actualNoteContentPart: ## The problem with a classic todo list is everything
  Both [data](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4912993/)  and intuition agree: humans are ill-equipped to process the [21st century-volume]()  of distraction. The todo list seems like the perfect opportunity to sift through the multitude of signals we have bombarding us. Using a system like GTD, one captures their deluge of incoming tasks in a todo list, where it's poised to get done. 
  
  And yet... after "task capture," every aspect of getting things done is a struggle with classic todo lists:
  
  🕵️** ****What**** is it?** Often times, when an idea arrives it comes as a twinkle of something interesting. You might want to trash it, you might want to schedule it, you might want to wait until later to decide. Which is which? Related: when to recast big, stagnant tasks into bite-sized pieces that can be scheduled?
  
  **🗓️ ****When**** to work on it?** It's one thing to know that X ought to get done. It's another thing to figure out when to do X. There's always something more recent (easily mistaken for urgent) to tend to.
  
  **🗄️ ****Where**** to put it?** Life does not take place on a single axis. At any given time, we're juggling ambitions that span career, family, hobbies, community, etc. How to translate a many-dimensional life to a single-dimensional calendar (where the task gets done)?
  
  **🥇 ****How**** should its relative priority be decided?** In a classic todo list, it's unclear what to start on today. [The longer the list, the more time it takes to consider each task's merits and pick a winner](https://www.amplenote.com/blog/repeal_the_todo_list_tax) .
  
  And perhaps most importantly...
  
  🗑️ **When to give up on it?** The accumulation of no-longer-relevant "[barnacle tasks](https://www.amplenote.com/blog/brush_off_the_barnacles) " from months past are the leading source of giving up on a todo list altogether. The classic todo list only metastasizes with time.
  
  "Todo lists" promised a tool purpose-built to capture our best ideas so they'd get done. What we got was irrelevant calendar nags, and grounds to question the tenacity of our character. Not cool, list, not cool.
processedNoteContent: ---
  title: Classic to-do lists don't work
  headers: ## The problem with a classic todo list is everything
  ---
  The problem with a classic todo list is everything
  Both [data](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)`
    and intuition agree: humans are ill-equipped to process the [21st century-volume]()
    of distraction. The todo list seems like the perfect opportunity to sift through the multitude of signals we have bombarding us. Using a system like GTD, one captures their deluge of incoming tasks in a todo list, where it's poised to get done. And yet... after "task capture," every aspect of getting things done is a struggle with classic todo lists: 🕵️** What
   is it?** Often times, when an idea arrives it comes as a twinkle of something interesting. You might want to trash it, you might want to schedule it, you might want to wait until later to decide. Which is which? Related: when to recast big, stagnant tasks into bite-sized pieces that can be scheduled? 🗓️ When to work on it?
   It's one thing to know that X ought to get done. It's another thing to figure out when to do X. There's always something more recent (easily mistaken for urgent) to tend to. 🗄️ Where to put it?
   Life does not take place on a single axis. At any given time, we're juggling ambitions that span career, family, hobbies, community, etc. How to translate a many-dimensional life to a single-dimensional calendar (where the task gets done)? 🥇 How should its relative priority be decided?
   In a classic todo list, it's unclear what to start on today. [The longer the list, the more time it takes to consider each task's merits and pick a winner](https://www.amplenote.com)`
   . And perhaps most importantly... 🗑️ When to give up on it?
   The accumulation of no-longer-relevant " [barnacle tasks](https://www.amplenote.com)`
   " from months past are the leading source of giving up on a todo list altogether. The classic todo list only metastasizes with time. "Todo lists" promised a tool purpose-built to capture our best ideas so they'd get done. What we got was irrelevant calendar nags, and grounds to question the tenacity of our character. Not cool, list, not cool.
noteTitle: Classic to-do lists don't work