So why is it we like to make lists? Are you a master list maker? We all do them and have them. We make and use lists for many reasons. For instance, we use lists as an aide to sort out our thoughts when making an important decision. We make a list help complete our necessary chores. They aid us in meeting a deadline at work. We can’t forget the list of things we want to do before we die. We give these lists all kinds of names: To Do’s, Projects, Honey Do’s, Priorities, Projects and Bucket Lists, etc. We order them, prioritize them and carry them around on dog-eared pieces of paper.
Master List Maker
Aside from the natural desire to complete a set of tasks: is our list making is born out of a need to feel a sense of accomplishment. Especially when we mark something off.
Admit it, we all put something on our lists that we’ve had already completed, just to be able to cross it off, giving us a sense of satisfaction showing how we’re making progress.
Our out list created so that we don’t want to forget anything important? At times, I believe this to be the case. Because we’re so busy with the minutiae of life, to ensure we don’t miss something important, we find ourselves including these big important things on our lists of tasks or desires.
I believe our need to make a list is based on a little of both the need to not forget and to gain a sense of accomplishment for completing the items or tasks. It really is an invaluable tool in our day-to-day lives. Lately, I have noticed that a lot of people have been talking about their lists. They are wide ranging, of all varieties, and they have greatly resonated with me. How could they not, because I too am a master list maker. My friends would tell you I am a bit anal when it comes to this sort of thing. I would say it’s because I like to be organized … 🙂. My lists are for just about every conceivable reason, such as groceries, the day’s tasks, long term & short term projects and goals or anything else that I can itemize. My day would not be complete without a list of some sort.
The daily list of things to do can be revealing.Is it also because we don’t want to forget anything important? At times, I believe this to be the case. Because we are so busy with the minutiae of life, to ensure we don’t miss something important, we find ourselves including these items in our lists of tasks or desires. Is it also because we don’t want to forget anything important? I find that I compile a (more detailed) list when I have a lot of things to complete by a specific deadline, self-imposed or not. Some who know me would argue that this is just about every day. For me, it is an aide to determine the order in which to finish each item efficiently, thus completing the list in good order, offering time for more fun things. Now, how can that be so wrong? 🙂
This weekend was no exception. I had a very busy week planned and needed to complete all my chores so that they wouldn’t be a distraction later on.
There are a few lists that I have that are a running record. This list includes things I would like to do in my lifetime, things I would like to repeat, and the unwritten implied list of things I never want to do again. I also have a habit of starring the things that I see as the most important. That helps me to focus on doing those items first.
So what do I have on my running list? For those who are interested, here goes: (Note: These items are not in any particular order of importance. It is just a list. The stars are the key.)
- Cruise to Alaska
- Hike the Grand Canyon
- Visit the Pyramids
- Go to the Great Wall of China
- Visit our foreign exchange students in their home countries (9 in total)
- Visit Australia and New Zealand
- Take a photography class
- Have a girl night on my patio
- Visit, England, Scotland, France and Norway again
- Return to my pen & ink drawing
- * Spend more time with my family
- Have the time to garden every day
- Create a successful blog
- Win the lottery (I wish!! … it would help if I bought a ticket on more than a rare occasion)
- Visit the major art museums in the world
- * Spend quality time with my husband every day
- * Have lunch with a friend every week
- * Make a new friend every month
- Write a book on new manager struggles
- * Create a family cookbook
- * Walk or move in some form every day
…….. and on it goes
There is one list we have that often goes unspoken and unwritten unless we’re asked or prodded into doing so. That is a list of our hopes, dreams, and desires. Many may refer to it as their Bucket List. Whether we write it down or not, this list is a reflection of what we see as important at different points in our lives. It’s what we think of as the most significant things to do or accomplish in our lives, and it changes with time. What is important to us in our 20’s isn’t as important to us when we are in our 30’s, 40’s or 50’s, etc.
With all kidding aside, lists are important to us in many ways. It helps us to review and set our priorities for the short term and the long term. Somehow by writing a specific item down, in whatever form we choose, gives it credence, impelling and empowering us to complete the items or tasks. Sometimes it helps us to sort out what is truly important. All lists are perpetual and are never really completed because we’ll always find something to replace what we have cross something off.
Our very personal Bucket Lists are a reflection of our lives, always evolving and ever changing to reflect whom we are, where we are and what we see as important. In a way, it’s a powerful tool to help check ourselves in regards to what really matters. It will often point out how important the little things are, things we often take for granted. Things like spending quiet time with ourselves, walking, talking and holding hands with our significant other or watching a gentle breeze pass through the leaves of a tree. When we take the time to sort out our priorities, we’re better able to see what really matters. Often it is not at all what we think or are told is important.
It is my opinion; our journey in life would be pretty chaotic without our lists. They provide us with so much with so little effort, and we really do use them. I am happy to say, as a master list-maker, that our making of lists will always be part of our daily lives. These lists will continue to provide us with all the things they do, important and mundane, now and into the future.
How do you view your lists? What are your lists like and how do you use them.
Life’s journey continues…
If you enjoyed my “Mia Slavenska, Woman of Courage,” take a look at Pretend Listener, Judge A Book By Its Cover? and Confidence, What Is It?.