Tuesday, November 11, 2008

My List of Lists

I believe making lists are a way to stay organized and a reminder of things not to forget. Who ever invented the sticky post it notes has my vote as saving us from ourselves. Technology has given us the Blackberry and Palm Pilot but there is nothing as simple or easy as the the post it. You can have them all over the place: at home, the office, appointments and calenders, the list is endless. Why would someone wax poetic on something so plebeian? I don't really know, I do know that I can't seem to function without my lists. You have to be careful though because if you spend all your time making lists then nothing will get done! It is a very good idea to have a short list of goals of things you want to accomplish each day.It may not be necessary to write this down. Keeping it to two or three items helps us to feel less overwhelmed and more likely to actually do the things on the list.

"Procrastination is the thief of time." I'll do it tomorrow, admittedly we all have done this to some degree. There is an old saying that if you ask a busy person to do something it is likely to get done. Maybe it's because they possess momentum and energy besides the concept of timeliness, and organizational ability.

When does being organized shift over to being an obsessive tendency? I'm not sure but I'd guess that if it becomes an obstacle to being able to "function" then that might be a problem. Is it really necessary to have all the soup cans in the cupboard with the labels facing out or to have the clothes in your closet grouped by color and having the hangers match in color. Don't laugh, there are people who might not admit it but they have to line up their shoes a certain way and everything has to be in it's place, but I digress.

When we make plans to travel I start making lists of things to pack. If we are just going away for the day it's not necessary. I like to have a grocery list when I go to the store, not that I follow it. At work I keep a list of people whom I need to return phone calls to and a list of projects I am trying to multitask. It's a great feeling to check something off that has been completed.

I have to confess that I keep a little notebook in my pocketbook and when I have a spontaneous creative thought of something I might like to blog about I write it down. How do you think I came up with this idea to write a post about lists?

6 comments:

Jennie La* said...

i am at that person! my shoes are all in a certain way, all have their place, the labels have to face out! i am horrible LoL
LOVE LISTS.

Michael Horvath said...

I gotta have lists, my miond gets too busy. I also am a musician and inspiration can strike me at any moment.

gaf85 said...

A little OCD isn't such a bad thing after all and does not necessarily hinder creativity.

Tatum Reid said...

I have my list to...but I tend to spend more time putting the list together than doing the actual thing!! I'm working on fixing that lol

underOvr (aka The U) said...

HF,

How does someone have time for more than one blog? If I were to attempt to manage 2 blogs, it would require more than post it notes; but you my friend, have "got it workin'", so I give you props.

I started using a Palm back in what now seems like the Ice Age, then 4 years ago I got a Garmin and it worked so "swell" with Outlook...(gotta stop this Geek Gushing).

Without it, I don't remember appointments, meeting notes, recipes, or the many things that seem to fill my time. So that's my story Locutis, and I'm sticking to it.

U

gaf85 said...

U, I actually use a good old appointment book to keep track. I can't seem to make the transition to electronics other than to use my cell phone for texting the family or the alarm set to remind me I need to do something or be somewhere.
(Apologies for late response to your comment....I've been out of the country.)