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=                                List                                =
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                            Introduction
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A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set
forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A
list may be memorised in any number of ways, including existing only
in the mind of the list-maker, but lists are frequently written down
on paper, or maintained electronically. Lists are "most frequently a
tool", and "one does not 'read' but only 'uses' a list: one looks up
the relevant information in it, but usually does not need to deal with
it as a whole".


                              Purpose
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It has been observed that, with a few exceptions, "the scholarship on
lists remains fragmented". David Wallechinsky, a co-author of 'The
Book of Lists', described the attraction of lists as being "because we
live in an era of overstimulation, especially in terms of information,
and lists help us in organizing what is otherwise overwhelming".

While many lists have practical purposes, such as memorializing needed
household items, lists are also created purely for entertainment, such
as lists put out by various music venues of the "best bands" or "best
songs" of a certain era. Such lists may be based on objective factors
such as record sales and awards received, or may be generated entirely
from the subjective opinion of the writer of the list. Musicologist
David V. Moskowitz notes:



The practice of ordering a list evaluating things so that better items
on the list are ahead of less good items is called ranking. Lists
created for the purpose of ranking a subset of an indefinite
population (such as the top 100 of the thousands of bands that have
performed in a given genre) are almost always presented as round
numbers. Studies have determined that a list of items falling within a
round number has a substantial psychological impact, such that "the
difference between items ranked No. 10 and No. 11 feels enormous and
significant, even if it's actually quite minimal or unknown". The same
list may serve different purposes for different people. A list of
currently popular songs may provide the average person with
suggestions for music that they may want to sample, but to a record
company executive, the same list would indicate trends regarding the
kinds of artists to sign to maximize future profits.


                       Organizing principles
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Lists may be organized by a number of different principles. For
example, a shopping list or a list of places to visit while
vacationing might each be organized by priority (with the most
important or most desired items at the top and least important or
least desired at the bottom), or by proximity, so that following the
list will take the shopper or vacationer on the most efficient route.

A list may also completely lack any principle of organization, if it
does not serve a purpose for which such a principle is needed. An
unsorted list is one "in which data items are placed in no particular
order with respect to their content; the only relationships between
data elements consist of the list predecessor and successor
relationships". For example, in her book, 'Seriously... I'm Kidding',
comedian Ellen DeGeneres provides a list of acknowledgements, notes
her difficulty in determining how to order the list, and ultimately
writes: "This list is in no particular order. Just because someone is
first doesn't mean they're the most important. It doesn't mean they're
not the most important either". A list that is sorted by some
principle may be said to be following a ranking or sequence.

Items on a list are often delineated by bullet points or a numbering
scheme.


                           Kinds of lists
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Kinds of lists used in everyday life include:
* Shopping list:  a list of items needed to be purchased by a shopper,
such as a list of groceries to be purchased on the next visit to the
grocery store (a grocery list)
* To-do list or Task list: a list or "backlog" of pending tasks
* Checklist: a type of job aid used in repetitive tasks to reduce
failure by compensating for potential limits of human memory and
attention
* Roster: a list of people scheduled to participate in a task, such as
employees of a company, or, more specifically, professional athletes
set to participate in a specific sporting event
* Wish list, an itemization of goods or services that a person or
organization desires

Many highly specialized kinds of lists also exist. For example, a
table of contents is a list of the chapters or other features of a
written work, usually at the beginning of that work, and an index is a
list of concepts or terms found in such a work, usually at the end of
the work, and usually indicating where in the work the concepts or
terms can be found. A track list is a list of songs on an album, and
set list is a list of songs that a band will regularly play in
concerts during a tour. A word list is a list of the lexicon of a
language (generally sorted by frequency of occurrence either by levels
or as a ranked list) within some given text corpus, serving the
purpose of vocabulary acquisition.

Many connoisseurs or experts in particular areas will assemble "best
of" lists containing things that are considered the best examples
within that area. Where such lists are open to a wide array of
subjective considerations, such as a list of best poems, best songs,
or best athletes in a particular sport, experts with differing
opinions may engage in lengthy debates over which items belong on the
list, and in which order.


Task lists
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A task list (also called a to-do list or "things-to-do") is a list of
tasks to be completed, such as chores or steps toward completing a
project. It is an inventory tool which serves as an alternative or
supplement to memory. Writer Julie Morgenstern suggests "do's and
don'ts" of time management that include mapping out everything that is
important, by making a task list. Task lists are also business
management, project management, and software development, and may
involve more than one list.

When one of the items on a task list is accomplished, the task is
checked or crossed off. The traditional method is to write these on a
piece of paper with a pen or pencil, usually on a note pad or
clip-board. Task lists can also have the form of paper or software
checklists. Numerous digital equivalents are now available, including
personal information management (PIM) applications and most PDAs.
There are also several web-based task list applications, many of which
are free.


Task list organization
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Task lists are often diarized and tiered. The simplest tiered system
includes a general to-do list (or task-holding file) to record all the
tasks the person needs to accomplish and a daily to-do list which is
created each day by transferring tasks from the general to-do list. An
alternative is to create a "not-to-do list", to avoid unnecessary
tasks.

Task lists are often prioritized in the following ways.
* A daily list of things to do, numbered in the order of their
importance and done in that order one at a time as daily time allows,
is attributed to consultant Ivy Lee (1877-1934) as the most profitable
advice received by Charles M. Schwab (1862-1939), president of the
Bethlehem Steel Corporation.
* An early advocate of "ABC" prioritization was Alan Lakein, in 1973.
In his system "A" items were the most important ("A-1" the most
important within that group), "B" next most important, "C" least
important.
* A particular method of applying the 'ABC method' assigns "A" to
tasks to be done within a day, "B" a week, and "C" a month.
* To prioritize a daily task list, one either records the tasks in the
order of highest priority, or assigns them a number after they are
listed ("1" for highest priority, "2" for second highest priority,
etc.) which indicates in which order to execute the tasks. The latter
method is generally faster, allowing the tasks to be recorded more
quickly.
* Another way of prioritizing compulsory tasks (group A) is to put the
most unpleasant one first. When it is done, the rest of the list feels
easier. Groups B and C can benefit from the same idea, but instead of
doing the first task (which is the most unpleasant) right away, it
gives motivation to do other tasks from the list to avoid the first
one.

A completely different approach which argues 'against' prioritizing
altogether was put forward by British author Mark Forster in his book
"Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management". This is based
on the idea of operating "closed" to-do lists, instead of the
traditional "open" to-do list. He argues that the traditional
never-ending to-do lists virtually guarantees that some of your work
will be left undone. This approach advocates getting all your work
done, every day, and if you are unable to achieve it, that helps you
diagnose where you are going wrong and what needs to change.

Various writers have stressed potential difficulties with to-do lists
such as the following.
* Management of the list can take over from implementing it. This
could be caused by procrastination by prolonging the planning
activity. This is akin to analysis paralysis. As with any activity,
there is a point of diminishing returns.
* To remain flexible, a task system must allow for disaster. A company
must be ready for a disaster. Even if it is a small disaster, if no
one made time for this situation, it can metastasize, potentially
causing damage to the company.
* To avoid getting stuck in a wasteful pattern, the task system should
also include regular (monthly, semi-annual, and annual) planning and
system-evaluation sessions, to weed out inefficiencies and ensure the
user is headed in the direction he or she truly desires.
* If some time is not regularly spent on achieving long-range goals,
the individual may get stuck in a perpetual holding pattern on
short-term plans, like staying at a particular job much longer than
originally planned.


                              See also
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*A-list
*Blacklist/Whitelist
*'The Book of Lists'
*Difference list
*'The Infinity of Lists' (2009) by Umberto Eco, on the topic of lists
*Life list
*Linked list
*List (abstract data type), in computer science
*List comprehension
*List of lists of lists
*Outline (list)
*Self-organizing list
*Short list
*Wait list
*Word list


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