THE ELLIE METHOD
I was just trying to remember all of it. Every task, idea and errand, all at once.
Each one is simple, and each one has research behind it.
1
Write it down
2
Pick a few
3
Give it a time
4
Roll with it
HABIT 1
Unfinished tasks keep nagging at you. Research shows that writing them down, with a plan, quiets them. So everything goes into the Brain Dump first.
Research: Masicampo & Baumeister, 2011
HABIT 2
We all think things take less time than they do. In one study, a thesis people expected to take 34 days took 56. Ellie adds up your time, so you can see when the day is full.
Research: Buehler, Griffin & Ross, 1994
HABIT 3
When you decide exactly when you’ll do something, you’re far more likely to do it. Dragging a task onto your calendar is that decision.
Research: Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006
HABIT 4
Plans change. Anything you don’t finish moves to tomorrow on its own. Going easy on yourself helps too: people who forgive themselves put things off less next time.
Research: Wohl, Pychyl & Bennett, 2010
In a sleep-lab study, people who wrote tomorrow’s to-do list before bed fell asleep about nine minutes faster.
Research: Scullin et al., 2018
Write it down. Pick a few. Give each one a time. Roll with the day.
“My hope is that Ellie improves your day as much as it has improved mine.”
Chris, maker of Ellie
SOURCES
Ellie is a planner, not a treatment. Each study above is summarized in plain language; the full papers are linked here.