Do You Make Lists?

I’m an inveterate list maker. I don’t remember  how old I was when I became a list maker, but I was pretty young. For years I would make lists that required a 48 hour day to complete. If something didn’t get finished, it would roll over  to the next day. I started to do the easier things on the list first, because I could get more things done and the list would grow shorter, not easier to complete, just shorter. Then I realized that the things that didn’t get finished tended to be my priority items, because they took a greater effort or time commitment.

Here’s the method I finally arrived at that satisfies my need to be slightly anal, and also address the priorities I have developed over my life time. I no longer put things on my list I know I am going to do anyway. If I have a doctor’s appointment, I don’t put it on my list. It goes on my calendar so I won’t forget, but it doesn’t go on my list.

The main priorities in my life are my family/friends, my health, my writing, my home, and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. In the morning I consider those priorities and ask myself what  I can do today  to serve/promote those priorities. The rule is to address each one of those priorities every day in some way. It’s a rare day that I don’t complete the tasks on my list. If I have spare time, I just circle around and write a little more, clean out a drawer, call one of my children, kiss my husband, take a walk, work more on a Komen project.

Try it, you may find your life less stressful and more productive.

Sharon