The psychology of the to-do list –why your brain loves ordered tasks

Studies have shown that people perform better when they have written down what they need to do. What makes the to-do list such an effective productivity tool?

Almost everyone struggles with getting stuff done. But some of us struggle with the stage before that: just figuring out what it is we need to do. The to-do list is, in theory, the answer. It's a time-honoured system that's beautiful in its simplicity: work out what needs to be done and in what order, write down the tasks, do them, and then, one-by-one, cross them out.

Psychologist and author Dr David Cohen believes his struggle to stay organised is helped, but not entirely solved, by his to-do lists, which must be on paper - preferably in a diary - and need to be constantly monitored. "My family think I'm chaotic," he says, "but I would be much more so without my lists - they've kept me in line for years."