"x" Number Of Reasons Why We Have Too Many Lists

There are lists everywhere. Right now I have three other tabs on my browser open besides this one. The titles? "25 Insights on Becoming a Better Writer," "30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself," and "When the Thrill is Gone." That last one's safe...oh wait...never mind! It lists five things that can spark your thrill of writing again when you've lost the motivation.
Not saying that lists are bad. I'm pretty sure I'm at the stage where I can't live without a few (I have four post-its on my desk right now reminding me of things to do, particularly with respect to the Humanities Europe Study Abroad Tour in a month). But why are there so many?
Let's see...

1. Crazy class with a lot of homework? There's a list of assignments. 
2. Things to do before a particular event? Another list. 
3. Bookworm? Multiple lists of books to read stuffed in various drawers and notebooks. 
4. Calling in the church? A binder full of lists. 
5. Need or want stuff? At least one list. 
6. Married with kids? Lists on the fridge, if not also on the table, wall, counter, and by the phone. Don't even look at the calendar. 
7. Registering for classes next semester? A full page of lists--classes you need with teachers you want and backup plans for the backup plans. 
8. A young girl in that dating/marriage lesson in Young Womens that comes around every year in church? Yet another list full of attributes supposedly required in a young man before they can go on a date with him, let alone marry him (sorry to burst your bubble, fourteen year-olds, but there's a lot more to consider than just "cute." Look at Frozen and Sense & Sensibility...to name only a couple).
9. New Years day tomorrow? A list written in colorful markers and taped to the mirror, hopefully so that you don't forget about them come February.
10. Trying to improve and become a better person? That very personal list of characteristics that haunts the recesses of your mind.

Just writing all of that has now made my head hurt, and, as a society, we practically encourage these lists.
Again, not saying that lists are bad, but are they all together good? Yes, I know they're helpful and that helpful is good, but are lists ultimately helpful?
Here is some random number of reasons why lists can, ultimately, be unhelpful:

1. We usually make lists when our original lists get too stressful. Sometimes this is simply a helpful organizing or re-organizing of those original lists we may or may not be aware of, but sometimes this can just add to the stress. It emphasizes the fact that we can't do it all and usually adds a whole new layer of things to do and stress about.
2. Lists are yet another thing to remember. Ironic, isn't it? The tools we use to help us remember actually cause us to have another thing to remember and keep track of. When there are so many lists, no wonder we forget, or at least feel like we'll forget, things. When we rely so much on lists to remember things, we lose faith in our own memory and mind (trust me!).
3. Lists emphasize the fact that we are imperfect beings. Since lists are ultimately meant to help us achieve "perfection" and order, this can be emotionally disastrous, especially since we rarely are able to meet all of the standards and deadlines we set for ourselves. We really are our own strictest taskmasters. Perfectionists seem to live on lists, which are really their mortal bane. (It's like my book idea that dragons...oh, never mind...) Not only that, there will always be another list ("you know this"...didn't Galadriel say something like that?). For the shopper, there will always be more you need or want. For the bookworm, there will always be more books. For the student, there will always be another semester...and if not, there will be the rest of life. For both elderly and young, there are always regrets. For any person striving to be better, there will always be ways to improve. This isn't helped by a world that is always presenting us with innumerable ways to be bigger (or skinnier) and better.
4. Lists=clutter. Let's face it, my desk would look less cluttered and hectic if my four post-its were gone. My mind would feel much cleaner and less overwhelmed if there were less lists in it. Sometimes, when we're stressed out, our living areas (desk, bedroom, house, mind, etc.) tend to suffer for it. And it doesn't help! It's much easier to deal with stress and other emotional/mental crises if our environment isn't also undergoing crises (particularly if those crises are directly related to our emotional crises)...and it makes life seem more optimistic and happy. In my online class this semester all of the assignments are due on Monday. Every Monday, after my last assignment is done, I close everything (literally, everything...including my book idea word documents) and restart my computer. Since I can't exactly clean out my mind and restart it, this provides a relief and a metaphorical, I suppose you could say, weekly cleaning and restart.
5. Lists are never complete. We always feel like something else is missing. Like this list. I'm completely out of inspiration, and yet I know there are other ways that are hovering just out of reach of my brain. A source of torment? Yes.

I wish I could now present a cure for this stressful curse of list-making. But, as with many other "curses" that seem to haunt our imperfect existence, there really seems to be no cure in this life...particularly not one that can change us over night. Even if I were to present an idea, as so many other articles do on any subject of improvement, it's always more easily said than done.

Despite this rather discouraging end, I would like to say that lists can sometimes be helpful. But usually the reason why they're helpful is because we feel solidified by them. It's not so much a list that we need, but rather the rounding out of our thoughts, the strength of memory from writing it out or verbalizing it, the need to feel validated, the commitment to motivate us, and the distinguishing of our values and desires. To tell you the truth, I believe some of us are so dependent on lists that we cannot see how to achieve our desired ends otherwise, but I also believe that life would be happier and better for all if there were fewer lists in the world.