Why keep a done list when the task is finished?

Finished tasks should leave the active list. They should not have to disappear from your life.

A done list is simply the history of completed work. You do not maintain another notebook or copy the task into a second record. The task moves out of the working view and remains available when you need it.

Keep the active list about active work

Leaving every completed line in place makes the page look busy and pushes open work farther down. Deleting those lines keeps the page clean, but it removes the evidence with them. Archiving gives each view a clear job.

• The active list shows what still needs attention.
• History shows what was completed.

Use history when memory gets vague

A completed-task record is useful when you prepare a weekly update, remember what happened before a project changed direction, or answer the familiar question “What did I actually do this month?” Search the work itself instead of reconstructing it from sent email and calendar entries.

Keep “done” separate from “irrelevant”

These statuses tell different stories. Done means the intended action happened. Irrelevant means the action no longer belongs on the list. Both can leave the working view, but they should not become the same result in your history.

Let the record build itself

World's Best To-Do List archives completed tasks during daily rollover and shows archived work in History. Waiting and irrelevant tasks remain active during automatic rollover, so their status is not mistaken for completion.

The habit is small: mark work accurately when it changes. The system can handle the filing. If your current process still deletes completed lines, the guide to replacing an email-draft task list is a good place to start.