Been-doing list

Another in my series of to-do list variations: the been-doing list. One thing I think to-do lists are particularly bad at is ongoing or maintenance goals. "Go do this thing" makes for a great to-do item, but "keep doing this thing forever" just sounds unsatisfying. However, ongoing goals can be very useful! It's just a matter of finding the right way to frame them.

With the been-doing list, you instead write down habits or ongoing goals you want to achieve, and keep a record of long you've been doing them. I think putting a check next to the habit each day you keep it up is a great way to do it, but I've also heard of people using physical calendars and marking off days. Either way, the point is that over time you build up a record of how well you've stuck to the habit.

With a regular to-do list, the main motivation is to clear the list, to work subtractively. While that makes sense for tasks, I think the best thing for habits is the opposite: to feel like you're buidling something over the course of many small steps.