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“To-do lists make us mix up our tasks with our priorities.”
There’s a raging debate afoot. To-do list or not to-do list?
On the one hand, studies show that to-do lists can decrease anxiety and boost productivity, because they give a manageable structure to our goals. E.J. Masicampo, an associate professor of psychology at Wake Forest University, argues this is important because “When a goal is unfinished it might be a weight on your mind…It can be omnipresent whether you’re aware of it or not.”
On the other hand, a growing number of people are burnt out on the almighty to-do list. Darius Foroux wrote a compelling, straightforward piece last January, in which he laid out a brutal truth: “If I need a to-do list to function, I’m not in control of my life.”
He’s not alone. Whether its noticing how to-do lists are encroaching on areas that require totally different modes of thinking, like strategy, or simply recognizing the irony of breaking flow to add to an ever-sprawling list, to-do lists are receiving plenty of critiques.
A good rule of thumb in heated debate is to presuppose there’s some truth on both sides. If thousands, if not millions of people, (including the likes of Benjamin Franklin), have benefitted from a to-list, there’s got to be something…
