I am a compulsive list maker. I make lists for everything. Not just to-do lists but not-to-do-lists, bucket lists, shopping lists, reading-lists, word-lists, things-to-remember-lists, things-to-forget-lists, things that piss me off lists…
I sure I am not the only list junkie. Madonna, Martha Stewart, John Lennon, Ellen DeGeneres, Ben Franklin, Ronald Reagan, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison, and Johnny Cash and many more were addicticed to it.
My dependency on my lists have come to the point where my whole day falls in a disarry if I loose the piece of paper where I have made a list.
Apparently there is a science behind making lists.
Bluma Zeigarnik was one of the first psychologists to look at lists in depth. Her 1927 study found that it is easier for people to remember incomplete tasks than those that are complete. The findings became known as "The Zeigarnik Effect."
We are more troubled more by the items we haven’t been able to tick off the list than feel joy of accomplishing the ones we have have ticked off.
Yet the lists give us a sense of control over the daily chaos.
“People can often feel swamped with so much to do, which leads to procrastination, avoidance, and stress. Writing lists is a great way to clear your mind, and get the thoughts out of your head and down on paper,” states well-being coach Kamran Bedi.
“From a psychological standpoint, it can be mentally freeing to pen thoughts and tasks to paper. Worries or thoughts take up cognitive resources, but once these are expelled onto paper, we are freer to work on the task at hand. Keeping everything in your head can build confusion and create toxic cycles of doubt and uncertainty,” declares life coach Elisabetta Franzoso.
“Becoming organized is a byproduct of list-making. Once you have a list of tasks in front of you, you can organize them into time blocks, allocate slots in your diary to fulfill them, or create an itinerary for your day based on priorities and deadlines,” suggests Mihaela Berciu, a mindfulness and leadership coach.
But freeing your mind and being organisd is not the only benefit of making lists. I like lists because they take less space and time to convey the necessary information. I have started making all my notes in the form of dot points. I write my daily diary as a list. I was tempted to write today’s letter as a list as well.
Becasue:
Lists cut off the fluff.
It is very easy to jump from one point to another in a list form.
Three good books to read on lists are: 1) L'art de la Liste: Simplify, organise and enrich your life by Dominique Loreau 2) The Checklist Manifesto: How To Get Things Right by Atul Gawande and 3) Book of Lists by David Wallechinsky
Here is a list that inspired this letter.
Do you make lists?
What kind of lists?
Would you care to share your ideas so that I can add to my lists. :)
That’s it from me this week.
I would love to hear from you. Please drop me a line in the comments section.
Take care.
If you enjoyed this letter, you click here to get it every week.
Welcome to your twin sister Neera . I too am a list junkie . If I can’t find my list I get panicky . It could ruin my entire day. But you know what I find funny ?.. I make a list for supermarket shopping and never remove it from my handbag when I’m shopping. Then most time when I get home .. I miss buying an item.. How clever of me. Thanks for sharing this relatable piece.