Notion, To-Do List, and Modern Sins: Why We Always Feel Less Productive, Even Though We Just Want to Live Peacefully

Legal Literacy - There is one type of person who gets restless if their life is not “measured.” Not restless because they are afraid of not becoming a successful person, but restless because at 10 a.m. they have not moved a single task from the column “To Do” to “Done”.

They are not a criminal. They are also not dangerous. At most, there is only one danger: making other people feel guilty.

Read Also

See More

Stop Asking “Which Article Does This Violate?” to Law Graduates, We Are Not Walking Law Books (And Not Shamans)

Jan 17, 2026

Tahu Tek in Gunung Anyar: When “Tek-Tek” Defeats Notifications and Petis Overcomes Inferiority

Jan 17, 2026

Promise of Money, VCS Mode: SelebTikTok Scammed by Malaysian Foreign National, Victim or Partly at Fault?

July 30, 2025

This person usually appears in two forms. First, a friend who just got acquainted with Notion and suddenly speaks like a management consultant. Second, a colleague who considers the calendar a sacred book. If you say, “I'll let you know later,” they will answer, “Okay, I'll create a block 15 minutes on your calendar.”

I've always suspected that the person who makes block 15 minutes is not managing time, but managing other people's destinies. Because life, for them, is like a boarding room: if it's not organized, it will be a mess. And if it's a mess, they feel like they've failed as human beings.

In fact, humans are inherently messy.

Productivity Is a New Religion, and We Are All Its Congregants Who Are Often Late

In the past, believers were afraid of sin because they violated moral rules. Now believers are afraid of sin because they violate productivityrules: waking up late, forgetting to journal, not exercising, not reading books, not drinking 2 liters of water, and—most severely—not “upgrading yourself.”

If there used to be lectures about hell, now there is content: “If you're still lying down at 9 a.m., you've lost to other people.”
If there used to be minor sins, now there is: “Scrolling TikTok for 10 minutes aimlessly.”
If there used to be sunnah worship, now there is: “Cold shower, meditation, deep work 90 minutes.”

There are even people who, after a day of relaxing, cannot sleep at night not because of coffee, but because they are haunted by the question:
“What did I just do today?”

That question sounds simple, but it has a destructive power equivalent to a paylater bill: small but panic-inducing.

To-Do List: From a Tool to a List of Personal Shortcomings

Initially, a to-do list is a good idea. Humans have limited memory. It is natural to need notes. It's just like writing “buy soap” because otherwise, you might end up buying two liters of ice cream, which is not actually a primary need, but a need of the soul.

The problem is, today's to-do list is no longer a note of “things that need to be done”. It has evolved into a note of “things that prove whether you are a worthy human being or not.”

You write:

• Work on report
• Reply to emails
• Meeting at 2 PM

Then, who knows which demon whispers, you add:

• Study a foreign language for 30 minutes
• Read 20 pages of a book
• Exercise for 45 minutes
• Tidy up the room
• Cook healthy food
• Build relationships
• Build a career
• Build a side business
• Build a personal brand
• Build a household (if necessary)
• Wake up early (obviously)

Finally, that list is no longer a to-do list. It is a manifesto of dissatisfaction.

And when you fail to complete everything, what you feel is not "oh well, I'll continue tomorrow", but:
"Am I the problem?"

Whereas the problem is simple: You assign yourself to be a factory, while you are a human who sometimes just wants to eat fried snacks without guilt.