2.22.2008

List Less

So ... here is somewhat of a true confession, although I won't categorize it as such since I am working on changing it but ...

I am not a List Maker. (Go ahead and Gasp! I was pretty much expecting that.)

I don't know why lists have (in the past, I tell you ... in the past) actually intimidated me. I felt like if I started listing what I had to do, I would just never be able to stop and the sheer anxiety of it all would keep me from tackling the shorter list that had more immediate consequences. Sometimes I would make lists, but I just couldn't get it to latch onto me as a habit. (I did do the same with eating cookies and that latched on like crazy!)

However, while I was in the Land O'Lincoln, my dear daughter, Mrs. Dub told me of this book (pictured above) that a friend of hers was reading and I knew I had to read it. We headed off on one of our daily jaunts to Barnes & Noble and I picked up a copy for each of us. I read as much as I could on the plane home, but haven't actually read more since. What I have done is gone to Target, and purchased the above pile of notebooks and file folders with sweet coordinating birds and butterflies. Since then I have been listing my brains out.

And it has stuck. For five (count 'em 5!) days. I think there might be hope for me after all.

I must add that everyone else in my family are big list makers, but they clearly have gotten that habit from PDaddy. I would be remiss however if I didn't tell you that PDaddy doesn't know what a notebook looks like. He makes all of his lists on napkins. Subway napkins. Go figure.

So ... what about you? Are you a lister? And, do tell . . . what is your notebook/napkin/gum wrapper of choice?
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9 comments:

steph said...

i REALLY try to be a list maker, but i'm just not very good at it... when i make lists, i include things that i've already accomplished then quickly lose the list before being able to cross off new accomplishments.

maybe i need the book... but it'll probably be like all of the other motivational books that i forgot about.

melissa said...

im pretty good at being a lister!

but confession: i'm mostly a lister b/c i have an obsession with paper and stationary and colored pens and office supplies and it lets me put them all to use...and todays blog makes me think i need to head out to target to take a look at the cute stationary they may offer!

P Daddy said...

I confess to being an inveterate list maker, but don't box me in. I love making lists in notebooks and on legal pads (big and small) and on engineering paper (it's the best for lists and organizing). Not so much flowers, birds, dolphins, or butterflies. And, while most lists these days are on napkins, it's not just Subway. There's Cousin's and Blimpie's and Chipotle and Baja Fresh and Einstein Bros. and In-N-Out and McDonalds and Jack-in-the-Box in there, too. Not sure why diet and weight loss are usually at the top of the list.

stephanie said...

my husband loves that book. i am definitely a listmaker. i have to write down all of the things i need to do the next day right before i go to sleep, otherwise i just can't shut my eyes.

Mrs. Dub said...

we all know that i'm an obsessive listmaker, but that book has helped me refocus my lists. still, should anyone have a list entitled "jobs i wouldn't mind" with the entry "card writer"?

love the notebooks by the way.

Tara said...

I'm a lister! 3 kids and working full time forced it! I have a three ring binder notebook set up in categories...family, a tab for each child (which works great because I put all their imp papers here like projects due, Girl Scout news, etc.) and one for recipes so when I am at work I can take a look at some tried and trues and try to figure out if I need to stop at a store on the way home. I carry it everywhere and always clean it out so it is current...helps me remember stuff!

Kelley Bochman Smith said...

I can't live without my lists and pocket calendar and then I live by the bigger calendar in the kitchen. My brain cannot function alone....

Unknown said...

in law school, i found daily inspiration in dolcevespa's amazing, color coded, fancy font-ed lists. she made multi-rowed within one cell tables in colored pens using perfect, architect handwriting (that i still attempt to imitate, to no avail) and sometimes printed from the computer, or used pre-printed assignment sheets in flashy colors. she was my listmaking guru. unfortunately, her superior organization skills could not be acquired via osmosis (we shared a carrel wall during first year, and i hoped the wood would pick up her talent and transmit it to me as my arms rested on the desktop). on a side note, i also started reading that book at a friend's house, but never finished it or purchased it for myself - but my favorite part was learning about listing the actions required to determine the best steps to get things done. when i write out my actions needed, i try to use pretty colors and architect handwriting, in case that helps.

Angy said...

im not a list maker >< maybe i should start :P