To-Do Lists


I used to think of to-do lists as just, well, lists of items so you wouldn’t forget. Turns out they have more uses than that. If you expand a to-do list to also include sequencing and priority information, it frees up your mind (from the responsibility of storing and prioritizing the action list). And once the mind is freed up, it can be used more effectively on other things: in other words, a to-do list can actually increase your effectiveness!

It turns out your mind gets freed up even more if you also draw out a plan on how to knock off tasks on that to-do list. Note I just say “draw out a plan”, not necessarily execute on that plan! Which, of course, is a double-edged sword. Drawing out that plan increases your effectiveness, but it also seems to delete that to-do task from your memory.

Who’d have thought to-do lists should be used with care?

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