Most TODO systems fail not from missing items but from carrying too many low-consequence ones. Every item on your list competes for the same limited resource: your attention. A list that’s 80% noise trains you to ignore it entirely.
The fix isn’t better prioritisation — it’s a harder intake gate. Before adding anything, run four tests:
- Irreversible? If I miss this, is the consequence permanent? Printing documents before losing system access qualifies. Getting a dental cleaning does not.
- Committed? Has someone external been told this will happen? An email you promised to send qualifies. A self-imposed deadline does not.
- Natural recall? Will I remember this without a prompt — because the context will surface it? Your wife will remind you about the washing machine. Your wardrobe will remind you to collect the altered shirt.
- Attention cost? Does tracking this item actively displace focus from harder things?
Pass tests 1 or 2 — add it. Fail both — it probably doesn’t belong on the list, regardless of how responsible it feels to track it.
The counterintuitive part: dropping items from your TODO list isn’t laziness. It’s refusing to let low-stakes admin crowd out the things that actually need your finite attention. The farewell snacks you forgot to order? Nobody’s career was affected. The government tax deadline you missed? That one hurts.
A shorter list you actually trust beats a comprehensive list you’ve learned to ignore.
Related: north-star-shapes, planning-theory