post off: what's on your to-do list?
I have at least two lists going at any given time. I leave a pad of post-its in my kitchen, another on the desk and a third next to my bed. I have must-get-done-today lists. I have rainy-day lists. Sitting in the back of my journal, I have an accomplish-before-I’m-30 list. In fact, writing this very post is currently no. 5 on my morning finish-before-lunch list. There is nothing like seeing a long list of tasks fully completed. I’ll mark a big, bold check next to every item to show off my efficiency. I’ve even been known to write down something I’ve already done, just for the satisfaction of crossing it off my list. I get this from my mother, the original keeper of lists. She gave me the pad of paper pictured above.
Are you the same way? Is your daily schedule found in list form stuck to the fridge? Are your pockets stuffed with post- its? Have your lists gone high-tech on blackberries and iPhones? Shelterrific readers, add this one to the bottom of your list: Comment on this post. — Erica P.
I am a project manager. It is a role that I fell in to because of this very thing – I like to keep things organized. I have so many lists to manage a project – issues, decisions, action items/to dos, schedule items, plan items. I love the lists. No – I love checking things off of the lists. It means things are moving forward toward the team’s goal. Nothing gives me greater joy in this job than figuring out the right way to organize the lists so that everyone is clear on what their role is, so they don’t have to worry about whether things are being forgotten and can concentrate on the important work they have to do.
I got this from my mother also. When she died suddenly, it was so easy for my step dad to figure out what was going on because she kept detailed lists and organized files. She used to handle all of the finances, and he was easily able to figure out what was going on. We know what she did every day and what appointments we had to cancel because everything was spelled out in her planner. I miss her more knowing that I got that trait from her, but it also makes me love being organized in memory of her.
I’m the same way with lists. A daily list, a weekly list, a long term list, household list, business list and personal list. I already turned 30 and had a 30 year list, now I have just do these things asap list. Mostly I like to write my lists down, but in an effort to be a bit more organized with them (and waste less paper) I tried a program for my apple called Things and using the stickies. Most recently I’m enjoying making notes on my iPod Touch (we can get iPhone service around here.
CA
I am a happy list-maker. I use pen and (recycled) paper–there’s no pleasure for me in deleting something from a digital list once I’ve done it, but drawing a line through it or checking it off is delightful. I make a to-do list almost every day, and it almost always starts w/ the same 2-3 things I do every morning: make bed, clean catboxes, do dishes. It’s silly, but if I’m having a bad/sleepy/grumpy morning, seeing that I’ve already accomplished something cross-off-able helps get me going onto the things I’m less than thrilled about.
When I worked for an international relief organization one of the things they had us do was The Franklin Covey system. For me in my latest position where I need to keep track of various books, what is happening to them etc. Requires a tremendous amount of organization. For me the system, and prioritizing is a requirement.
At home I need lists, they remind me what I need to do around the house, groceries, menus are all part of of the list.
I am a list maker. I have to make lists or I can’t remember and then am mad when I didn’t buy what was needed at the store, or get done what I needed to get done. For me, it’s a way to stay in control of what’s happening. I have done lists in my iphone etc but I find writing it down really helps me. I am also a post-it note fanatic. I think these are about the greatest invention EVER! They are the perfect size and I have even come up with an invention, just in my thoughts still, for helping keep notes you have on post it, organized if you need to keep that important note. So keep your eyes out, one day when you see the “Peacock for Post-it” you’ll think of me :)
I make lists for eeevveerryyytthhiinnggg. I went to the beach for 2 days last weekend and made a list of every single thing I wanted to pack while commuting home on Thursday. I have a list I make on the commute into work for the workday everyday. I make lists throughout the day of things I need, need to do, want to do, etc. I have a running list at work of huge projects that I’ve dipped an iron or two into, but have yet to complete. I also have a list of things before I die, things before I’m 30 [I've got 5.5 years before it need to be complete!], and currently, a list of things I want to do to my new house! My boyfriend found my notebook of lists and for a split second I think he rethought his reasons of being in a relationship with me! Good thing he accepted the quirk!
My most common practice now is to write a shopping list on the fridge whiteboard, then snap a picture of that list on my iPhone to take with me.
People make fun of all of my lists, but I’m glad to see it is cathartic for others too. A good portion of the relief comes from the physical act of making the letters, and that also seems to help my memory when it is in my own handwriting.
i love making lists. the old fashioned way – pen and paper. a good friend of mine introduced me to highlighting each completed task instead of crossing it off and it makes it that much more satisfying!
Lists give me that lovely false sense of security, of being in control. And even though I know it’s not real, I happily allow myself to be deluded.
I keep three main lists: To Do, To Call, and To Get.
And I break them down in whatever way makes sense… e.g., clumping all calls to make medical or dental appointments for my family together.
Or putting all the To Do errands in the south part of town together, so I can make just one epic trip.
And, yes, my family does mock me for my lists, which can teeter on the border of Well-Organizedville and Crazy Land.
But at least I don’t arrive at a swim party without my swimsuit, goggles, towel, flip-flops, sunscreen (SPF 50), water bottle, hostess gift, sunglasses, sunhat… well. You get the idea.
I love making lists, too — I make them every week in order to get all my work done. It also helps us to prioritize what we need to do around the house (We have “must do now” and “sometime in the future” lists). I can’t remember which writer I read once (I think it was Marge Piercy?) who sometimes added items to her list she’d already completed, just for the satisfaction of crossing them off!
Occasionally I make a list of the lists I have to make!
What a fun topic. I have to admit, I get a voyeuristic little thrill from seeing other peoples’ lists! (ya gotta take your excitement where you can get it) I make lists everywhere and am constantly trying out new systems for managing them. Today I scrawled one after pulling into a parking spot at Ikea, waiting to hand over my two younger children to my mother for a few days at “Camp Gramma.” In the unlikely possibility that anyone else out there likes to read other peoples’ lists, here’s mine for today:
e-mail circle re: lake trip
e-mail Ann C. re: her boys/our schedule
e-mail Sarah (?) re: Grampa Eddie’s
e-mail Kaye Gary re: interview about Morpheus Quartet
plan C’s birthday party – AUGUST 17
sympathy cards (2)
check S’s field hockey sked; e-mail Coach Snead
computer stuff: Time Capsule, file transfers, one-to-one sessions
dermatologist appt
primary care doc appt
Roadrunners
S’s books
call Ann R. about switching sitters
Anyone else want to share? I like seeing how other peoples’ thoughts are organized… (or not) :-)
Feeling so sheepish now for sharing my incredibly dull list. I found a fun site – with MUCH more interesting lists than mine. It’s here: http://todolistblog.blogspot.com/
I feel I should add that before I had all these children (4) and animals (7), my lists included things like:
scuba dive off the Great Barrier Reef
sky-dive
climb Mount Everest
run a marathon
get a motorcycle
… all of which I’ve done, except Mount Everest. And my marathon was a triathlon. But still.
[...] to be deluded. I keep three main lists: To Do, To Call, and To Get.” Don’t be shy. Tell us what’s on your to-do [...]
I wish I could just scan my lists, so you can see what’s crossed off or not, but here is my most current “to-do this week” list:
-blick sale (canvas)
-popcorn/soda/juice
-succulents
-x-box remote
-death certificate?
-mgmt
-iron man?
-ct scan. call bianca.
-phoenix!!!
-pineapple express.
-parking permit/books/i.d./add slips
then there are the lists I make just for fun, like…
“top 100 favorite songs”
“awesome places i’ve been to”
“venues i haven’t been to yet”
“goals for 2008″
the lists just get far lamer from then on…
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