To-Do Lists: Helpful or Detrimental?

There are lots of varying opinions among clutter bloggers and PF bloggers alike on the subject of the infamous To-Do list.

Some, like Cindy at 365 Less Things, feel that To-Do lists are helpful for organization and efficiency. She even suggests having lists for lots of different purposes. I like LOVE her rationale, as it pretty much matches my own.

Cat from Budget Blonde is also a To-Do list fan. She wrote this guest post at Everything Finance about her To-Do list. She believes in keeping it short and sweet. She writes a Top 5 list to keep her focused on the most important To-Dos of the day.

Others, like Cait from Blonde on a Budget feel that To-Do lists hold you back in life. Her rational is two-fold, she doesn't like to add things to her list that she feels can't be accomplished because they make her feel "like a terrible person," and she feels like To-Do lists hold you back because life moves fast. Sometimes so fast that things aren't on your "list" and you may miss an opportunity because of the "list".

I am the queen a huge fan of the To-Do list. I have lots and lots of lists for lots of different things. I have a daily To-Do list, a general/long term To-Do list, a list of blog post ideas, a list of home improvements/repairs/projects, and a grocery list just to name a few. I use lists to keep ideas from floating in one ear and out the other and to help keep me on task with what needs to be done. When I've left my list behind, at home or on my desk at work over the weekend, I feel lost and I can't remember for the life of me what was on it. Lists are a necessary part of my life, but I will admit that like Cait fears, I do sometimes feel chained to my lists. If something isn't on the list I do find myself weighing the option of if I should complete the non-list item or a list item. It does take at least some of the spontaneity out of life, but I'm not going to stop making lists.

Do you use a To-Do list? Are they helpful or detrimental?