But once my job search began and I started to rely heavily on my organizational skills to fuel my productivity, I realized that I had a lot of information spread out across several platforms and it was exhausting and time-consuming to keep track of where everything was. Without really noticing, I had always used a few combination of to-do list apps to keep track of different things: I used Microsoft OneNote and Calendar for my job tasks, Google Keep for my grocery/shopping lists, Evernote for my long-form writing & business ideas, and both my iPhone’s Reminders and Notes app for general daily tasks. List-making was at an all-time high, while productivity was at an all-time low.

I have never been unemployed before, and coming from a job where I had to meticulously plan my entire day before I even got to the office in order to not lose hundreds of thousands of dollars for the firm, the new lack of structure was an incredibly difficult transition. I’ve spent the last two months looking for a software developer position in Chicago after attending a bootcamp. Because of this, the ritual of making a list is very important - in fact, it is so important to us that it fuels a whole industry profiting off this compulsion. The whole process then ends up being a net plus for many of us. Nonetheless, writing a to-do list can actually generate enough momentum to get you started with your daily tasks.

They might also share the ironic understanding that making lots of to-do lists is just high-level procrastination - although it feels like you’re getting a lot done when you’re slicing your day into nice little one-hour tasks, the reality is that nothing has yet happened and you’re still at square one. People who share my obsession with to-do lists likely also share my ‘productivity anxiety’, the constant feeling that I’m not maximizing the utility of my time.

To do list app for desktop