Do you keep a to do list?

I do. Routine weekly chores, life admin, house and garden upkeep for mine and parents, bike maintenance, things for friends and family, etc. – it all goes on a few lists. I use an app on my phone, syncs to the web version on my computer. I have something completely separate at work for work stuff.

I don’t think most people have one though, and they manage just fine. Even people I know with way more complicated personal and work lives than mine. They forget some things but do them eventually, never get round to others, get chased and reminded about things, or someone else does it, and it’s all ok. Their house hasn’t fallen down, the aren’t in trouble at work or with the wife for not putting up those shelves she bought last year. It appears that forgetting is an useful tool for not wasting time on unimportant stuff or stuff they don’t really want to do but should.

Do you have one?

1. No

No +1

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1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes
4. Yes
5. Yes
6. Yes
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9. Yes
10. No.

I did not…..

But i am getting older now and find them so useful….

From packing for a bike event or weekend away to jobs around the house!

A list is becoming a useful thing!

I do.

And I never look at it.

If I did I’d probably need therapy.

Back in the early Noughties, my mate got one of those dinky Nokia phones. It had a To-do list feature on it. He populated it with the names of lasses he met whilst out.

It’s on my list of things to do.

Very much so.

A planned series of lessons based on termly, half-termly, weekly and daily increments. It’s the last two that take a bit of tweaking to get just right. I have a new tecnician in work who is magnificent but new to a school environment and it’s vaguaries- I need to keep her informed by a week.

At home- post it notes ahoy, esp. re gardening tasks and also whatever family event happens to be er… happenning. At the moment it is all about me and my recovery from surgery. Things are being pretty fine-tuned tbh. A calendar that we all write on is an essential chez Ambrose.

62 y.o. and regretting not looking after myself as well as I could have done when I was younger.

I lack the self-discipline to maintain anything which would give me more self-discipline.

I have a scrap of paper on my desk. If I need to remember anything I write it down, once done I cross it out.

62 y.o. and regretting not looking after myself as well as I could have done when I was younger.

Christ I’m knackered then.

If I need to remember anything I write it down, once done I cross it out.

Sounds like a done list.

Only have a “packing list” for holidays, of which the first four items are invariably:

(1) Passport

(2) Credit card

(3) Drivers License

(4) Bike

Mrs Vlad has multiple lists for holiday packing, and always on multiple pieces of paper even though she is welded to her phone…

Nope, I’ve never had the sort of life that necessitated such a thing.

Only for things I want to ignore.

I’ve thought about it but I keep getting busy and forgetting to do it.

Yes, absolutely. I often have multiple lists going at the same time. I’d be lost without them.

Not a chance. I live my life carefree.

Do you keep a to do list?

A magician I know keeps a Ta-Da! list .

I do but its in my head and only has around 4 things on at one time ususally, does that count?

At work I have one on one note synced to my phone so when I’m on site I can note things down to do back at home. I also have a pad of paper that I scribble things down on.

I’m my own life I do one when something needs a bit more planning or when making a shopping list

Yes, at work I have a “big list” of major projects underway. I then have a daily list of more minor goals, aiming to have at least a couple of them aligned with the big list.

At home, I set some occasional reminders, but don’t need that level of organisation

I think I might have one, could be on the list of things to do if I could remember where it was … damn getting old is a bugger (I think) … maybe I should check the list for that too ??

I have a formal and informal list.  The formal list is split into strategic and tactical goals and is only used at work (though may include some personal stuff which is important/time consuming and so might have an effect on work).  The informal list is everything else and is purely in my head.  I don’t tend to forget anything, but that informal list is more akin to a magic 8 ball than a list – Things resurface at random.

Yep, multiple lists, on paper. I’ve tried going digital but its not the same…

I generate a seperate one for my day off, from the main list. Very satisfying ticking them jobs off!

At 53, I’m way better at doing the jobs that actually need doing, as opposed to putting them off.

For home life, yes, just a note on my phone of tasks, or shopping items we’re running low on, or things to do around the house. And calendar notifications for things we have booked in, birthdays, and reminders for buying insurance etc.

At work I write prioritisations every morning and try to write a list at the end of the day for the next day. I have todoist.com lists but I have spurts where I use it but when very busy / stressed / overwhelmed it can be ignored for a few months and then I’ll come back to it and revise.

Mostly I think it’s my executive dysfunction (see neurodiversity / autism / adhd discussions). But also definitely stress and getting older / perimenopause is making my memory much worse. At times I can’t find the right words, never mind remember what tasks there are around the house (I am one of those people that don’t ‘see’ issues until it’s pointed out and I focus on it.)

Interesting the op frames it in terms of things that don’t ‘need’ to be done. But everything isn’t black and white, all things get prioritised and some things are ‘would be nice to do’, or ‘could do’ in MoSCoW terms. Sometimes the consequence of not doing depends on luck, like not doing some house maintenance maybe it’ll last til next year or maybe not (and cost £ to fix). But overall we’re all just doing the best we can. I am sure there is something on anxiety threads about being kind to yourself and realistic about what you can achieve each day.

Yes, but not massively detailed and I like crossing jobs off 🙂

I have sub-lists for things like shopping, so shopping doesn’t appear on the main list

I do, I find it’s less stressful as I never have a nagging feeling something needs to be done or organised so I find I can relax better… and if I’m ever feeling super productive and have some spare time I’ll do a bit of a purge of the list….other wise i just glance at it once a day or so to add things or remove things that ive just done naturally.

But most often I just look at it, think yep, nothing urgent today…makes for a more relaxed mind,

Yep. As I’ve got a memory like a sieve.

People remind me of stuff I need to do and as soon as the words have entered my ears they are instantly forgotten

I blame the manopause.

Nope, but I do have a habit of leaving physical objects laying around in strategic places to remind me to do stuff…

Post-it notes, lots of them.

Yes, I use Todoist which is cross platform so updates on my phone and internet browser seamlessly.

I honestly think I’d be totally lost without it but as the OP says, people seem to get by just fine without them.

I do think in my case it’s maybe a function of a slightly anxious personality as I tend to plan and organise the risk out of everything quite a lot and sometimes I do wonder if I’m kind of too much of a slave to the list, but it seems like a good habit to have, overall.

A bit like Konagirl says, there always seems to be more stuff on the list each day than I’m ever realistically likely to actually achieve but if most or some of it is getting done than it’s good enough really.

Not as such. If I’ve got work stuff that needs doing, it will go in a “To Do” list. Recent bike packing trip (my first with tent) I used a list to make sure I bought some bits and bobs as I didn’t have everything I needed.  Big ‘normal’ camping trips – to save remembering everything, I have a couple of boxes. One is for spare stuff we may/may not use, and that stays at home, then the other box is stuff we use – if it doesn’t get used it migrates back to the spares.

A bit like Konagirl says, there always seems to be more stuff on the list each day than I’m ever realistically likely to actually achieve but if most or some of it is getting done than it’s good enough really.

I’m the same.. But I do things in order of convenience or time sensitivity.. A lot of non important stuff just stays on the list and gets pushed back until I can be bothered to deal with it or feel like dealing with it.

Yep, mostly short term stuff (what do I need to do this week for work, what jobs are in my head to do this weekend). Just stops me worrying/thinking about them all the time. Think it helps me sleep as well!

I have sub-lists for things like shopping, so shopping doesn’t appear on the main list

Alexa for this is a game-changer. “Alexa, add cornflakes” – “I’ve put cornflakes on your shopping list.”

Granted, it’s not flawless. My partner added “skinny bars” (low calorie chocolate bars), I got to Tesco and was like “WTF is ‘skinny boys’? She’s already got one of those…”

I do have a habit of leaving physical objects laying around in strategic places to remind me to do stuff…

Same. Unfortunately my partner has a habit of seeing physical objects laying around in strategic places and hiding them in the nearest cupboard.

There’s a couple of empty glass milk bottles that must have been here for months now. I keep putting them near the door to remind me to return them, she keeps putting them away again.

I’ve never needed a “to do” list. I’m married, I am constantly updated on what I need to do, when I need to do it, when I’ve not done something or not done it right….

Same as Couger, except I scribble it out like a maniac.

I now save things as Tasks in Google calendar (usually with a date and time).

Works well for me.