My Precious To-Do List

I’m a big fan of Wish Lists. They’ve served my family well — wedding registry, baby registry, kids’ birthdays, Chanukah — they give us space to gather what we want or need, and then, almost like magic, many of those wishes come true.

I’m also a big fan of To-Do Lists. Few things rival the joy of crossing something off my list. A good list clears mental clutter and makes life feel more manageable.

So I perked up when I heard Dr. Cal Newport, a Georgetown professor and author, say:

“We don’t write to-do lists. We write wish lists… We think we’re planning our day, but really it’s a list of things we wish we could get done. And it feels so good to imagine them all finished that we don’t notice we just scheduled three days worth of work.”

That stopped me cold. If crossing things off feels so satisfying, what happens emotionally when we don’t get to cross off most of the list? What would happen if we saw our to-do list for what it often is — a wish list?

Dr. Newport recommends time blocking — dividing the day into specific segments for focused work. It’s a smart, structured approach that can strengthen priorities, avoid procrastination, and give undivided attention to tasks that need it.

But as a true Wish List fan, I couldn’t help seeing the upside of embracing the Wish List framing.

Here are some positives:

Aspirational: Like any registry, I know I won’t get everything — but naming what I hope for sets the stage.

Record-Keeping: If I don’t get it now, I can revisit it later. The wish remains.

Prioritization: Not all wishes are equal. Just like marking a registry with “must-have” and “nice-to-have,” assigning priorities upfront helps focus time and energy where it matters most — and lets the rest wait their turn.

So maybe the secret isn’t to stop writing wish lists — it’s to make peace with them. After all, even a few wishes granted can make for a pretty good day.