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The Productivity Paradox: How Your To-Do Lists Are Hampering Your Success

Take a look at the following numbers, courtesy of productivity app developer iDoneThis.

41% of to-do items are never completed. 50% of completed to-do items are done within a day. 18% of completed to-do items are done within an hour. 10% of completed to-do items are done within a minute.

What do these numbers tell us? First, they reveal that many to-do lists are ineffective. Specifically, the task management systems behind the lists are ineffective. After all, more than 40% of tasks are never finished. The implication is that the items are carried over to the following day, postponed indefinitely, or dropped altogether. These are not the signs of an effective task management system.

Second, many to-do list items are completed quickly, some within minutes. This suggests many people’s lists fail to specify the amount of time individual tasks will take to complete. It also demonstrates that people tend to pick tasks that appear easy to do. The problem with this approach is that it fails to address task priority. A large number of to-do items may get crossed off the list, but there’s no indication they’re the right items - the important stuff. This gives the individual a false sense of accomplishment.

Third, it indicates that many to-do lists are too long. They’re overloaded with tasks. This causes us stress since we know we’ll never be able to address every item on our lists. We’ll be forced to carry them forward or abandon them.

Data suggests most of us won’t even get close to completing every item on our to-do lists. According to iDoneThis, 41% of our to-do items will routinely remain unfinished. This problem is more prevalent than most people imagine. According to a survey by LinkedIn, nearly 90% of professionals admit to not getting through their task lists on a regular basis.

Fourth, the data above suggest that many people approach task management without having a clear grasp of their schedules and availability. Again, consider that 41% of tasks go unfinished. This is a disturbingly high number if we’re measuring our productivity by task completion.

The above describes the Productivity Paradox. We create to-do lists to help us organize tasks, manage our time, and get things done. But because we rely on ill-conceived task management systems, we inadvertently create lists that sabotage our efforts.

In doing so, we forfeit our productivity. We end up getting less done instead of more.

In the next section, we’re going to take a close look at your current to-do list system. Unless you’ve received formal task management training, there’s a fair chance your lists are hampering your success.