I guess this has a place in someone's life - MAYBE

I'm a great fan of the `'to-do" list.

When I was working my day was largely guided by them.  I used to make a list for the next day every evening before leaving the office, and then when tasks were completed, I would tick them off which was the most rewarding part of the whole exercise.

If something remained on the list for more than three days, I would make a decision about whether the task was actually necessary, and if it was I would deal with it there and then.

£50 - anyone???

Of course, my day would be interrupted by emergencies and unforeseen things happening, but by and large my lists helped to plan out and manage my activities.

Even now, when writing these blogs or (especially) when making my videos I have lists of things to do or include.

The other day, I came across a video extolling the virtues of a productivity app I shan't name for fear of being sued!  It was heralded as "life-changing" and "essential".  It effectively came across as saying that without this app your life would be a complete failure, etc, etc.

So, intrigued, I had a look at it thinking it must be some wondrous piece of life-altering must have piece of software, and...

…erm, it's a (admittedly beautiful looking) glorified to-do list on your computer or phone instead of a scrap of note paper!  

The proponent in the video shared his typical list for the day.  I'm not joking here but it started with "7:00 am - wake up" - accompanied of course with the requisite emoji.  Imagine needing to write a reminder down to get out of bed!  It continued to list stuff in such minute detail that it must have taken him an hour to actually write the bloody list!  Quite how this would make him more productive I have no idea.

Here's the thing though.  You can actually sell your lists to other people!  I mean… come on.

Now, I'm not going to be critical of anyone who might find this app useful, and no doubt a deeper dive would uncover many useful features for team working, etc.  And fair enough, if you've created a workflow to get a complex task done that someone else might find useful then selling it is fine by me.

But to me, it just seems like one of those things that is touted as absolutely essential for a healthy and productive work life when in reality it isn't.  All you really need is a notebook and a pencil to organise your life and remind you to do things, and not some complicated "application".

Then again, I am old and most probably deemed useless.  But my old-fashioned way of getting things done worked, and still works, for me.