Why Writing To-Do Lists Causes You Anxiety
And how you can change them to reduce it
I am a fanatical list writer.
Whether it be writing projects, housework, grocery shopping, or appointments — you name it, I write a to-do list for it.
Writing to-do lists has been well established in psychology as a great method for reducing anxiety and it’s easy to see why.
There’s nothing like that little self-satisfied boost you get when you score something off your list and seeing that a task is done.
It gives a sense of order: of productiveness; a feeling of calm as you can write off one more thing you no longer need to remember to do.
Yes, to-do lists have always been my key to organizing life. So, when I tried to re-introduce a bit of order after the birth of my daughter, of course, I wrote a to-do list.
On a rare moment of quiet, I sat down with pen and paper — a cup of coffee near to hand — and I scribbled all the things that needed to be done; from doing the laundry to making phone calls.
It covered 2 pages… Front and back.
When I had finished, instead of feeling relaxed and focused, happy that I had everything I needed to do written down and ready to be scored out: I felt overwhelmed.
