Opinion: The struggle to complete a neverending to-do list

Madi Wheeler, Online Editor in Chief

The feeling of completing your to-do list is near pure bliss, but as you near your goal, suddenly, five more things are added. The feeling of utter defeat quickly takes over. Between the constant flow of homework, work and the consistent busy schedules, there is no such thing as getting everything on the to do list done; completing it is the impossible task.

According to Psychologist Dr. David Cohen, to-do lists help do three things: they dampen anxiety about the chaos of life; they give structure, something to stick to; and they are proof of what has been accomplished in a day, week or month.

To-do lists have every intention of helping people with a lot to keep track of, however, that doesn’t mean that everything gets crossed off by the day’s end.

According to themuse.com, almost 90 percent of people admit to not being able to complete their to-do list by the end of the day.

At the end of day, it seems as though the very thing that was supposed to help relieve stress is just more discouraging, as it lists out all the work that wasn’t done.

The benefits of a to-do list are invisible beneath the crushing feeling of defeat. Seeing unchecked boxes only creates more issues.

Between school, work, sports, school work and more for many students, it seems as though the to-do lists will never end and only keep getting added to. And this problem isn’t just with students. From teens to elderly people, all ages seem to struggle with keeping up with their to-do lists.