I love to-do lists, but do they work? Are they actually helpful or is it just the dopamine high that keeps me coming back? I set out to answer these questions with the help of E. J. Masicampo who recently published a paper alongside Roy F. Baumeister on getting things done. Here’s what I learned.

• The authors posit that once we commit to a specific plan of action to complete a task, we tend to think less about that task. The drive to attain our goal is suspended for the time being (or until we actually have to execute our plan). Essentially, when we create a roadmap to help us reach a goal, we are more likely to attain it and more likely to focus better on other areas of our work or lives in the interim.
• People report on average having about 15 ongoing goals and projects at any given time. That’s a lot to keep track of with every goal having its own set of milestones to accomplish. The to-do list becomes quite appealing in that it helps us to offload some of that burden.
• There are many reasons to suspect to-do lists are effective, even if just as a way to keep us aware of our goals. Simply maintaining awareness of our goals helps us be disciplined and successful. But the downside is that they do not go far enough toward committing us to doing the work.
• When we make a plan to complete a task, we help ourselves in two ways. First, we ease the stress we may feel in having to constantly remind ourselves that there is an important thing we still need to do. Second, making a plan forces us to solve the problem — we have to figure out what actions we need to take to complete the task and how and when to enact them.
• Making a to-do list is an effortful process, and so it makes the most sense to use one for new and difficult tasks. It doesn’t make sense, however, to include automatic, everyday tasks like brushing your teeth, clearing your inbox, or getting dressed for work on your to-do list.