Get Everything Done

The problem with keeping things in your head as opposed to writing them down in some formal manner is that you are lacking a corrective. You are just holding your thoughts, if that, but you are not developing them.

If you take out time in order to think/meditate, I would concede that maybe some mental techniques (aka thinking, meditating) could be more effective than writing about the subject matter.

Other than that I would suggest we all experienced the power of written lists in some way or another at some point.

Instead of merely being a No List system, DREAMS is a No List At All system, as is Time Surfing if I got that right.

In Dreams there are no task lists or time blocks, one just does by Pull Mode, but there is the "What's better?" list, a list of reflections.

In observing Time Management Systems I found that the oppugnant technique to writing down tasks is to engaging in some form of REVIEWing technique. Journaling, question techniques, the "What's better?" list and so on.

This seems to be suffice to assure that one works on the right tasks. Reviewing does more than that of course…

But I would suggest that you need at least either one: writing down tasks and goals or engaging in regular reviewing.

You can have both of course and reviewing will off-load a lot of weight off of the task list. Serial No-List is probably playing in this arena as well.

Anyway, there seem to be two type of persons in the discussion. Those that deem using an app as the default and for whom writing down something on paper is a special operation, and then those that don't mind about that at all, but find that using an app involves a learning curve and therefore is a special operation.

In the former camp there is lately making the rounds an interesting idea of how to look at your day's work:

Fill - Empty - Use

Here's the link to the original source:
http://thedankoe.com/letters/why-productivity-advice-is-ruining-your-life/

Here's an implementation I found inspiring:
http://www.tiktok.com/@daywithdandan/video/7192997344269323525

He mentions journaling, he als mentions planning. Anyway, I think this framework lends itself as a starting point for a No-List-At-All existence.