The Problem With To-Do Lists

Do you use to-do lists? Do you find it satisfying to check off the items on that list? Too satisfying perhaps?

More than once I've found myself adding something I've already done to my daily list. I get to check it off then, you see. I get "credit" for all the things I've done. Whatever satisfaction this may give, it's also an indication I'm confusing effectiveness with just being busy.

Do To-Do Lists Help?

Of course it helps to write down meetings and events and necessary tasks. The problem is we sometimes start to work for the list, and then the list may not work well for us. It's easy to feel like you're getting a lot done when you have a list to "prove" it. The question is whether you are getting the important things done.

It seems so reasonable to sort my files again right now. I would feel good to cross that off the list. I have many such things that show up on my to-do lists, giving me plenty of opportunities to avoid more dificult things, like writing this article. This is what I need to be doing, however.

A Better To-Do List

Prioritise your list. You can put the more important things at the top, or put a mark next to them. Then start doing the important things first every day. If, like myself, you need the satisfaction of crossing off the small things on the list, do those only as a reward - after you do one of the important tasks.

Make sure the most important things get on your lists. That big trip to Nepal you're going to take "someday," may never happen until you break it into steps you can put on your list. In fact, it may be worthwhile to stop list-making altogether, until you clarify what IS important to you.

To break my list-dependency, I put things on my list just so I can ignore them to do more important things. You don't want to just "get busy," do you? If you want to move towards real values, you need to make your to-do lists work for you. Put that on your list for today.

Steve Gillman writes on many self help topics including boosting brainpower, losing weight, meditation, habits of mind, creative problem solving, learning gratitude, generating luck and anything related to self improvement. You'll find more at http://www.selfimprovementnow.com

cleaning help near Mundelein ..

In The News:

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

The Problem With To-Do Lists

Get Organized - Organization