The psychology of list-makers

Lizzie Benton has a list for everything. Literally everything: from her to-do list to her professional goals to date nights with her partner. “We’ve listed out our entire relationship.”

As the founder of people and culture consultancy Liberty Mind, Lizzie has several lists going throughout her day. She uses a bullet journal, and also keeps a ‘best self’ list. “Those are for my day-to-day goals during the week. I also have a Trello board that I use as a diary, which is full of things that I need to do like errands, meetings, and events.”

While lists certainly have other fans like Benton, they are often downplayed and overlooked for much flashier productivity tools. Yet, there are psychological reasons why list-making is so good for productivity – as well as our mental health.