"To-Do" Lists: Waste of Time or Productivity Boon?
Here's how to make better lists. And get more done. Period.

How did Ben Franklin - whose accomplishments ranged from founding the nation's first hospital, first lending library, and first fire company to inventing the odometer, the Franklin stove, and bifocal glasses - begin each day?

With a to-do list.

If you don't use a to-do list, you may wonder if you should. Would keeping one make you more efficient? Better at meeting deadlines? More productive? More...effective?

The answer is yes. Yes, yes, yes and...yes. Even for those who are good at remembering what they need to get done, taking the list out of the head and putting it on paper opens up brain space for other things - things that need a little room to breathe. Like creativity. Or strategy. Or long-term planning.

Maria Popova, founder of the Brainpickings newsletter, writes that the Zeigarnik Effect supports the importance of list-making. Researchers found that unfinished tasks create nagging, distracting thoughts, but that all it takes to diminish these thoughts is to create a plan for completing the task. That is, to put it on your list.

Of course, the very act of making the list can improve productivity, as it forces you to prioritize and think about managing your time. This will result in your accomplishing more, and better, things.

And if that doesn't convince you, imagine the satisfaction of crossing off items with bold strokes of the pen, or ticking off the little boxes, one by one. Some people even make a practice, when making a to-do list, of including one or two items they have already completed, just so they can start the day with a feeling of accomplishment.

Imagine the satisfaction of crossing off items with bold strokes of the pen, or ticking off the little boxes, one by one.

But an endless catch-all to-do list that includes minutiae like ordering toner cheek by jowl with goals like rebuilding the company website can be crushing and may be useless. There is a better way. Here are a few nuggets of advice that will help you make a to-do list your most effective productivity tool.

Write your list at the end of the day, says Robert Pozen, author of Extreme Productivity: Boost Your Results, Reduce Your Hours. That's the moment when all of the things you need to do are dancing in your head, begging to be organized. And if your list is ready to go in the morning, you can hit the ground running and use your best energy to begin working your way down the list.

One day at a time. Keep your list focused on things you can accomplish today. Many experts suggest that you keep a master list as well; just don't drag it out and consider it in its entirety each day. Instead, use it as a feeder for your daily list - and don't forget to cross things off the master list when they have been completed!

Keep it realistic. Alex Cavoulacos, COO of The Daily Muse, abides by the "1-3-5 Rule" - that is, a to-do list that includes just nine things to accomplish each day: one major thing, three medium things, and five little things. Her numbers might need tweaking to suit your work, but the principle is what's key. Some things are more important than others. Make sure you get to at least one important thing each day. Then you can make progress on the smaller items that are filling up your list.

Eyes on the prize. Peter Bregman, author of "18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction and Get The Right Things Done," says you should begin with a meta-to-do list of five goals for the year. When you make your daily to-do list, keep those goals in mind and try to make sure your to-do items relate in some way to those large goals. He goes so far as to say that you shouldn't spend more than five percent of your time on tasks that don't relate to your big goals. That degree of focus sounds daunting, but is something to aspire to.

Make it practical. Break down larger goals into tasks, and include time estimates for each. That way you won't be daunted by items on the list that seem overwhelming, and you'll be better able to plan what you can accomplish on a given day.

Find the right vehicle. Back of an envelope? Leather-bound planner? Digital app? There are many vehicles available for organizing your to-do list, and one of them is right for you. If your old method is no longer working, experiment with something new. Some people find that an index card that fits in the breast pocket of a shirt of jacket is just the right size to be portable and impose discipline. Others like the functionality of an app on their smartphone - especially if it syncs across platforms. It's all about what works for you.

Start your to-do list today...and go ahead, check off that first item! "Start to-do list." Done!