Planning
Why your to-do list keeps growing
Adding a task is free. Finishing one is not. That is why the list never gets shorter.
By Tom
3 min read
Your to-do list grows because adding a task is free and finishing one is not. It takes a few seconds to type “call the dentist”. It takes real time, and a bit of nerve, to do it.
A list is not a plan
A list says what you might do. A plan says when. Without a time, every task sits in the same pile and the easy ones win. The list fills with small things and the important one stays at the bottom.
Three habits that help:
Give each task a day, even if you move it later.
Keep your daily list to five items.
Once a week, delete anything you have moved three times.
The last one feels hard at first. But a task you move three times is telling you something. Either it does not matter, or it is too big. Cut it, or break it into a first step you can do in ten minutes.
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