What is about lists that human beings love? Lauren Laverne once wrote that "Lists are wonderful precisely because they create the happy illusion of order."
I am inclined to agree...
You're either a person who loves lists or you're not. Like me, comedian Jenny Eclair LOVES lists. She describes her set-list as a comfort blanket for going on stage. If you love a list, I am sure you can identify with that.
Jenny Eclair waxes lyrical about lists in her podcast and interviews a series of people who are also fans of lists. Listen to Jenny Eclair's hilarious podcast about to-do lists here – I promise it will make even the most avid list hater laugh out loud.
Here I take a look at the fascinating world of lists, why people write them, what people make lists of and some other interesting facts about to-do lists.
What do people make lists of?
The things people write lists of range from the obvious shopping list, to New Year's resolutions and 'things to do before I die', as well as everything in between. Jenny Eclair's friend and producer Judith Holder has a list of things she needs to have in her life, which includes fresh air, dancing, beaches, barbecues and wild swimming (all things Judith hopes to do more of). Lists guide us and remind us.
In her podcast on lists, Eclair also shares a list written by politician Shami Chakrabarti to illustrate the modern twist on handwritten lists today. It goes:
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Christmas tree
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Christmas cards
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Cotton wool
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Re-read the counter terror bill
A list it seems can say quite a lot about the person writing it!
Is shopping without a list a good thing?
On the topic of going shopping without a list, Jenny Eclair exclaims it is like going out without a bra and should be rather liberating. I, from personal experience, know that shopping for food without a list inevitably ends up in grocery carnage. It's the sure way to fill a shopping trolley with ingredients that don't go together. Shopping (especially for groceries) without a list is never a good idea. A no-list shop is always more expensive too.
Why do we write lists?
Lists help us to remember. It's as simple as that. But, lists can serve different purposes for different types of people. Studies (yes there have been studies about lists) have shown that people perform better when they have written down what they need to do. The to-do list, according to a report in The Guardian, is an effective productivity tool.
Lists are a powerful tool for task management. Laverne says that writing it all down is the first step to making things happen. Lists not only help you to remember, they also help you to prioritise. Lists hold you accountable and give a sense of achievement as items are crossed off. There's a whole psychological process going on behind a list.
Should women leave lists for their husbands?
This is slightly leftfield, but an interesting question. Should women leave lists for their husbands? I raise the question because of a recent article I read in The Independent. Vicky Bingham, headmistress at South Hampstead High School for girls in London, argues that women 'infantalise' their husbands by leaving to-do lists for them while they are away, and that this perpetuates the myth that husbands are incapable of completing tasks around the house.
One report in The Sydney Morning Herald applauded Bingham's comments, adding that "underneath the to-do list of the average wife, there is a lot of boiling frustration and hostility." Do couples need therapy and better communication rather than lists?
Do men write lists?
According to Jenny Eclair (and her butcher) men don't do handwritten lists. They prefer to have lists on their phones. But, some men love a list as much as women do, so it would perhaps be wrong to make the topic of lists so gender specific.
Lists for the modern age
While lists are one of the few places we are really writing now (with a real pen and real paper!), even the humble handwritten list is being dumped by many as technology provides some pretty appealing alternatives.
The huge growth in software as a service (Saas), Smartphones, Apps and tools on the internet to manage workloads and personal projects, such as schedules and mood boards, is making the handwritten list for some redundant.
Trello, Pinterest, Google Keep, Planday and Basecamp are just a few of the powerful digital tools making the pen-and-paper to-do list a thing of the past.
Exhibition of lists: the pram in the hall by Alice Instone
Back in 2016, artist Alice Instone put together an exhibition of real to-do lists from some of the world's most successful women. Alice started collecting them after she found that most of the women she knew were obsessed by lists. She says lists are very revealing.
The display of colour coded, sub-divided and categorised lists in the exhibition revealed the state of mind and division of domestic work between men and women.
To-do list tips
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Lists are helpful, but are not everything (don't turn your life into one big to-do list).
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Keep your to-do list focused on the now. According to The Muse, 41 per cent of to-do tasks are never completed.
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Commit to completing the tasks on your to-do list.
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Take sufficient breaks to maximise focus and productivity when working through a to-do list.
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Tackle big tasks first.
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Batch similar tasks.
See here for more tips on mastering your to-do list and here for some to-do list mistakes.
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