{"id":396,"date":"2017-09-23T17:21:53","date_gmt":"2017-09-23T15:21:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogger.amazingmarvin.com?p=396"},"modified":"2025-04-22T16:30:45","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T14:30:45","slug":"how-long-to-do-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amazingmarvin.com\/blog\/how-long-to-do-list\/","title":{"rendered":"How long should your to-do list be?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Glad you asked! The length of your to-do list has a huge impact on your productivity.<\/p>\n

By manipulating the length of your to-do \u00a0list, you can hack your productivity. The right list length will help you feel less overwhelmed and get more done.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

What list are we talking about?<\/h4>\n

There are two types of to-do lists: endless and finite. The most popular finite list is the daily to-do list<\/strong>, which is what we will discuss in this post. It’s the one you have the most control over and the one that has the biggest impact on your productivity.<\/p>\n

\"How
How long should a daily to-do list be?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How long should your daily to-do list be?<\/h1>\n

Number of tasks vs. total time<\/h3>\n

The perfect daily to-do list is one that you can finish.<\/p>\n

It is better to make a list that is too short rather than too long<\/strong>. You can always add things when you finish early (which will feel incredible!).<\/p>\n

On the other hand, still having open tasks at the end of the day feels really bad. You are also more likely to procrastinate<\/strong> on a long list because long lists trigger overwhelm.<\/p>\n

How can I know if my daily to-do list is too long?<\/h4>\n

When it comes to length we can look at two things: the number of tasks on a list and the total time to complete it.<\/p>\n

You should always start with thinking about how many hours long your daily to-do list<\/strong> should be. This number is more or less fixed and the number of tasks you add will be guided by how much time you have.<\/p>\n

The number of tasks on your list is important too, of course, but it isn’t fixed like the available time. We get into how to manipulate the task number below.<\/p>\n

How many hours should a to-do list take to finish?<\/h1>\n

Ultimately, our day has limited hours in it. And if we want to finish our daily to-do list we have to consider how many hours we can realistically work on our list so we know how much to put on there.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are two main factors that determine how many hours we can work on our to-do list each day.<\/p>\n