Vantage | Why listing out New Year resolutions is actually a good idea

List-makers are in manic mode in the world over, they are trying to process the year. Trying to organise this messy, confusing world into sliced and diced bite-sized chunks compiled as lists. As 2023 comes to a close, the internet is awash with lists, yet again. Whether it is the best books, or even the weirdest research projects, lists are everywhere. Which begs the question: What is it about lists? Why do we love them so much? Simply put, because lists work.

According to research, it is all thanks to human psychology, at the risk of being ironic. Here is a list of reasons why lists are so appealing: 1.We don’t like missing out 2.Lists feel definitive 3.Easier to scan for information 4.They make it all feel more manageable These factors define year-ender lists. But they apply to other kinds as well like to-do lists. Sometimes asking people to make a to-do list feels like you are peddling a cult fantasy. It seems like a ponzy scheme but it really isn’t. If done right to-do lists decrease anxiety and provide structure and make goals more achievable. They give us a record of everything we have accomplished in a given period. Goals mindlessly float in our brains, they occupy space, and distract us, it is because humans remember things we need to do more than the ones we have done. Scientific term for this is called the “Zeigarnik effect”. Wherever you look in cultural history, you will find lists, from hidden treasures to medicinal plants. They go way back; we saw them in the Arthashastra written in the third century which is an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft. It lists reasons for why people lack motivation or why economic distress increases. There are lists in literature too like in the 1920 novel “Ulysses” where James Joyce describes everything his protagonist finds in his drawers. It is a literary list, and it tells us so much about the character. Lists are in songs too like in Taylor Swift’s “Karma”, where she describes what the word means to her. So lists can be lyrical, they can go viral. Lists can also save lives, Oscar Schindler, a German businessman comes to mind. Reportedly, he used a list of names to save over a thousand Jews from concentration camps. Despite all of this, If you still find lists to be neurotic, start small, write a to-do list for yourself, and witness the magic. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .