The Dark Side of To Do Lists

Like many, I found that making lists of things to do has a certain appeal. It helps me feel organized. It keeps me from forgetting things. It allows me to ensure that stuff will get done. And it gives me a perverse pleasure to check off the boxes.

But there are some major drawbacks to these lists. Here are just a few disadvantages of to do lists that I’ve discovered:

• There is a temptation to add things to the list that just don’t really need to be there.
• You have a tendency to think that the things on your to do list all have to be done by you and you alone.
• You may feel like you cannot rest until you get to the bottom of your to do list, which never really happens… EVER.
• You run the risk of judging yourself by the number of tasks you have accomplished – regardless of whether those things are really important or meaningful.
• Crossing things off your to do list provides an artificial sense of accomplishment that fades quickly and leaves you feeling like you can’t rest until you do more.
• Your to do list can become your master. The tool you created to help you get things done is used a weapon that you end up beating yourself with when you don’t execute it as planned.
• To do lists keep you busy running from one thing to the next without checking in with yourself on what you really need or WANT to do.
• The things you really WANT to do rarely end up on your to do list – they end up getting delayed or neglected altogether (see How Your To Do List Keeps You From Living the Life You Were Meant to Live).
• Your to do list leaves you feeling justified for playing small and never going out of your comfort zone to try something that could ultimately be the best thing you ever did for yourself and everyone around you.
• Your to do list can keep you fixated on achieving results without really enjoying or being present for the process or the experience of what you are doing (which ironically leads to sucky results anyway).
• You run the risk of putting more importance on knocking things off your list than spending time with the important people in your life (and unconsciously communicating to them that they are not a priority).
• You fail to recognize all the many blessings you have in your life because you are so fixated on all the things you think you need to do to be happy.

 

If you need help breaking free of your to do list and living the life you really want to live, stay tuned for my next post – “How Not To Be A Slave to Your To Do List.”