I’ve Changed the Way I Complete My To-Do List and Boy What a Difference it Makes
- Natalie Frank
- Aug 30
- 2 min read
Keeping a list of what I have accomplished instead of a to-do list of what I have left to complete has helped me switch the way my brain views my work day
Natalie C. Frank, Ph.D August 30, 2025
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I have made it a practice to create to do lists and tape them up where I am working so I can keep on track. I compile the list the usual way, by writing down all the things I want to get done that day, usually in the order of importance or deadline and cross them off one by one.
However, truth be told I hate my to-do lists, especially at the beginning of the day. Looking at a physical representation of everything I have to do that day often makes me feel overwhelmed. Until I’m almost at the end of the list with maybe one or two tasks left, I find myself getting increasingly tired and feeling more and more like I just want to quit for the day.
And then, of course, I make matters worse by adding the various things I think of that need doing that I hadn’t initially put on the list so that instead of getting shorter, often my list just grows throughout the day. It is very demoralizing to cross off one item and then add two more.
I often make my list up the night before so I can start tackling it as soon as I get up. But I find that as I walk to the room where I work, I feel a sense of dread, knowing how many things are on my list. Then there’s the first moment I spot it, hanging there as if it’s taunting me. “You’ll never get ME done today!” (Cut me some slack — I’m a writer and have a very vivid imagination!)
Because I’m adding things throughout the day, I rarely do get all the way through my to-do list. Even if I complete all the tasks that are time sensitive, I will still have others left at the end of the day. I carry them over until the next day, which only makes that list even longer. Over time, I have to give up on some things because my list would become the length of War and Peace otherwise.
