Why having a ‘to do’ list helps your productivity

There is an app for everything these days. Stocking your fridge. Remembering which season of The Office you’re watching. Managing your ‘to do’ list.

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The humble ‘to do’ list is a powerful tool for staying organised and being productive – even when you’re not able to cross everything off it, which of course, is the most satisfying part of having a list.

The power of a ‘to do’ list

There are psychological benefits to having a list of tasks that must be completed.

Not only can a list provide structure to your day (or week or month), but collating your tasks and goals into a single place reduces cognitive load and frees up your creative juices and mental resources for actually completing the tasks.

Additionally, by articulating your goals and physically recording them somewhere, you externalise them and reduce the pressure and stress of having to remember them. This ‘mental decluttering’ can reduce anxiety and let you approach your work with a clearer mind.

In Harry Potter, Dumbledore reaches peak declutter with his Pensieve, but until wands become mainstream, the simple ‘to do’ list is the optimal way of siphoning excess thoughts.

App or paper?

Neuroscientists have long known that the act of writing something down on paper makes it easier to remember due to the multiple processes involved. When you pick up a pen and write something down, you are not only processing the information (brain), but you are visualising it (eyes) and feeling it kinesthetically (muscles).

In his Forbes article, Mark Murphy discusses the ‘generation effect,’ which states that ‘individuals demonstrate better memory for material they’ve generated themselves than for material they’ve merely read.’ This is why students should always be encouraged to study by writing their own notes rather than simply reading texts.

However, using a phone app to manage your list has the bonus of being able to carry it around in your pocket. Depending on what platform you use, you can even send yourself reminders if something needs to be done at a certain time. Just don’t let yourself be distracted from your task by all the other apps begging for your attention.

Should you do the easy tasks first?

Once the list has been written, it is easier to prioritise tasks, and while it is tempting to knock off the easiest tasks first, is this actually the most productive approach?

There are certain benefits of doing simple tasks first – the act of crossing items off your list and having quick wins can boost your mood and reduce overwhelm. This can increase your motivation to attempt the harder, more complex tasks, knowing that you have already made progress.

However, those simple tasks can often turn into time-wasters, and we have all had the experience of spending an hour on a task that really should have taken ten minutes. When that happens, you can either feel like you have achieved more than you actually have or, alternatively, completely exhausted and less motivated to work on the more demanding tasks.

If you choose to start on the more complex tasks on your ‘to do’ list, you are working while your energy and focus levels are highest. Completing the complex tasks also gives you a valid sense of accomplishment and everything else on the list is simple by comparison. But they can also take a toll, and if they take longer to complete than expected, you might not be able to achieve anything else on your list.

Determining which tasks to begin with will depend on your own work style, the importance and urgency of individual tasks, and your energy and focus levels.

What is the ideal number of items on a ‘to do’ list?

It is important to be realistic when writing a ‘to do’ list. Too long and you risk overwhelming yourself and never even starting the tasks; too short and you’ve probably forgotten something important.

It’s useful to separate work-related and personal tasks into two separate lists, or at least in different parts of the same list. While the number of tasks you have to complete is highly variable depending on your situation, highlighting the top 3-5 priorities for the session, day, or week is a manageable way of staying focused.