Why To-Do Lists Are Hurting Your Productivity

And what you should use instead of a to-do list

Photo by Emma Matthews Digital Content Production on Unsplash

You wake up in the morning. Change into your work clothes (sweats). And then you go to your to-do list.

Sounds like an ideal morning, right? It’s not.

What’s happening when you go immediately to your to-do list is you are ignoring the important tasks for what is easy or what is urgent. Then, as you ignore the complex or important tasks, you slowly reinforce the identity of a person who does not meet their commitments.

Another problem with to-do lists? It affects you outside of work. How many times have you had an incomplete task on your to-do list weighing on your mind as you try to ‘relax’ in the evenings or weekends?

“We need to free ourselves from the tyranny of the to-do list,” says Nir Eyal, author of Indistractable.

I have also spent a significant amount of time creating a to-do list as a form of procrastination. That is, I avoid doing the real work, thinking I am doing ‘work’ by creating a to-do list organizing my tasks.

Instead of to-do lists, schedule it into your calendar

Nir Eyal, along with Ramit Sethi (CEO and best-selling author of I will teach you to be rich)…