Work never ends, forget the to-do list
18-08-2025
Traditional to-do lists might be contributing to burnout and unhappiness. Your day is limited, why structure it around unlimited work? Having a to-do item that say "Clean the house" is pointless. Cleaning the house can mean a lot of things, You can clean the house for the whole day. Instead use timed to-dos (schedules) "09:30 - 10:30 Cleaning the house."
This is where schools got the idea of time-tables. They understand that their time with the student is limited. They have to clearly schedule every activity, not only to get more work done but to make efficient use of the limited time they have with the student.
You can structure your day in a way of pursuing task-completion, which is motivated by the traditional to-do list; "list all your task, and do all it takes to clear the list." This method is ineffective. Work will never finish, there will always be something to do. Work is infinite but your time and your energy is limited.
Replace the common todo list with a schedule, having clear time frames.
A schedule must also be well designed to give you enough down time. And try with all your strength to not violet that schedule; If you assign 2 hours to a task, stick to that. Violating your schedule will automatically send you back to your common, ineffective, to-do list.
Having a schedule will likely make you happier than the alternative (plain to-do list). Your success no-longer depends on what you can finish but on how long you can work on something.
This is obviously not a praise song for sluggishness; try to do all it takes to be productive during the assigned time. This method will prove not fulfilling if, instead of serious work, you just do shallow destructed work; It will feel like you are not getting stuff done. Try to eliminate distractions. Or you can also schedule your destructions. It's better to have balance; "All work and no play make Jack a dull boy."
"Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time." - Benjamin Franklin
I like this idea by Oliver Burkeman of constantly asking yourself; What would it mean to be done for the day?