4 Limitations of Lists That You Must Overcome To Get Results
Alright, listen here. If you frequently find yourself on TikTok for hours because you’re avoiding like… 15 things you have to do, then this is for you.
The list is the most basic tool of organization that exists.
In its simplest form, it is just a collection of words that you’re trying to remember. For example, this is a shopping list my mom dropped in Whatsapp .
It’s just a few words, separated by line breaks. The breaks add meaning; these are separate items that share a trait. In this case, they will be purchased next time I step out.
Making a list is as simple as connecting words to numbers. For a very relatable example, imagine you have five sheep: Dolly, Molly, Holly, Wally, and Jeff. That’s a list.
Lists are the starting point of desire. We make lists so that we can better understand what we want (to-do list), what we’ve managed (done list), or to organize knowledge.
And yet, in my experiences talking to dozens of friends, acquaintances, and trainees, I’ve found a bafflingly large resistance to list-making.
People give their lists too much power over themselves. Here are 4 reasons why you have to be the master of your lists, not a slave.
A list cannot make you do anything
Too many people make lists of items they think they have to do or should do. Often, these items end up becoming things they don’t want to do or they choose not to do.
A list cannot make you do anything. It’s a tool to be used. You are its master. This means that the responsibility of decision still lies with you. A list will never make you do what you didn’t want to do in the first place.
Therefore, your list should ONLY be made up of tasks you want to do.
A list cannot break down tasks for you
One of the biggest problems is that lists don’t differentiate between tasks, goals, and categories. For example, consider:
Go running
Lose weight
Office work
Buy groceries
Blog
This is a bad list. At best, 1 and 4 are tasks (couple of hours). 3 and 5 are categories (multiple days). 2 is a goal, likely medium-term (multiple weeks). When your list does not share a similar range of time or effort, you’ll end up ignoring hard items and keep adding small items to feel good.
To understand how to standardize your lists, see SMART goals.
A list cannot anticipate your schedule
“41% of to-do items are never completed and 15% of dones started as to-do items. In other words, people aren’t that great at completing their to-do tasks, and tasks that are reported as done don’t correlate with planned to-do tasks.”
— (paraphrase) How to Master the Art of To-Do Lists by Understanding Why They Fail
I’m a big believer in having all your pieces in front of you. I’ve previously written about breaking down your life into categories.
When you have your categories, you are able to craft your lists while acknowledging that your life is multifaceted and complicated. This will help you choose list items that are important and varied, and make plans that are more compatible with your schedule and the categories of your life.
Even more importantly, it is important to set a time period for your lists. I personally make weekly lists, either on Sunday night or Monday morning. This sets my schedule for the rest of the week. For me, it’s a good balance between effort and reward.
A list cannot decide if it is completed
A friend responded to one of my Instagram stories, saying that lists compound their anxiety. They don’t make lists because it feels like double the work.
Lists can be a source of anxiety until they are completed, and unfortunately people don’t complete their lists.
A list isn’t complete until all tasks on it have been processed. However, people think that means that all the tasks must be completed, which is not true. Tasks can become irrelevant. No plan is perfect, and as time progresses, new information may become available to you. A list may contain tasks that you no longer need to do. Allow yourself to cancel these tasks.
A list will never be complete if you keep adding new items to it. Instead, process all your items and close your old list. A list item can be completed, irrelevant, or aged (carried forward to the next list). Allow yourself to close your list at the end of its time period.
Between completed, irrelevant, and aged tasks, you will often find that you didn’t finish everything you set out to do. That is perfectly normal! How can you expect 100% completion from yourself for every project you set out to do? Shift your mindset from “I didn’t get 6 out of 10 things done” to “I did 4 things that I might not have managed if I hadn’t listed them down”. Allow yourself to feel proud of what you accomplished.
You are the master of your list, and that comes with responsibilities
Remember that tools of organization are just that — they are inanimate tools. We attach too many rules and feelings to them and expect too much from them. In a way, we use lists to expect too much from ourselves.
If you acknowledge the shortcomings of the planning process, you will be able to adjust your expectations from your lists and from yourself. Becoming the master of your list is a habitual process that makes you the master of yourself, and that is a relationship worth investing in.