We all have ideas floating around our brains and tasks that we need to get to.
For many of us, the way we keep track of them is by collecting these bits into lists – sometimes many, many lists. In recent years, there have been new productivity approaches that suggest creating lists for the various contexts of your life – work (with subdivisions), personal (with subdivisions), and so on. While this can be great for keeping your tasks organized, this approach may have some downsides:
Multiple lists can be confusing. When you have more than a couple lists to keep track of, it can be hard to remember what item was on which list. You may also spend time splitting hairs trying to decide which list is the very best fit fora particular item or task. Too many lists is similar to having too many files in your filing system – when you have lots of small divisions, sometimes it’s hard to decide where to place an item that really could live in either place. If you find yourself hemming and hawing over deciding which of two similar lists your task belongs to, try streamlining or combining any closely-related lists.
More lists often equals more stress. It’s hard to wrap your head around the entirety of what you have going on and the tasks you have to juggle when you have more than a few lists that your tasks are spread across. I’ve worked with people with nearly a dozen lists, including the ever-present “someday” list, who, after going through and trying to prioritize their tasks, feel completely stressed out. It’s no wonder – there’s too many things to do, spread among too many different places. If having multiple lists stresses you out or leaves you feeling overwhelmed, try whittling your lists down to just a few, and see if that feels more manageable for you.
List management becomes a task unto itself. This is the biggest danger I see with the multiple-list approach to to-do management, as you may end up spending a fair amount of time managing your lists and your tasks rather than actually completing them. Unless you are a project manager, you should focus on making headway on your tasks rather than shuffling and reshuffling your lists.
In my experience, there’s a sort of organizing nirvana that happens when people feel their lists are “just right” – after spending a fair chunk of time organizing and reorganizing the lists, of course. And while feeling like you’re on top of the organization of your tasks is great, I think it’s even better if you actually make headway on or even complete a task or tasks instead of just organizing them.
Don’t be fooled – while having the “perfect list” can be satisfying, you’ll be even more satisfied by making progress on your tasks. Organizing a list is NOT the same as actually getting something done.
Now, don’t get me wrong – lists, when used well, can be useful tools for collecting and organizing your thoughts, your priorities, and your tasks. Just be careful that your lists are working well for you, and that you’re not spending lots of your time managing them. Instead, your lists should be supportive tools that you spend just enough time on to help you move closer to completing the right tasks.
Joshua Zerkel is a Certified Professional Organizer® and the founder of www.CustomLivingSolutions.com. He specializes in helping entrepreneurs leverage technology so they can be more productive, organized, and get more of the right things done.
Learn more about the author, Joshua Zerkel.
Great article with some really good advice. Thank you for sharing.
I would also add how I used an A,B.C rating system.
A = Critical, must get done within 48 hours or I will loss the opportunity of completing the task.
B = Important, I will complete within 5 business days.
C = Delegate or Eliminate, the task can be completed by others or does not really belong on my Do List.
Joshua - I have quite a few friends that are lists fanatics (don't even think of crossing something off for them, that is more than half the reason they created the list!)
I find them helpful for a very immediate purpose, like going to the store to get more than 3 things, and that is about it.
I know that you are an Evernote Ambassador - and am wondering how you use Evernote to manage what you would put on a list.
Considering that I use the Things app for my things to do and Basecamp for project tasks, it almost seems like I never need a to-do list.
Great article on the traps of our own organization fetishes. The statement that making lists of things to do is not the same thing as doing them turned on a lightbulb. Duh! Thanks. Just do it!
How do you achieve the balance between action and preparation for action (organization)? And what is the appropriate ratio my business? 1 hour in 8? less? Good stuff. Thanks.
I love my lists. I have to say though I am still pretty old school - my lists are on a white board in my office, I have one in the kitchen too but it doesn't count since it is my kitchen gadget wish list. But I have found that I need to see the lists every day. I tried a few online lists and found that I would neglect them. I think this is because I am adult with ADD though I must be reminded of the things I need to do. I also break down my tasks into smaller chunks. The Whole ABC thing never worked for me because I know in my mind I need to do the stuff I hate first because it always takes me longest. The tasks I like never take much time.
Joshua, You make an excellent point of doing rather than just organizing. It's like reading a book about writing, but not actually writing! It's an easy trap to fall into. Reading this article has inspired me to really look at my list strategy to see if it's working for me or against me. Thank you, Kathryn
Thanks for the great feedback everyone!
@Matt - One can definitely use Evernote for to-do lists (and many other types of lists), but you seem to already have your tasks well managed, so I think adding another tool into the mix would be redundant. Generally, when people use Evernote for list management, they either create a single note (or series of context-related notes) with all of the related items, or they create a notebook or tag with each of their contexts. This works well for some people, while others find it confusing. Evernote does not have a good sorting function - so you can't sort by, say, priority - which is why many people look elsewhere for task/list management.
@Terry - there is no one right ratio for planning:action, as different actions require different levels of planning. General rule - as little planning as possible, and as much as you need. I know, not so helpful. Generally, if you feel like you've planned for every eventuality, you've probably spent too much time planning. If you feel terrified, then you haven't planned enough.
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