To - Do Lists

Do lists help or hurt you when you are trying to get things done?

Every time I start to get motivated to do stuff, I like to see everything I have actually accomplished listed in front of me. So I make my to-do lists, I even sometimes set them to remind me to do more stuff the next day because I would ideally love to always be motivated and feel accomplished.

But then I have a hard time sticking to that regiment and fall off track. I never understand why. It isn't hard to do. I always end up getting the stuff done it just could have been done a lot sooner and a lot more efficiently. 

Is it that a list is just too much of a commitment? Do I put too much on my lists? Do I just not have the right mentality to keep up with lists? Maybe it has nothing to do with the list at all and it is really just a matter of time restraints. Maybe it's more of a not having enough spoons thing and I used my monthly allotment and now I need to wait for the allowance to come in again.

Either way, I'm going to try and take advantage of the motivation while I can. Getting stuff down now is better than not getting it done at all or waiting until the last second right?

So which are you? Are you a list person or just do it as it comes to mind and wing it kind of person?