Yes, it sounds dumb, but just don't. Make shorter lists.
I can only speak for myself of course, but I had this problem and I observed a few things:
- Some tasks just don't get done even if they've been listed. They are clutter.
- Some tasks don't really need to be on the list, you'll get them done anyway.
- Tasks should be actionable, and they should be considered emotionally, not just conceptually
Sometimes I'd sit down with only the intention of making a list, and then tasks come flooding into my mind, but after a while of struggling I had to observe myself and be honest, which led to paying attention to how these lists made me feel, the items but also the length.
At the end of the day a todo list is not just a conceptual list of things that belong on a todo list, it is an aid, and as such it should be actionable. If looking at it causes you stress because it's too long, it might be more accurate in what data is storing, but it is ineffective because you don't want to even look at it.
An "Actionable" list can be a short list, but a "Worth remembering" list can be very very long. Containing those things that only come to mind a couple of times a year, but when one does, it's like "Dang, I keep forgetting that".
Make sure you have a Kitchen Sink list, and give it a good long glance once a season.
I do actually have a "never" list, which is stuff that's so loaded emotionally it just lived permanently in my todo, and I resolved that if an item is there for like weeks, I can move it to another list.
The thing is I almost never look at it, so the point is really just to offload emotionally at the moment of deleting these tasks from the main todo.
Or maybe there's some psychological component I haven't learned yet for how to actually tackle one of these tasks.
I can only speak for myself of course, but I had this problem and I observed a few things:
- Some tasks just don't get done even if they've been listed. They are clutter.
- Some tasks don't really need to be on the list, you'll get them done anyway.
- Tasks should be actionable, and they should be considered emotionally, not just conceptually
Sometimes I'd sit down with only the intention of making a list, and then tasks come flooding into my mind, but after a while of struggling I had to observe myself and be honest, which led to paying attention to how these lists made me feel, the items but also the length.
At the end of the day a todo list is not just a conceptual list of things that belong on a todo list, it is an aid, and as such it should be actionable. If looking at it causes you stress because it's too long, it might be more accurate in what data is storing, but it is ineffective because you don't want to even look at it.