To support this fever for lists we have in our hands many internet services, software and even a methodology (the famous GTD Getting Things Done by David Alen).
The are no doubt that lists and checklists are important and useful - but are they the same for all people in all situations ? I guess not. For many, keeping lists of what they need to do or accomplish is something too scaring as these people have the sensation of incompetency and incompleteness.
One of the problems with "to do" lists is that they naturally include so many activities that us, or someone, believe that need to be performed but in reality can not make us move to complete them, because they does not bring us satisfaction or does not solve any problem directly affecting ourselves. Thus "organize the bookshelf" may remain in the list for weeks because will demand some work and does not bring any satisfaction.
My proposal is yes, to continue creating and maintaining lists, but under other perspective.
Instead of creating "to do" lists, lets create "This bothers me" lists ! When we face things that really annoy us, when we can effectively do something, there is a natural motivation to eliminate this things, take them out of our way.
"Organize the bookshelf" may mean nothing for me, but "not having a nice place for my books about watches bothers me" is so strong and yes, it demands a quick and effective action.
To eliminate something that bothers us, we may have to complete some specific actions (as GTD Next Actions) but they will be implicit in our sentences, they don't need lists just for them.
That said, our lists will be like this:
| This bothers me | |
| The car is too dirty | |
| Kitchen dark at night | |
| My books about watches hidden somewhere | |
| Problems caused by some suppliers affecting our company |
This new way to create our lists bring us an additional advantage that is opening our minds to think in alternatives to solve a problem or annoyance; to write down "problems caused by some suppliers affecting our company" makes me think deeply about it and, when I talk to the manager, I can present suggestions and alternatives, much better than simply complay about the suppliers.
| This bothers me | |
| The corruption in the government ! (What could I do: - join a party and be a (honest) politician - create a NGO to track government actions - move to another country - many other ideas ...) |
Can the two types of lists co-exist ? Yes. Simple "to do" lists continue to be useful to put order in urgent short-term activities that sometimes appear all together; may also be important in structured projects like building your new countryside house; in many professional areas checklists are essential and quite important and described by Doctor Atul Gwande in his "The checklist".
So, go ahead, lets list what bothers us !
Marcos Dias Alves
UPDATE 08/29/2011
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How great leaders inspire action, by Simon Sinek
If you have not done it yet, I'd recommend you to watch Simon Sinek presentation at Ted, called "How great leaders inspire action"; it has everything to do with my own concept of "what bothers you" lists.
Sinek describe is golden circles, where "WHY" is the core, then we have "HOW" and then "WHAT". Great and inspiring leaders always communicate the "WHY", instead of just trying to sell the "WHATs", thus achieving loyal followers and actions done.
A "to-do" list is made of "WHATS" and are barely efficient to have things done. But a "what bothers you" list is made of "WHYS" thus much more compelling; when you have a purpose everything is easier; and you will be motivated to find out how to achive it and what needs to be done (actions).
Original article in portuguese in my Opção Criativa blog.
