In order to break down tasks into next smallest steps Chandler might come in handy. http://chandlerproject.org/
No matter what your collections will just keep growing (if you do not delete items but rather mark them DONE) so that could be a little demotivating.
Most of the time I just write them in a list in a text editor, but then i get to the point where i need to clear out my scratchpad - thus losing track of my progress.
Obviously seeing my progress in a chart/graph is not necessary to get stuff done but it might help with motivation :)