Why do I like making lists so much?
Cohen puts our love of to-do lists down to three reasons: they dampen anxiety about the chaos of life; they give us a structure, a plan that we can stick to; and they are proof of what we have achieved that day, week or month. A system is needed – and scribbled notes on hands won't cut it.
By keeping such a list, you make sure that your tasks are written down all in one place so you don't forget anything important. And by prioritizing tasks, you plan the order in which you'll do them, so that you can tell what needs your immediate attention, and what you can leave until later.
ENFJs enjoy making lists in order to keep everything organized and together. They have so much going on in their lives and they want to be sure to keep everything maintained properly. Without lists the ENFJ can feel like they are missing or forgetting something important.
The key behind GTD is writing everything down and sorting it effectively. This act of planning reduces the burden on the brain, which is struggling to hold the mental list of all the things we have to do. Releasing the burden of unfinished tasks on the mind frees it up to become more effective.
A list can take you back to feeling pro-active, grounded, calm and clear. One client took off a whole week just to organize her home and make lists and she said it was a truly happy time. Lists offer opportunities for creativity as well.
Glazomania is an unusual obsession, passion, or fascination with making lists. However, this tool can be a way of being more efficient or even to reduce stress levels, thanks to the fact that lists work as a form of preparation. People with glazomania make lists about absolutely everything.
They not only help you develop routines and habits, but they can also help you remember things you may have forgotten to do because you can always look back at your lists. You can also make lists like what to pack for a trip or the steps to doing a project. This section of your notebook can be pretty versatile.
To-do lists can be great tools for decreasing anxiety, providing structure and giving us a record of everything we've accomplished in a day. The trick is to reframe your to-do list as a set of miniature goals for the day and to think of your checklist items as steps in a plan.
- Do it now—When you encounter a small task that takes less than 5 minutes to complete, just get it done. ...
- Prioritize your energy—When you're overwhelmed by the amount of work you have on your plate, stop and rethink the way you work. ...
- Systemize everything—Working on a book?
If you want to make sure that you can achieve everything you want to accomplish, then a list is one of the best assets you can have. You may see a lot of articles out there titled with something about high performers not actually using to-do lists.
Is making lists a good thing?
Writing a daily gratitude list helps you consciously focus on what's good in your life, and can really shift your thinking. And often, the process of writing a list tackles procrastination head-on and subsequently boosts productivity. “We often put off the things that we need to do because we don't know where to start.
The phrase "Type A" refers to a pattern of behavior and personality associated with high achievement, competitiveness, and impatience, among other characteristics. In particular, the positive traits of a Type A personality include: Self-control. Motivation to achieve results.

Hypergraphia is a behavioral condition characterized by the intense desire to write or draw. Forms of hypergraphia can vary in writing style and content. It is a symptom associated with temporal lobe changes in epilepsy and in Geschwind syndrome.
Using To-do Lists
The organisation is one way to beat procrastination, which is why checklists work so well. People who use written to-do lists tend to procrastinate less than those who rely on mental checklists. Including to-do lists in your daily activities can improve your workflow significantly.
Expressive writing can result in a reduction in stress, anxiety, and depression; improve our sleep and performance; and bring us greater focus and clarity. These effects of writing as a tool for healing are well documented.
Make lists — and stick to them
Just the simple act of writing down what you need to do can spark motivation and make you feel better and more productive. If you're feeling stressed or down, just getting some of those thoughts swirling around in your head onto paper can make them seem a lot less overwhelming.
Excessive drug or alcohol use.
Drug and alcohol use can be a slippery slope. Stimulants and depressants may help to numb feelings, pain and subside those negative thoughts that are actively being avoided, but excessive use can lead to severe health complications, addiction, overdose and death.
- Avoiding anything that isn't "positive." ...
- Catastrophizing. ...
- Isolating. ...
- Downward social comparison. ...
- Romanticizing the past. ...
- Overreacting to small issues. ...
- Worrying as a means of self-defense.
Somatic OCD is a form of OCD that causes intrusive thoughts are focused on autonomic, or non-conscious body processes and functions, like breathing, blinking, or physical sensations.
- Fear of being contaminated by touching objects others have touched.
- Doubts that you've locked the door or turned off the stove.
- Intense stress when objects aren't orderly or facing a certain way.
- Images of driving your car into a crowd of people.
What is existential OCD?
Existential OCD involves intrusive, repetitive thinking about questions which cannot possibly be answered, and which may be philosophical or frightening in nature, or both. The questions usually revolve around the meaning, purpose, or reality of life, or the existence of the universe or even one's own existence.
ADHD is not, in and of itself, a gift. It is a disorder that often leads to significant challenges in various aspect of one's life. And each person with ADHD has a unique profile of symptoms and difficulties.
- Time to spend with a friend.
- One-on-one time with a parent.
- A special treat like going out for ice cream.
- Choosing a family meal.
- Extra playtime before bed.
- Extra TV time or time for videogames.
- A fun activity.
These may include hyperfocus, resilience, creativity, conversational skills, spontaneity, and abundant energy. Many people view these benefits as “superpowers” because those with ADHD can hone them to their advantage. People with ADHD have a unique perspective that others may find interesting and valuable.
This activity permits your brain to relax a bit by offloading the task of remembering to an 'external memory brain'. List making gives back your sense of control. Crossing items on your list can be a satisfying experience. It makes you feel like you accomplished something, giving you more satisfaction.
Excessive list-making. People with OCD often fear they will forget something important, so they may make excessive lists to remind them to do daily routine activities (i.e. brush teeth, make breakfast, etc.)
- Limit the quantity of tasks on your list. ...
- Give yourself a parking lot. ...
- Have a compelling reason for every action on your list. ...
- Turn it into a schedule. ...
- Think in terms of air, water, and food.
Smaller is better. The most ideal to-do list for any given day should have between 1-5 items on it. For most people, the purpose of having a to-do list is so that they can get more done in a day and not neglect important tasks.
A not-to-do list is a handy tool to help you stay more focused on the important things in your life and career. Simply put, it's a list of tasks you don't do, no matter what. You delete them, delegate them, outsource them, or simply say no when they try to find their way on your to-do list.
...
This method will help you get your most important work done for the day.
- Write article.
- Have meeting with prospect.
- Talk with family and friends.
- Check email.
- Exercise.
- Research article ideas.
- Share posts on social media.
- Vacuum.
Are organized people more successful?
One of the most frequently mentioned habits of those who are successful in life is organization. Such organization includes planning as well as setting priorities and goals.
They set goals
Well-organized people enjoy setting and achieving goals. Their high level of order and organization allows them to focus on that goal without getting distracted. They can easily prioritize tasks and set aside those that do not help them reach their immediate or long-term ambitions.
For the same reasons that to-do lists are motivating, they can just as easily become overwhelming – the “too much of a good thing” proviso. At first glance, a long list of tasks is evidence of a determined go-getter, but being too unrealistic with your estimates can quickly stress you out.
To-do lists are essential if you're going to beat work overload. When you don't use them effectively, you'll appear unfocused and unreliable to the people around you. When you do use them effectively, you'll be much better organized, and you'll be much more reliable.
And a nice granularity level for most people is somewhere in the middle: between 30-60 min for each task. That means a good daily to-do list for an average productive person has between 6-12 tasks on it. Again, to-do lists are a highly individual thing.
What is a C Type Personality? C Type Personality Styles, based on DISC Theory by Dr. Marston, are accurate, precise, detail-oriented, and conscientious. They think analytically and systematically, and carefully make decisions with plenty of research and information to back it up.
Type B personality is characterized by a relaxed, patient, and easy-going nature. Individuals with a Type B personality work steadily, enjoying achievements, but do not tend to become stress when goals are not achieved.
Type B personalities can be generally summarised as; easy going, relaxed and highly-flexible. Generally taking a much more carefree approach and wider philosophical view of themselves, work/life balance and other traits which make them less stressed and more widely appreciated when compared to Type A personalities.
People with writing anxiety might even get physical symptoms if they try to write, or to over-edit: perspiring, trembling, shortness of breath, pacing, and so on.
That means that the simple practice of writing day after day can easily lead to mental exhaustion, particularly if you're also working a full-time job, and especially if you're not taking steps to protect yourself.
Why is writing mentally exhausting?
And the reason for this is very simple. When we write on a regular basis, what we're doing is we're making mistakes, and we don't know the mistakes we're making, but our brain works out, “Oh, you did this today”.
The five-minute rule is a cognitive-behavioral technique that is designed to help you overcome procrastination to become more productive. Essentially, all you need to do is commit to spending just five minutes on whatever it is you're procrastinating, after which you're free to stop if you want.
Just tell yourself: “I'll do this thing for ten minutes. Once I get to the ten-minute mark, I'll decide whether I want to keep going.” Most of the time, you will decide to keep going long past the initial ten minutes. The idea is to make the task as easy as possible to start.
Procrastination is rooted in fear—of failure, of success, or of not being perfect—and fear is a powerful emotion. We feel anxiety when we're pushed to do things that make us uncomfortable, so naturally, we avoid them at all costs.
Writing is good for keeping one's gray matter sharp and may even influence how we think, as in “more positively,” studies show. Apparently sequential hand movements, like those used in handwriting, activate large regions of the brain responsible for thinking, language, healing and working memory.
In a second study, scientists looked at dopamine release during writing. When people read a piece of writing, there is no dopamine release, but when re-writing the passage, there is a dopamine surge in their brain. Dopamine is a chemical that acts in our brains to increase reward and motivation.
checklist. noun. a list of all the things you need to do or consider.
To-do lists are essential if you're going to beat work overload. When you don't use them effectively, you'll appear unfocused and unreliable to the people around you. When you do use them effectively, you'll be much better organized, and you'll be much more reliable.
- Write Things Down. Tasks swirling around in your head magnify overthinking- especially abstract thought, which just puts you in your head more. ...
- Don't Overplan. ...
- Let Go Of The “Should's” ...
- Be In The Present. ...
- Focus On One Thing At A Time.
synonyms for to-do list. order of the day. agenda. calendar. docket.
Whats the word for someone who can do multiple things?
versatile Add to list Share. To describe a person or thing that can adapt to do many things or serve many functions, consider the adjective versatile. In E.B. White's classic children's book Charlotte's Web, Charlotte the spider tells Wilbur the pig that she is versatile.
People who overthink things regularly, psychologists believe, are often those who may have larger self-esteem or acceptance issues, Dr. Winsberg explains. If you're constantly overthinking (more on that later), however, it may be a symptom of clinical anxiety and depression or even obsessive-compulsive disorder.
However, if you study those articles, you'll actually find that these successful people use a to-do list in some form or at some point in their process. Today's many successful, high-performing leaders use to-do lists to take care of tasks and to achieve their goals.
“People often have very valid reasons to feel overwhelmed, but those terms imply that it's a personal weakness or failing, which it's not.” Instead, mental health issues are often the result of a mood disorder such as depression, an anxiety disorder or simply feeling overwhelmed by the stress of life.
The reason for much to-do list anxiety is an ineffective prioritization system or inadequate progress checking, meaning people waste their time on invaluable tasks or don't make changes to improve mistakes and inefficiencies.
When you struggle with anxiety even small everyday tasks can seem like mountainous obstacles. As a result, you'll start to feel even more overwhelmed and nervous because you can't get things done. That's because anxious thoughts tend to “blow up” even the smallest things.