I'll be the first to admit it: I have a fairly unhealthy relationship with lists. I love them so, so much and recognize how helpful they can be. But I see them for what they can be sometimes: insidious time-suckers, lying in wait for unwary ADHDers.
My husband doesn't get why I need a list for everything. Like, everything everything. Chores, schedules, reminders, random thoughts, funny quotes, things I'll buy if I ever get rich, hobbies I'd like to learn. I make lists of my lists and refuse to acknowledge the obvious redundancy.
Lists can be a godsend for those of us with ADHD. I don't even want to think about what I'd forget if I didn't cling to my lists with such fervent desperation. They help me manage my time, without question. They've probably saved my marriage more than once.
BUT.
Realistically, I know that when it comes down to it, lists are the best possible way to procrastinate. They lull you into a false sense of accomplishment. Even though, logically, you know you've just wasted a half hour writing down chores or tasks or whatever, without having actually done anything, you also know that it's the most beautiful list ever composed. And during that half hour, you were amazingly productive - just look how long and detailed that list is! You remembered to add so many items!
But now you've got two potential problems:
You've spent all that time making the list, you totally deserve a break. Just a short one, of course, and then you'll get right to work on that list. Somehow, suddenly, an hour has passed. And now it's too late to work on the list, or you've remembered something crucial that needs to be done first.
Because the second problem is this: you've scared the shit out of yourself. Because OH MY GOD, look how long and detailed that list is! Look how many items are on there! Holy intimidation, Batman!
Congratulations, you've now psyched yourself out to the point where you're paralyzed by the vastness of the list. Where the hell do you start? Logic states that you should start at the top of the list, but when you were making it, did you really think in terms of priority? Or did you just write things down as they occurred to you?
You know, before you can tackle that list, you need to re-evaluate it. In fact, the only sensible thing to do is to revamp the list entirely.
...and so the cycle goes.
