The long list is never satisfied
I won’t lie, I'm a recovering list addict.
We moved house recently and I revelled in the opportunity to create a list of things to do. I use Google Keep to make my lists and I prefer a check box approach, where I tick things off as I go along.
Yet, at some point after making such a list I always feel a sense of overwhelm. Sure, when it’s written down you can plan what needs to be done and this gives you comfort, yet, it also brings into sharp focus the sheer weight of work that needs to be completed.
It’s also a reminder that I hate moving house 😂
Many of you will feel the same in your working day, especially if your list has more than 10 things on it! You might want to start your week off in exactly the right way. Clarity about what needs to be done, possibly written in priority order, maybe even with someone else’s name written down as someone to speak to.
Then a coffee or a tea, then onto work.
But first, email. Then a meeting. Then another drink and before you know it, it’s 2pm you haven’t ticked a single thing off and have managed to add four more things to the list!
Sound familiar? The long list is never satisfied. Like ivy, they grow without us noticing and before you know it, you can’t get out of the door!
If you want to be productive, the answer is to only capture those things on which you either have the capacity for or can take immediate action on.
We feel that there’s comfort in the long list. We tell ourselves it's good to get everything written down, that at least we can see what's in front of us, that we know what needs to be done.
Organisations make a habit of it too, creating endless strategic priorities that fill spreadsheets and paralyse action.
Yet, the long list stands in the way of productive work. It’s a proactive way of procrastinating. Every minute spent list making is a minute not working. ‘But Colin,’ I hear you say, ‘it’s a way of organising my work.’
If you’re good at making a list and getting to it straight away, then keep going. If not, then write down the 3-5 things you need to get done and then clear other time-wasting activities out of the way and get to reducing the list. (See here for more information about George Miller’s groundbreaking ‘Magical number seven’ (7+2) law on short-term memory.)
The long list creates an illusion of control whilst actually preventing you from having any. It's something that feels like productivity but delivers action paralysis. When your team starts a meeting by reviewing a 20-item action list from last week with 15 items still open, you're not managing work. You're encouraging anxiety.
The paradox is this: the shorter your list, the more you'll complete. Three things finished beats ten things started every single time.
