The Infinite Tab: A Gentle Guide to Overthinking Your To-Do List
Some days, the to-do list reads like a choose-your-own-adventure novel where every path ends in a triumphant, shoulders-shrugging sigh. You start with the simplest item—make coffee—and somehow you’ve reordered your entire life, including the shelf you forgot you own. Welcome to the modern art of productivity: the artful artlessness of getting things done without becoming someone’s personal calendar invite. Let’s face it: productivity advice loves to promise miracles. If you only do these three things, your emails will mysteriously respond in perfect, witty prose; your inbox will bow to your every command; and your existential dread will file an economic report by 5 p.m. The truth is kinder and a little ridiculous: small, repeatable actions beat heroic, filmed-in-4K outbreaks of motivation every single time. Step one: lower the bar with a tiny, ridiculous commitment. Tell yourself you’ll write one sentence. Just one. If you’re feeling fancy, number it. “1) Open document.” If that’s t...
