Why do not the to-do lists help?
Daniel Markovitz, head of Markovitz Consulting, in his article highlights several problems that make lists ineffective.
Paradox of choice. Huge listings, which consist of a dozen items, are introduced into a stupor, we do not know what to grab for. Psychologist Barry Schwartz and psycho economist Sheena Iyengar found that the fewer choices we have, the easier it is to start acting.
Different complexity of tasks. Look at your items in the to-do list. Some tasks can be done in three minutes, others will take an hour from you. Most likely, you will work on those items that do not take you much time. Your list will noticeably decrease, but important tasks will remain "hanging".
Lack of context. The to-do lists give a minimum of information. You can not determine how much time and effort you will take away from this or that task. And this is a very important indicator, without which it is difficult to build an effective plan.