why I like lists so much

Once during an interview (and yes, I was offered the job) I was asked how I manage stress/multiple projects. My answer was that I am constantly making lists. To-do lists for work, to-do lists for the weekend or the evening after work, lists of deliverables for a project, lists for the foods I eat in a day when I’ve had one too many cookies at the office around the holidays or queso over the weekend (but really). 

I remember thinking to myself after the interview how silly my answer was but now when I think about it, this is actually a very real and important way I stay organized and sane throughout the day; it’s just simple and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Jotting down notes on what I need to accomplish reminds me that I actually have things I need to do. It’s not that I would forget this but I have caught myself jumping off a three hour stretch of back-t0-back conference calls and almost naturally getting sidetracked. A thoughtful to-do list keeps me organized and focused.  

Without an organized list to keep me on track below is the type of pattern I would often find myself falling into after jumping off a couple, long conference calls without organization. Maybe you can relate...

• Being a bit mentally drained from a stretch of calls, provided nothing major was crashing and burning I would usually click back and forth between my email and my calendar once or twice (or three or four or eight times); literally just clicking back and forth, this must calm a bit of ADD fueled anxiety but also wasted a bit of time and made me look crazy to anyone hoovering over my shoulder. 
• Then I would usually open up Twitter and see what was going on in the world over the past few hours during my calls.
• From here I would usually open up an HBR or Business Insider article I found on Twitter (or a BuzzFeed list, let’s be honest) and I would get easily lost in the content for twenty minutes if I didn’t have the wherewithal to remind myself that I actually had a brief due or a project kickoff in an hour to prep for or some other deliverable. 
• Somewhere in all that I would have gotten up to run to the restroom and get a glass of water and probably engaged in about 10 minutes of chatter with coworkers or my manager. 

I am not advocating people work non-stop without a break all day. In fact I am a big believer in the multiple studies that argue the human mind works best with breaks. Many suggest that it’s best to work increments of ninety minutes followed by a short break, then ninety more minutes, and so on. It’s just that if I don’t have something to refer back to to keep myself on track I find that after a short break I can lose focus. 

Is this what everyone does? Am I exaggerating the value of writing a short and sweet to-do list or perhaps I am simply late to acknowledging that this tactic I’ve employed for my entire life really is hugely valuable. Perhaps at the very least I’ve given a good, simple suggestion for an interview question.