ToDo-List Anxiety and The Art of Executing Scheduled Productivity

How To Do ToDo lists and Addressing Procrastination [Long read] [Tutorial – Beginner]

Some people have a lot going on, and just write it in a list, and that’s it. But what if that works? And then, you want more? What if that could be improved?  

How is it then we would like to imagine ourselves? Drawing up those lists. Plotting – hopefully – the extent of everything we can most likely promise ourselves in achievement. And the most common, the most natural, the most explanatory. The simple and humble, yet dedicated and impactful. The  ‘ToDo list’. It’s one of those, ‘how do you like yours cooked?’ kind of things, with different strokes for different folks.  

Our task here is to discuss the fundamentals and core of the ToDo list. Can it be improved? And what happens if we make ToDo lists a way of life for anything that needs to be done, what problems may occur? 

Did you ever think there would be a counter-intuitive factor simply on the basis of ‘trying to accomplish’? Would you ever have thought that how it is you try to apply yourself would be the way in which you procrastinate alone?  

I wouldn’t have initially either, and as partially why, too busy as I put, ‘promising myself’ with distractions. You see when one creates a ToDo list, if that list is not based on ‘this absolutely needs to be done now or there will be trouble‘, then there is the potential of a kind of ‘impulse buying’ the lister may be vulnerable to.  

In a similar sort of way that it’s advised not to go food shopping whilst hungry. As one scripts a ToDo list, they may be toppling thriftless objectives that would otherwise have no place being on there. And as for their motives for doing this, there could an indication of something problematic. And then, stacking disappointment can embed itself into your mind.  

There could be many reasons for this behavior. One such possibility we will diagnose, is if they are so devoted to maximising output of their ToDo lists, that they are unhappy with their current situation, yet feel they cannot do anything about it other than plot. That this individual is then in a kind of ‘reactive’ state, unsettled, and in need of change. And due to this constant subconscious discomfort, a propelled desperation becomes through you. Entering and existing inside the background of your thoughts, your actions and meaning. And as it does, the duality of hope, inclusive of false hope and all the invisible delusive indecisiveness to boot that comes with it, seeps into expectation. Manifesting in ambition of productivity, in the form of the ToDo list, dare I even say now corrupted and leaking. 

But what’s the actual problem here? Is this actually ‘dangerous’??? ToDo lists that come with safety warnings??? But it is possible without knowing to be fulfilled by a special irony and that be the story written for you at this time of your life. To exist in a looming shadow that only complements how you languish, building the walls around you as they surround you affecting your mental health.

 You see, as one writes of everything they predict will help them escape, such is what the ToDo list masquerades as, serving as a proposal for improvement, two new equations secretly formulate. What may actually be happening, is they are without knowing, portraying who they believe they should be, and then living in that shadow. Basing what they hope to accomplish on what that supposed ideal would do. And here we are identifying the punishing consequences of that left unchecked.  

The other equation in question enabled, is also based on promise. A kind of indirect contract with how one atypically procrastinates signed in the form of ‘off-putting’ by listing placement and as this is happening, it’s being learned. Putting what goes where on the lists and feeling good about it.  And when you put something off, notice then when you get around to it, refacing that reason you put it off, with a bit extra momentum pent up.

I never really thought something as simple as a ToDo list would be a window into the soul. But, it does make sense that how you apply yourself and in what direction would resemble true character, as will the success and failings that follow. That said, you then also may become in touch with a special kind of intuition.  

One that is guiding in nature, but not in the form of attraction and instead, a deterrence. Like a each click on a Geiger counter  resembling the traction of nails inside your skull detecting radioactive mine sources, making mental movement difficult. A heightened sensitivity to stress in this state of stability that will be unnoticed to the point that procrastination will just unknowingly ‘become’ of you and consume you, ruining your day. And you will be dumbfounded as to why you are so suddenly struck. It’s a crashing feeling nulling any sense of progression previously procured by the ToDo list.  

The answer is without you even knowing, a part of you is well aware that somewhere down the line in pursuit of that outcome listed on that ToDo list, lies an air-pocket of headache and stress. A feeling of inability that reminds you of imprisonment that you currently feel unbearable and exhausted by, and that repeats so much over years, this foresight gains. Think of it like acute causal trauma detected by the your subconscious, maybe due to repetition  from past accrued senses of failure. Though of course, would be common amongst individuals that frequent inability, and thusly would more naturally find themselves in a state of distressing urgency… Knowing the ‘what’ they are to do, but not the skills ‘how’. And it is to escape this domain, temporarily, will you see how it draws you back, all happening right under your nose.  

I noticed that, also becoming of me. When work became too much and the mind’s gone a bit numb, how healthy it is to exit the room, go outside for a walk. Breaking all the rules as it were about what you tell yourself you need to do, and the pressure of artificially created deadlines engrained from the integration of ToDo list domesticated hustle culture. And come the change in atmosphere the draw of fresh air became most enjoyable, I sadly would have described it as a tool. But what I also enjoyed to my dismay, was how my mind was in this state, reflective of the surroundings. A kind of liberated state from the previous patterns of thought.  

But then I noticed what my mind also began to do, still enchained to work, goal setting. And what’s particular is how much of a good idea, average ideas sounded. It’s such a weird state. To want something, and then not want it, and became awash by this influence, like standing in omnidirectional gusts of wind. But when I would walk through that front door back home, I could stop. I would say, “there it is”. That feeling inside my skull and spine. Drenched by a mirky weighty energy sapping comeuppance almost crawling through me.  

Why is it one doesn’t want to do something? What is that force of nature that completely depletes them of will. I would say we all have secret counters, counting, ticking, accumulating failure. And as they rise, as do tipping point probabilities near, and transformations become. This can be accessed here.. This is going to be the most dramatic ToDo list you’ll ever make. And all you need to do is pick up your pen, or put your fingers on the keys, and question what is waiting around the corner. For any chess player will tell you not every move you make is a step forward to victory, and sometimes, the outcome of your own checkmate, is by designing your king’s inability to move, trapped inside the walls of his own defenses.  

For it is in our example, I’m back where I don’t want to be and I only get clues to know it. And all those goals I set, all that vision I had portended, about betterment and excellence, about striving and perceiving, and ultimately, about some form of ascension. Now act as forces against me. Ladders that break, paths that mislead, I’m building doorways in open fields. And your attempts to actually ‘do’, only serve to blind you, distracted from your feelings.  

And boy it’s so easy to put stuff off. And as that piles, somewhat of a hoarder I become. Reluctant to let go of tasks incomplete. Reluctant to admit defeat curtailing the ‘why’ it was I could not succeed. Held back by my own competitive determination. I proceed to hit that crooked now wonky nail repetitively trying to force it in unsuccessfully. Until now I just need to rest. For if I am to concede my own incompetence, it only proves I’m capable of enabling resistance. Not actually acting upon it.   

And so I’m burned out, taking time off, having a break from the act of initiating productivity in itself, let alone the actual work. But going with the flow instead, which is tied to my default autopilot minimum effort easily distracted self. Making ToDo lists, waiting for that sense of procrastination to leave me so history can repeat. Wishing. And all the time I’ve spent wondering what if, I just kept that strategy up, how productive I could have been.  

And so it is. The Todo list you will find is a mortal struggle against inner demons. I bet you never saw that coming? But when you think about it, it makes sense. By choosing to practice ToDo lists, you have come to the conclusion (somehow and for some reason) that this listing strategy needs to be done. And by actually doing a ToDo list, you are challenging who it is you are for needing it rather than being good enough without it, which you clearly aren’t amidst your inadequacy. And your ego that’s been pulling the strings conducting the movement in your life, embarking into safe spaces and settling down via subtle nudges in your emotions, isn’t going to like that.  

For in your ToDo list, you will have things in there, that have the overall objective of making you a better person like another inner voice slotting those tasks into that list. Healthier choices in life for example. Or improving how it is you think, things you know deep down you should be doing but can’t quite find the strength to muster motivation.  

And to test all this, I could just straight up ask you right now, ‘why aren’t you better’? And there will be some idea to compare yourself to. Even though you know it’s a good idea to try and improve (if you were to know the true path of that improvement of course, but attempt it none the less), there’s a part of you that simply just doesn’t want to do it. Doesn’t want to get up early, to eat that less processed food, quit that pleasure inducing, stress liberating habit. And that part could be justified. Of course there’s a narrative. By how heavy you think the load is in life, or question if that’s just a narrative you tell yourself as this ego does love to take the easy way out or if you are at your limit. This ToDo list culture will act as a spiritual teacher and take you there. I’ll repeat. You will learn that, and as I say – not even knowing you –  I’ll speak for a foreign part of you when I say that specific part won’t like it. And let the inner conflict commence, and your transformation truly begin.  

And so it is here then I find myself, wondering my own failures, and if that then entitles me to portray an effective ToDo list? And I would say yes, on the basis of how failures build success, we can at least discuss different ToDo lists and see how deep the rabbit hole goes.  So, with that considered, we will create and evaluate ToDo lists on the basis we are aware of the potential corrosive effect this might have unbeknownst to whoever practices productive list making, the contracts they sign.  

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Getting Started on the Actual list 

A list is a list, if you wanted to keep it simple, on pen & paper, write point after point scoring off when completed. Easy. But as you do that over time, you may find yourself wanting to expand on the complexity for optimisation and analysis of which it is here you will be guided on how to do so effectively and maybe just find yourself on a little journey inwards too.  

Another thing you want to consider as you embark on practical ToDo lists, is what I used to identify as ‘shit just takes ages’ (because it fucking does!) And your ability to ‘play for time’ as a plan may be restricted, though you may then want to get your driving and transportation sorted as part of the 5 year master plan with this article considered. Thanks to AI, of course, it doesn’t take as long as it did, waiting for replies and searching who can do what job. But even so. You are most likely a lone worker. You I assume are likely to be under resourced, and can’t just take out your wallet to solve issues by paying someone else. Otherwise your ToDo list analysis wouldn’t need to be complicated as the tasks on there would be completed promptly and not your concern.  

I also write this as you should appreciate that any integration of any other party into your life, automatically adds an unpredictable element to your planning and will mostly likely cause delays due to their own personal interests out with yours. And competition usually is afforded to the highest bidder regarding who’s schedule works around who. Just something to be aware of as delays can garner frustration, but warrant discipline for the sake of peace which arguably is what most plans work towards.  

And lastly to add, if it’s then you, that is doing everything by yourself, you’re not going to be all knowing. And learning is going to be slow and sometimes difficult as you’re not ‘just going to machine through it’ as I used to force upon myself. And you’ll then make amateur mistakes, sometimes costly and can be set backing. And it’s all the shitshow of becoming an adult and gaining that life experience to avoid these issues. So all I’m saying is relax and try to not worry too much when things don’t ‘go to plan’, like you shouldn’t have but couldn’t help but promise yourself.  

For starts. I strongly recommend putting your whole Todo list system on some cloud based platform. So it’s on your phone, and computer simultaneously and interchanged instantaneously. Don’t worry about people spying with data and putting out sensitive information like your shopping list, your purpose here is to be productive, and that is a form of efficiency. So looking it up can be changed quickly. I would encourage you in this case to look past data protection. I remember my own hesitation to add my ToDo lists online. I didn’t like the idea of being spied on. To me, I just thought, it’s not that much personal information I’m already giving using search engines, in comparison to the practicality of having cloud utility.  Though I do have plans for an FTP own server set up for a future publish because I realise it is important. But also using the tools at your disposal.

Quite easy to ‘lose touch’, of a long project, and that distance contributes to further procrastination amongst other things. It becomes a ‘getting around to it’ objective in itself. Don’t make accessing your notes an ‘ordeal’, don’t make it extra steps and ‘exclusive’ for certain times. Make it seamless, 2 clicks away. 

At the moment, I’m using OneNote. It’s cloud based, it’s free, it works. That’s enough. Yes notes can become unsynced and then editing across two portals can result in a conflict. One Note gives you a chance to inspect both copies. And by just making sure they sync before you work, this can be easily avoided.  In our this tutorial, I’ll be showing off how it can be applied not as a note based platform as it’s usually used, but as a ToDo list software. Other generic contenders for the ToDo list platform would be a calendar based software, or a spreadsheet. Perhaps for a ToDo list article sequel were we can apply a bit of automation. 

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In OneNote, you can import pictures and videos for motivation. It’s not something I do personally for collecting inspiration. Also in OneNote, you can export to PDF. The biggest advantage bar being free (currently) is the omnipresence of it. Can write in your phone, or use an InPrivate browser on your work computer, or your laptop. You don’t need to remember a USB stick. You don’t need to copy the documents you need to work on, on the sly, whilst doing your job. You don’t need to then wonder, should I delete this or does it have important documents in it, when it comes to copying over onto USB. It just completely removes the fuss.

Also you’ve got a spell checker. Can format with word colours if you want. Insert tables. To be honest, I don’t like that there is no keyboard shortcut for ‘Strikethrough‘ like there is Bold (ctrl + b) or Italics (ctrl + i) and instead it hides amongst ellipses. Handy for crossing things off ‘Todo lists’, though inside the tags drop down exists tick boxes.  

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The ToDo List Objects.  

The manner and urgency in which jobs are done is every changing. But there are bound to be things you ‘need to get around to’, and things that pop up, along with timely occurrences, like bills that obviously will take high urgency. Not to condescend but let’s run through the basics. In every ToDo list there is three basic categories. The ‘One off’s’, ‘building towards (some kind of project), the ‘maintenance upkeep’ (your choirs).  

Maintenance ToDo List.

So often is in in cheffing a choice is made by the individual or team. As the food orders are flying in and space is limited, tools are wonky, and resources scarce. Do you stop working entirely and do a ‘clean down’ and regenerate your stocks, and refresh your mind, as the orders continue back up, or, do you keep prodding along hoping for a break in the weather? And the answer is inconsistently situationally judged. For as chefs work, and work quickly in heat. Things spill and deplete and become misplaced, and damaged when making sure that food comes out timely and hot all for that all important minimum wage cheque. And order is required to be keep systems running effectively, which also has a knock on effect, on, morality, call it. Walking into a bombsite on top of a busy night definitely has a disheartening effect to it. Not the kind of start you want. One that also then echoes throughout the shift.  

The same concept is actually applied to your life. A need to ‘recuperate’ and get back on track. So easy it is for us, whilst we relax in our own space, to revert to a slob state in times of peace. That is the work of your reoccurring Maintenance ToDo. Repairing yourself and surroundings from the drudgery of your imperfection. And as reluctant you may be to do it also on the flip side, you may find an attraction towards it. I used to enjoy getting around to sorting out the heaps of notes I’d accumulated throughout the week. Because these notes acted as a sort of saving grace, a get out of jail free card when it came to feeling guilty about not being productive. 

Unfortunately, this case, it was for nought, as the systems I had in place for note extraction to their designated location were flawed. Infantile if you will, compared to how those systems progressed and matured over the years. And also the ideas they were for, wouldn’t be deployed at the time but maybe for 15-20 years.

And so I found I was really just ‘doing what I knew to do, to feel like I had a sense of progression’, I had these systems in place I knew, and I could just step in and start doing them, without a recap. And get a feeling of control over my life, when really, what I knew to do, wasn’t really that productive in my life. But it was difficult for me to understand that proper at the time. On the bright side though, to play the long game, those ideas planted over a decade ago are now starting to bloom.   

It’s somewhat a skill, a discipline to, a sign of intelligence. To not just race for the finish only prioritising the one off jobs, or the tasks that accumulate towards big projects. And appreciate pathway clearing. I used to even say it’s a privilege. Getting ready for work, waking up at 7. Coming home at 7, and in some cases, that’s not waking up in the morning. And then after the traffic and getting home, cooking food. And finally sitting down to eat, and relax. I don’t want to start cleaning after doing dishes in the kitchen too small to put a dishwasher in. Who actually does that I thought? People that have a cushy enough life to not be so burdened by that 9-5 kind of life and stress. But it’s not going to clean itself I sigh. So the ‘Maintenance ToDo’, the list of things in your life, you do to maintain health, hygiene, stability.  

One Offs. & Building towards.  

As a reminder, then, careful not just to put things on your ToDo list, ‘for the sake of it’. Because it will ‘probably help’, or ‘may as well’ motives.  Embarking on your path to be hexed by the curse of perfectionism. Though, arguably, it’s difficult to know what will actually help. An of course, until you actually get around to doing it, and realise I don’t give a shit about this activity, is a good indicator. Also unforeseeable problems arise only after the prototyping of a long task. You have to not take these things too seriously. As they do cause delays, and then result in missed targets.  

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Now let’s sort out your ToDo list structure. Built on 1N. You’ll see that most writer’s software, is just folders inside folders and files inside folders. Organised in a certain way. The Notebooks of Microsoft’s OneNote is like a folder. The new sections are folders inside folders, and the ‘pages’ are just files. These files are like HTML Files that can easily create text boxes. That’s it. It’s got a lot of stuff. Master folder ‘notebook’ -> Subfolder ‘Section’ -> file ‘Page’.  

Create account. Get your notebook. [yourName’s Notebook].  

Then create 3 sections. And then the sub bullet points are pages.  

1. Master Notes / Template Notes
   1. Morning ToDo 
   2. Evening ToDo 
   3. Sunday ToDo 
   4. Work ToDo 
   5. Gym plan 
   6. Things to Remember.  
   7. Finances
      1. Perhaps then integrating some kind of accounting software? Not covered in this basic tutorial. 
2. Dated notes.
   1. 1Dump (stockpile tasks to sort and address later, and of course, to evaluate if they are worth completion) 
   2. DDMMYYYY.  
3. Archive.
   1. Old dated notes to be kept for reference.  
4. Project 1 (Actual name) 
5. Objectives.
   1. Bounty list. A dossier of targets. A file/page per each. Your checklist. What the actual job is, how far along you’re on with it.
      1. Example: Driving: acquired provisional. Savings targets for lessons. Setting nightly theory revision. A potential car you are eyeing and making sure it’s not sold. Insurance 

The Master ToDo List.  

A set of documentation, you would rarely be changing. Your master notes is an idea taken from the master sheet in spreadsheet work. Same concept as that primary reference.

Morning & Evening ToDo List.  

What? Ensuring you get your freshly pressed juice and doing your brain puzzles in the morning? Good luck with that. What about the Night ToDo list? That you and your little wind down routine with a nice book is it? And no blue light, phone screens off by 22:00! A lot of these things, if you’re not into them, writing them on a list isn’t going to do much. It’s just going to make you live in a shadow of who you should be, and that’s going to have a negative influence on you.

But, having said that. I used to think having a functional body clock was a privilege, that’s me using that word again. Because the jobs that would only hire me had late shifts like 5-2, and then only 1 day’s break between and expect you to come bright-eyes and bushy tailed for a 9-5. And maintaining a body clock ‘just getting into a routine’ was the big hope I’d hold out for one day, was reason enough for me not to start these little morning rituals for the sake of accruing good karma feeling and positive energy vibes with some nice green tea and deep breaths meditation for the day.  All I’m saying is routine in your life can be good, and maybe at the point in life I take inspiration of, without it, could have contributed to that agitation.

Sunday ToDo.  

The Sunday ToDo, is a kind of representation of a peaceful restoration. When we do things, we create mess. The Sunday ToDo list is about resetting the stage for the next week, to make sure it can go as smoothly as possible. You should be thinking about those little things that are weighing on your mind, that you “need to get around to, but…[insert excuse]”. And if you haven’t gotten around to them, address them on the Sunday ‘weekly spring clean’.  

In cheffing, there is a term used when there’s a reviewal of what you’ve got in the back fridges. A big list for then another list, the ‘prep list’, the todo list of tomorrow morning. Where I was, stationed, it was called ‘a recky’. I don’t know where that word came from, is it to, reckon what’s in store? Don’t know. But the principle is to check what you’ve got to work with, and what you need, is good. To reacquaint yourself so you know what is and – equally important – isn’t to be done.  

The same thing should apply to your ToDo list. Sometimes projects can get so big, you don’t even know what ideas is located where. And that can become a feeling of lostness and disconnect that can build into procrastination. Or notes you forgot to tidy up that require to be sorted for later. You should do a recky of both your current projects, just going over them, reminding yourself of where you’re heading with them and how far you are with them and how you currently feel about that project. Just self reflective in your mind. And also you should do that with your overall database. Just looking what ideas are where, what’s been brushed to the side. Where are those procrastination land mines. What was the driving stake of your procrastination? Trying to see your way through the emotional haze with your feeling. This is you, ‘staying on top of it’.  

Dedicating a day, Sunday, as as not simply a maintenance objective, but a time of maintenance objectives. To recharge, revaluate, recourse. And so as you are week planning, one thing you need to be careful of when warding of failure, is speaking for your future self. Oh yeah I’ll do X on Tuesday and Y on Wednesday.  

Here are same exemplary tasks that may appear on your Sunday ToDo list:  

• Food shopping 
  • Separating the dry store list from the fresh veggies list, that you top up regularly throughout the week.
• Cleaning
  • Washing & drying clothes  
  • Emptying bins, and recycling. (And reminding yourself which bin day it is!) 
  • Small deep cleaning
    • Just a section at a time booked in, perhaps the grime behind the kitchen sink, and maybe next Sunday, vacuum under the bed. Clean and around in the window frame in the bed room. Top surfaces where dust gathers. Gut out cutlery drawer, Etc.  
  • Tidy computer desk including a wipe down.  
  • Get your school/work uniform clothes laid out and bag packed so the first morning of the week isn’t chaos (for a change).  
• Batch cooking, if you’re into that kind of thing.  
• Tidying virtual data
  • Backing up pictures from phone and all your generated photos.  
  • Sorting notes on computer like note dumps.  
  • Backup computer or ensure your auto backups are running.  
  • That ‘once a week’ long term project you slowly add to.  
  • Refamiliarisation.
• Write in your journal, your review of the objectives of last week and thoughts and feelings about life’s direction. 
• Week Scripting.
  • Just knowing a rough idea of what’s going on and when, knowing it can change, but also including appointments.  

Work ToDo. 

This isn’t just your job responsibilities to remember. If anything, I’d have a separate document on that, including forgettable things like access codes / passwords and little rules the work has to keep order, or tricks that are required, like setting up a piece of equipment that has a knack to it.  Even though eventually you’ll remember it, it’s great to share with new colleagues, and they end up appreciating you for it which is nice.

The Work ToDo file, is based on the little projects you’re able to sneak in and work on during work hours on work computers. Which may also include access to passwords you would use to log into certain accounts on an inprivate browser so you can get your set up time minimised. Always important.  

The ‘Elaborate’ ToDo list.  

A question you would ask is, is it best to keep it simple? Let’s say for discussions sake we weren’t to do that. For what a ToDo list can moonlight as, is a form of diary. Seeing what day you did or didn’t do what on. And include follow up comments as to why it became that outcome. Expressing thoughts and feelings in the process.  

Dated Notes  

Each file, named as the date. How are you going to play it? For ticking things off the ToDo list, it becomes messy, and nice to see it clear. But also nice to see how much you’ve achieved. For me, once the ToDo list is sorted, ready for execution, create a copy, and put it at the bottom with a big line. And then with the first original, just delete the text. Alternative, you could use a strike out feature, or put tick boxes in. But by keeping what it is you set out to do, you can then compare and ask yourself, was doing that really that progressing?   

Did you just add jobs ‘just encase’, but then when getting around to do them, realised through your procrastination that you don’t care about this objective and it’s kind of a waste of time? How did you perform in what task that was actually fundamental?  Suggestions for your ToDo list: Sign onto loyalty card schemes for the regular super market you shop at, that free sandwich you get for shopping there daily for the last 4 months might just be the lunch you can afford on days you’re broke.  

Things to Remember.  

In your Things to Remember, Your personal notes to self and important information to you. Bus times. Train times. Opening/closing  times of certain shops. Addresses you should remember but have lots of other stuff going on, same with common phone numbers you need to quickly copy and paste – though there is autofill. Though I write assuming internet access isn’t always available. Other tidbits worth remembering. Salary information. Certain deal prices, what time the bargain bin goes out when the supermarket does its first sweep of discounts. And can put other important reminders in it. Like your main system file. A reminder as to what it is you are doing. What notes are going where, what is the structure of your virtual organisation. Including your accumulated ideas, journaling, saved content online, plans. And the method to ‘keep on top of it’.  

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Concluding thoughts:

The thing to remember about ToDo lists is the way they help you is a small portion of the actual jobs done. It is easy to think how tomorrow’s going to be all sorted so you can sleep easy because you’ll be so organised, but it’s very much possible to be all nice and organised, then when it comes to carrying out the jobs, be stunned by lethargic dreariness. Because it turns out you were just using ToDo lists as a way to put things off. Because you just liked the idea of jobs being done, not actually doing them. So don’t take them too seriously. It would make sense to take them seriously for the sake of productivity, but there’s a rebound effect in the form of your failure and inaccuracies that will become, haunting and undoing towards your motivation and momentum.