There’s something strangely exciting about a to-do list. Writing down all the things that feel like too much to tackle in one go, and breaking them into smaller, more manageable tasks. This makes it so much easier to work with – not to mention the satisfaction of ticking them off. As someone who’s always working on multiple big projects at the same time, to-do lists are what hold me accountable for my time management and help me avoid missing anything. Today, we’re going to be looking into why to-do lists are so satisfying and how to use them to help your health and your life in general.
Why To-Do Lists Feel So Satisfying
There’s a reason your brain gets a little spark of happiness every time you check something off. When you complete a task, your brain releases a hit of dopamine, which is the “feel-good” chemical linked with motivation and reward. It’s the same burst of satisfaction you get when you finish a good workout, solve a mini problem, or find something you thought you’d lost. That feeling helps you get a little boost to continue to tick other things off the list, which creates a chain of productivity.
The Comfort of Feeling in Control
Life can feel messy, unpredictable, and overwhelming. A to-do list doesn’t fix everything, but it does offer a sense of control in a world that can feel anything but.
Writing down your tasks helps:
- Clear mental clutter
- Calm anxious thoughts
- Break big challenges into smaller steps
- Turn worry into action
Clearing your head helps you focus on one task at a time, which makes it easier to finish those tasks you really need done.
Celebrating the Small Wins
One of the most beautiful things about a to-do list is that it celebrates the small moments we rarely pause to appreciate. Tasks like making the bed, sending that awkward email, or even filling up your water bottle are things that you wouldn’t normally pause to celebrate, but with to-do lists, ticking off these tasks is like a small celebration that you completed them.
In a world that’s always pushing us to do more, be more, and achieve more, a to-do list gently reminds us that any progress is still progress
Making To-Do Lists Work for You
You don’t need a fancy planner or a five-step productivity method. The best to-do list is the one that feels good to use. Here are a few simple ways to make yours more satisfying.
Where to have a to-do list?
Firstly, it’s easy to create to-do lists anywhere, either on a bit of paper, in a journal or even in your phone’s note app. The important thing is to have the list visible to remind you.
Personally, for my home life, I enjoy having my notes online so I can see them from my computer and my phone. For this, I use Notion, which is a task management solution, mainly used by companies to share where everyone is on projects. I’ve found this really helpful because I can see all of my main tasks (things like my weekly plant waterings, financial checks and reminding me to do my monthly journal). I can set reminders for these tasks on my phone so I get notified on it, but I can also set them to recur. Which reminds me to do them when they’re needed.
For other simple tasks, I use a paper to-do list. This gives me more satisfaction in manually ticking things off and usually stays on my desk, where I work and study.
Some other tips and tricks
Here are some other tips and tricks for to-do lists that I’ve found helpful.
- Keep it short and doable: overwhelming you with a huge task kills motivation.
- Break big tasks into mini ones: more ticks = more dopamine, which makes you more likely to finish the bigger tasks.
- Include joy tasks: “have a cup of tea,” “go for a short walk,” “have 10 minutes of phone time” These, after finishing some of the more boring or hard tasks, make it that much easier to get through them
- Be gentle with yourself: unfinished tasks are not failure, it’s a part of life. If you find yourself consistently not finishing them, maybe take a look and see if you could break those tasks into smaller ones.
Wrap up
To-do lists can make tasks that feel undoable completely achievable. That’s a superpower we should be using as much as we can when life throws things at us. So when you next get a task that makes you want to pull your hair out, or your mental list of tasks is starting to overflow. Take a second to write things down, break the tasks into doable chunks and then start tackling things with a new view.
If you have any tips you’d like to share, leave them below.