantages:
- Reminds you of all the tasks that you need to get done.
- Writing it down clears your head to work on the other tasks you have in front of you.
- Helpful if you have a lot of things to do and/or if you have a shitty memory.
Disadvantages:
- Reminds you of all the tasks that you need to get done, but don’t have enough time in the day to do them all.
- Causes you to look at your list with the nagging feeling that you forgot something.
- When you don’t get everything done on your list, you feel like a complete and utter failure.
Most of the time, the nagging feeling that I’m forgetting something plagues me with the To-Do List. I also experience the feeling of “my GOD you suck!†when I don’t finish everything on my list. In addition, putting things that aren’t time sensitive (like “filingâ€) and the things that always get pushed off to the side when I get busy (like “filingâ€) on my To-Do List just sets me up for failure.
How can I change this? The hell if I know. I don’t know what it is that I’m forgetting, much less know the secret of creating a To-Do List that achieves the balance between being helpful and being a constant reminder that I’m not working hard enough.
Maybe I should make a list for that…
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2 Responses
Well when I make to-do lists (often before going on vacations, for example), I always rank and prioritize my tasks. So long as I complete those that are identified as urgent or must-do’s, I feel good.
The other trick is to evaluate why you didn’t get things done. If you truly just ran out of time or energy, but made a good effort, then you’ve got nothing to feel bad about. But if you were a couch potato all night instead of being productive, then hopefully you can turn it into a learning experience for self-growth.
Doesn’t that sound great? I should be a motivational fucking speaker! lol
As for the nagging feeling, I experience that more when I don’t write things down.
My god I love to-do lists. If I don’t get things all done, then I shift them to my NEXT to-do list. I love crossing stuff off. Oh man. I’m going to go make one right now!