No-fuss anxiety tips #18: Hard Edit To-Do Lists
Welcome to blog 18 of 20 from this no-fuss series on anxiety. We’ve already covered 17 simple tips and techniques for managing anxiety. In this blog, we’re looking at the potential benefits for taking a hard edit of your to-do list.
What these tips won’t do is explore the origins and purpose of anxiety for you – this type of deeper exploration is what counselling offers. That said, having strategies for managing anxiety is a great place to start. Each article is designed to be a quick read, and with practical implementable ideas. Let’s dive into our next tip, then: take a hard edit of your to-do-list.
How long is your to-do list?
Be honest - how long is your to-do list for today. Does your to-do list make it to two (or more!) pages? Or perhaps its not a written list, but somewhere in your head, you’re carrying a host of Things To Achieve Today? If your to-do list is too long, delegation or reviewing what you have on your list in the first place could be worthwhile. You can’t do everything, and too long a list can set up a feeling of overwhelming pressure.
I work to a “maximum of 10 items per day” rule-of-thumb. Once there’s more than 10 items on my list, I know I need to look to prioritise and adapt the list. Anxiety can result from feeling overwhelmed and having too many things on your to-do list. Too many expectations and things to do compromises your ability to cope – as demand suffocates your resources. Let’s explore 3 psychological principles at play when your to-do list is too long:
The Zeigarnik Effect
The Zeigarnick effect was proposed by Soviet psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik in the 1920s and describes how you’re more likely to remember uncompleted tasks than tasks that have “closure”. A task that’s on your list but isn’t finished forms a cognitive "open loop" that causes the brain to hold onto the information until closure is achieved. This can lead to your brain to obsessing over the to-do list and generating anxiety even when you are not actively working on the task.
Cognitive Load
Having too many things to do can lead to overload of your working memory and executive function, which can then decrease your capacity to focus, leading to a vicious cycle of fallen-behind deadlines and heightened anxiety. The analogy of “too many tabs open” is a good fit for this psychological principle. Interestingly, research shows that having too little challenge or only minimal cognitive demands can lead to anxious thoughts intruding and disrupting working memory (Vytal et al., 2012). So, there is a sweet spot between no-challenge and too much challenge when it comes to to-do lists and anxiety.
The Expectation Gap
Research shows that people often overestimate how much they can achieve - a phenomenon that’s often called the “planning fallacy”. The inaccurate prediction of how long a job will take can then fuel anxiety with deadlines potentially missed, or only completed under duress and stress. This can lead to negative self-evaluation (“why can’t I manage to get everything done in time, what’s wrong with me”).
Taking stock of your do-to list habits
So, taking a hard edit of your to-do list may well help you to feel less exposed to these 3 psychological principles. Today, consider how many things are on your “to-do” list. If you aren’t in the habit of writing a list, take a few minutes at the start of the day to note how many things you do want to get done today before the day’s out. You can now use the following questions to help you in editing this list.
How realistic is this list?
Have you factored in “rest” as a to-do item?
If you chronically underestimate how long tasks will take in reality, can you add in contingency time on your to-do list?
Is there anything on the list that’s unnecessary or a poor use of your time today?
Why are each of these things on your list?
Can you delegate any items?
Is there anything on the list that is “not important?” If so, why is it on there?
Consider switching to a “done” list to help manage anxiety
Even with some serious editing and delegation, your to-do list can still feel like a source of anxiety. Demands, even those we place upon ourselves, can add pressure and stress. One option is to think outside the box, and instead of a to-do list, take a "lower demand" approach by switching to a "done" list:
Start with a blank list, and add things once you've completed a task or chore. By the end of the day, you'll have achieved 100% of the list!
I particularly like this tip for managing anxiety around demands, as it feels celebratory, rather than punitive. We all need a bit of celebration from time-to-time! And for neurodivergent folks who can feel demands as a source of anxiety, a “done” list, rather than a to-do list can lower the demand level and leverage autonomy and choice instead.
Next steps?
I hope this short blog has given you food for thought when it comes to a hard edit of your expectations upon yourself. If you’ve got an appetite for more, then do look out for other blogs within this anxiety-themed series. The next blog, #19, explores how aiming to see the big picture can help with managing anxiety.
If you’re curious how counselling can help you with a deeper exploration of your anxiety, do make contact with me, Claire Law.
I’m a BACP Senior Accredited Psychotherapist offering professional counselling and psychotherapy in Preston, Lancashire and online for adults based in the UK.
We can talk through how online counselling or face-to-face counselling at my therapy room in Preston could be helpful for you in managing your anxiety and getting to the roots of what lies behind your anxiety. I’d love to hear from you.
References:
Vytal, K., Cornwell, B., Arkin, N., Grillon, C. (2012). Describing the interplay between anxiety and cognition: From impaired performance under low cognitive load to reduced anxiety under high load. Psychophysiology. 2012 Jun;49(6):842-52.
Zeigarnik, B. (1938). On finished and unfinished tasks. In W. D. Ellis (Ed.), A source book of Gestalt psychology (pp. 300–314). Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Company.