Is the Paper To-Do List Superior
I’m sure a lot of people on here go through bouts of trying to be more productive.
Thinking there has to be a winning method, a perfect app or something they are missing that’s causing them to be non productive.
What if all of that is just procrastination?
While trying to find the perfect to-do app I will find myself going back to previous ones in case that was the best one for me. All while looking at other ones. It's a crazy cycle that needs to stop.
The one digital tool that seems to hit the sweet spot and I've just gone back to is: Tweek
This is not an ad, and I have nothing to do with it, I just like it.
Better than all of that there is one thing that I can always rely on, always works and I eventually find myself going back to it.
A to-do list on paper.
- It's cheap
- It's fast
- It works
Writing something down on a list for the next day has increased my chance of doing said task 37.2% (Not scientific, I made that number up)
I use a paper task / to-do list for my day job. It's the only way I get things done, and know what I need to do. I may do the things in a different order, but writing them down gets it out of my head.
If you're wondering what type. For work I use a full sized notebook. Each holds about 3 - 4 days worth of tasks. At home I have a very narrow tall notebook, it does the job.
For more than a to-do list like note taking, I will use a digital tool.
- Home = Obsidian
- Work = OneNote
To-do lists are only on paper.
The downsides of a paper to-do list?
- You might not have it on you at all times. That's where digital comes in for me.
- It's easier for other people to see what you are up to. (I've found it can help motivate or encourage other people sometimes)
- It doesn't like water, unless you have waterproof paper or notebooks (which I do, but are for emergency kits)
Word of Warning
Just like trying to find the best app, you can go crazy with notes, to-do lists and more.
Heard of Bullet Journaling?
I did that for about 3 years, when I had lots of time to do layouts and grids while checking off things, moving lists around and making it my version of pretty. (which was a lot of grids and lines)
At the core it worked, but in reality it was procrastination. All I needed was to write down what I needed to do next, and do it.
Are you on team paper for to-do lists?