Working with a list of tasks is very beneficial. You will not forget what you have to do and you can set your priorities on what to do first. But are there also some negative effects on creating a task list.
If you are thinking of doing certain things you might want to consider the time it requires to do them. If it’s something quick that you can do right now then why would you put it on a task list to do later? Compare it with looking at your mailbox and thinking about answering that mail in the afternoon. If you don’t have to think about the answer and the question and/or answer is not emotional it wont hurt to do it now. Every small task that you do right now instead of putting it on your list means the list becomes shorter, you start with a quick win and you are less likely to be overwhelmed with the list. A good rule to decide if you should do the task immediately if it takes about 2 mins to complete.
Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time. No one learns more about a problem than the person at the bottom. – Sandra Day O’Connor
Starting a task the moment you think about it is beneficial when it takes only 2 mins like explained above. However even when a tasks takes about 10 minutes time it can still be beneficial to start it sooner rather than later. Any task you start with, no matter the amount of time, will be finished quicker if you take the first step of starting. That you aren’t going to start a task that takes an hour is understandable because it takes effort and time to complete it. Yet if you look for example at writing these articles, they take a while before they are written, but every single word you write you are closer to finishing the job.
Heading into starting a task doesn’t give you the right to consider it as something trivial to do. Yes, there is a benefit in thinking it is trivial so you aren’t afraid to get started with it. Regardless no matter how small the task is make sure to try and perform it to the best of your abilities. If you are completing your tasks you set for yourself in a inferior manner you will unfortunately get similar results. For example as a child you had to prepare your homework for the next day and you merely do the activity with the least amount of effort the end result will be bad. While giving your best effort would help you to improve and practise for future exams. The same thing happens in your day to day life as an adult. Bad performance at your work will reduce the credit you have from your colleagues and boss.