Is AI Optimizing the Right To-Do List for You?

I was talking with a leader recently who had been using AI to continually rewrite their to-do list and action plan. Each time, the plan became more organized. It also became longer, heavier and more complex.

That raised a more important question: Was AI helping them organize the work, or helping them see the right work?

AI can be a great planning partner, but your judgment becomes even more important when deciding what belongs on the list in the first place. If you find yourself questioning the plan, or something about it just doesn’t feel right, you may be at the edge of realizing: It’s a plan, but maybe not your plan.

Years ago, while writing Finding Passion, I spent a lot of time thinking about significance: what makes something meaningful enough to deserve our energy. I think our AI-generated to-do lists need that same quality check.

Without it, AI can quietly remember all the things you could be doing with your time, without necessarily knowing that you’ve decided to change course.

So before you optimize your to-do list again, add one more quality check: Why does this deserve to be on my list?

Before you optimize the list, ask what makes each item significant enough to stay on it.