Why I Stopped Using A To-Do List (And What I Use Instead)
Why a to-do list might actually hurt your productivity.
A normal to-do list doesn’t work. Even though it’s the most popular productivity tool, it’s seriously flawed. The problem with an ordinary to-do list is that it’s merely a list of tasks you’d like to get done in a day.
But here’s the catch; Not all tasks matter equally.
Some tasks have disproportionate results compared to other tasks. These high-impact tasks should be identified, prioritized, and completed first. That’s the key to fast progress towards your goals.
A To-Do List Creates A False Sense of Productivity
In reality, it’s precisely these high-impact tasks that we tend to procrastinate on the most. They are often more complex, time-consuming, and energy-draining. Therefore, we tend to push these tasks to the magical land of ‘tomorrow,’ and we’d rather work on many easy tasks that we can quickly cross off our to-do list. This makes us feel good. It makes us feel productive.
For me, this meant I used to have a to-do list with 24 items on it, complete 21 low-impact tasks from that list, and I’d still feel productive. In reality, however, I didn’t make much progress (if any at all) towards my…
