In 1927, a Russian psychologist discovered a psychological tendency we now know as the Zeigarnik Effect while sitting at a café in Vienna. Bluma Zeigarnik noticed how servers could remember intricate details of an order only if they were in the process of being completed. Once an order was fulfilled, the servers had difficulty recollecting them. The Zeigarnik Effect is the brains way of reminding itself of unfinished tasks. Unfortunately, this built-in prompt system only nags us to plan, and not actually complete the incomplete tasks. Enter the humble to-do list.

Benjamin Franklin, a Founding Father of the United States of America, loved using lists. He used productivity lists to keep to strict daily routines, as well as pros and cons lists when making difficult decisions. Franklin famously created a checklist of Thirteen Virtues where categories like Temperance, Chastity, and Silence were used to practice self-improvement and develop character. In 1956, the Supreme Court deemed segregation on buses as unconstitutional. To help facilitate the transition to integrated bus systems, Martin Luther King made a list of suggested behaviors for African-American communities in hopes of making the transition to integration effortless and unproblematic. In 1888, Thomas Edison created a five-page list entitled “Things Doing and To Be Done.” In that year alone, Edison’s To-Do List allowed him to execute 45 of the 1,000 patents he would carry out during his lifetime.

What is it about making lists that seem to captivate us? The list is an essential tool for the continued productivity and growth of human kind. Lists have been used for centuries by people to help make the infinite seem finite. They provide the means to put chaos into organization, and turn noise into harmony. The To-Do list bestows upon us, the means to prioritize our lives and ambitions. Mountains are climbed stone by stone. Goals are reached by attacking obstacle after obstacle. Dreams are weaved one strand after the next. So make your list, take on the impossible, and check off the boxes!

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