I have discovered productivity is about more than checklists

If anyone has seen my posts on here, I frequently talk about Microsoft Todo as my task manager. Well..... There are times I start filling that up and by the time I get that done I am just floored. Not in a good way. I look at the mountain of tasks and don't even know where to start.

A little background.
As a career, I work in IT so everyday forces productivity or the company does not succeed. Not a lot I can change there that Microsoft Todo has not already done.

At Home.
Sometimes I have chore projects to complete with my family. Just a list of the chores will go down. Dishes, Front room, Move items from front yard to backyard etc. This is as big as I will go on organizing. As far as how I do those kinds of tasks efficiently, that is for another post with the concept of time management and delegation / mode switch.

Free Time.
aw... now here is where sometimes I just suck. I develop PowerPoint add-ins in my spare time. Sometimes I will work on them. Other times I will look at my mountain of MS Todo tasks and just shrug my shoulders and watch videos online about stupid stuff. This is where I fail. My lists are so big because the concept of programming when you are one person requires so many sub tasks, that I just decide "no thanks". The key here is to not overwhelm yourself.

The Realization.
Since free time is my issue, and I still want to be productive with it. I need quick wins or something where I can think: "Yeah I got some stuff done". So I still make checklists. Today I was making one and it was a paper checklist. This required a lot more effort and I immediately wanted to make the list digital. But that got me thinking.
"If it takes this long to fill out a paper checklist, how long will it take to complete them?"
Right then I stopped and said: "This list is good to go for now"... That was the lightbulb.

The Solution.
You need to keep your lists short enough so you don't feel overwhelmed and let them evolve as you complete things. Here are some dos and don'ts. These will probably mostly be for programming but I think they can be tailored to other workflows.
* DO make a plan of what I want to accomplish in a step. A small plan like: (I want to finish the feedback on these buttons) Then start making the list
* DO make a checklist of items that can be done without having to stop and reassess. If you find a task will make you stop and "think" it needs to be handled after the others and probably its own group of tasks.
* DONT keep making checklist items if you start feeling overwhelmed. If you are overwhelmed stop making checklist items and start completing the list.
* DO let the list evolve. Allow for tasks to be done and tasks to be entered.
* DONT think that all tasks of the entirety of the project have to be put in. I have personal experience with this and the time to do so, along with the feeling afterwards does not motivate at all. At least for me. This is true for at work, at home and free time.
* DO try paper lists if you get stuck and are not moving forward. Paper lists make us think differently. They take longer to create and are harder to maintain therefore the tasks are handled differently. You also take the time to think as you are writing it. At least for me.

I know this is a long post but after getting a lightbulb and motivation to continue a project that I have been working on for 2 months, I figured I would share.

Please let me know if you have any questions or if there is anything I can help with. I appreciate everyone here.