Make a List, Check it Twice
Posted by John Draper | Filed under Good ideas, Life Lessons
People who don’t actively manage their money always have a good excuse for why they don’t: they don’t have time, they’re too busy, they just can’t remember. Really? You can’t remember to pay your bills on time? Hmmm.
The world is filled with people who are themselves filled with good intentions. The gap between intention and outcomes can sometimes see like the Grand Canyon. So it is with my sweet Alex, who has every intention of doing the things she knows she must. Follow-through, however, presents a challenge. And so I recommended to Alex that she start a List Book.
I begin almost every day of my life with a list. Whatever it is I have to do, I have to get it out of my brain and on to a piece of paper. Yah, I know I have an old brain now, but that’s not why. I’ve been doing this for EVER. If I try to keep all the stuff I have to do in my brain, my head hurts, I forget stuff and I never get any sense of satisfaction when I’ve done the deed.
People often use their brains as a sort of catch all, relying on their memories to keep them on track. Problem is, as soon as your brain has to go into overdrive to solve a problem, the To-Do List gets shuffled into the background. People who forget to pay their bills, forget to go to a meeting, forget to pick up their kids from school! OMG! And it’s all because they have too much going on in their brains at once.
How often have you said to yourself, “I don’t need to write THAT down, I’ll remember”? Ha! And then you promptly forgot, right?
The only way I can stay on track with my VERY busy days is to put all the stuff I HAVE to do down on paper. And you know what? I find because I don’t have to worry about remembering, I’m a lot less stressed. I don’t have to keep track of a thousand little things, so I can focus on the one thing I’m doing right now. And I’m way less likely to take on a commitment that I can’t manage because when I look at my list I have a keen sense of just how much MORE I can do.
And then there is the absolute pleasure of getting to the end of the day and seeing all the things I’ve stroked off my list: my accomplishments. If there’s stuff still on my list, that’s no problem, I simply start my next list with those items.
Getting started with a List Book can seem so simple that it just isn’t worth the effort. I mean, you have to carry that list around with you all the time, Gail? Really? And what if you forget the List?
Hey, establishing any new skill takes some effort until you have the process in place. But once you’re down with the List Book, you won’t dream of going potty without it.
Start by getting a great big piece of paper and writing down every single thing you need to do. (No, you won’t have to do this every day, but you want to start by emptying out your brain. I call this the Master List.) Jot down everything you need to do. You’re not trying to organize anything yet, just emptying out your brain. Write down everything you can think of that you need to do. Wash the dog. Empty the dishwasher. Clean out the cupboard (or room) that you’ve just been tossing crap into. Get the lawnmower fixed. Call the dentist. Write a birthday card. Pack up the stuff you’re giving to Good Will. Take the stuff to Good Will. Keep writing. Everything you have been planning to do, promising to do, wishing you had done.
Once you’ve emptied out your brain, you will feel lonely. With all those conversations that have been going on in your head gone, there will be space for the air to circulate and thoughts to come together constructively. Armed with your Master List, it’s time to figure out what you can reasonably accomplish.
Turn to the first page of your List Book. Look at your Master List and pick the one thing you HAVE to do tomorrow. Date your page, write this item down and stroke it off your Master List. Add whatever else you HAVE to do tomorrow to your List Book page, and stroke it off your Master List. Then fold up your Master List and stick it in the back of your List Book. (You can attach an envelope to the inside back cover of your List Book to hold your Master List.)
As you accomplish the things on your List Book page, stroke them off. As other things pop up, add them to your List Book page. Once a week, get out your Master List and transfer at least two items to your next day’s List Book page. You’re whittling away at “all those things you just have to do but never did” while dealing with your current day’s priorities. And if there’s anything new cluttering up your brain that’s not a priority for tomorrow’s List Book page, add it to your Master List. There, it’s out of your brain and you won’t have to think about it again until you add it to your List Book page.
If you’ve never used a list to keep yourself on track, try this for a couple of weeks. You might be surprised how liberating it is to get all that crap out of your head.
December 17, 2008 at 8:27 am
I think the List Book is a great idea. I am always making lists, and people usually make fun of me for it. They say I am too organized…and then I prove it by showing them my budget binder afterwards! I make lists because I am very forgetful, and I know if I don’t write it down, half the time it won’t get done. Thanks for the tip!
December 17, 2008 at 8:30 am
I make lists too Gail. I love the idea of a Master List.
Another suggestion is to get a few small note pads from the dollar store and keep them handy. I try to write down ideas I get when I think of them, like ideas for paintings or gifts.
Crossing items off the lists is such a nice feeling of accomplishment.
: )
December 17, 2008 at 9:11 am
I’m a list person too – and it really helps! I like the idea of a Master List though. That will be something I am going to do for this year. Lots of little projects I want to get done, and if I put them on a bigger list – I know they WILL get done! Thanks, Gail!
December 17, 2008 at 9:58 am
I am soooooo not a list person. If I make a list, I lose the list.
I’ve tried lists in several ways and they always go missing. Sometimes my husband and I go grocery shopping and he reminds me to make a list. Then I leave it at home. I’m kinda cursed, I guess. Bad memory, and can’t keep hold of lists.
This big sheet of paper though — this Master List. I think maybe it might help. We shall have to try it out and see!
Here’s hoping!
December 17, 2008 at 10:00 am
Wow, you have such great (yet so simple) ideas. I used to be sooo organized, I used to write letters to people and actually send them; make lists of things I wanted/had to get done; write down the things I did in the day – and the times I did them! I’m not sure what happened to me!! I try to make lists, but I turn the page and forget I wrote the list!!! Sad I know. I have an empty notebook here that I will now turn into my list book…would you recommend having separate books for biz and personal??…I think I answered my own question that it makes sense to separate them. Where have you been all my life??? Big huge Cape Breton hug!!!!
December 17, 2008 at 10:01 am
I never occurred to me that some people might not use a list… I rely on them. I have a learning disability and would never be able to function otherwise. I find my work list the most helpful: I take 5 minutes before I leave the office each day and make a list of what I need to do the next day. I’ve forgotten to do that once or twice and everything’s a mess for the rest of the week. It’s amazing the little things you can forget if they’re not written down somewhere!
December 17, 2008 at 11:07 am
I too live by lists. I get teased-I have a list at work, I keep a running grocery list on the fridge and make a big list before I go to the store after planning my meals, I have a list of gifts to buy and ones I’ve bought (with budget right there so I don’t go overboard), I will make a list for the weekend tasks, I used to make lists for homework/study planning, I make lists to prepare for trips… you get the idea. Lists are how I got through my dissertation-if I didn’t break things down into smaller tasks on a daily or weekly basis, I never would have gotten the monstrosity done. Each time I checked a small task off my list, I felt a little teeny bit closer to the end goal, which so very far away for such a long time. Long live the list!!
December 17, 2008 at 11:26 am
I’m also a list-maker and scheduler (though my family teases me too).. I don’t schedule every minute, but I find that by pooling tasks together efficiently I free up a lot of time… it also feels like I do things more purposefully, instead of randomly..
December 17, 2008 at 11:31 am
funny, I usually write lists for me and my husband. We are both really forget ful people or we are really busy. He asks for a list because he will forget things he has agreed to do..I give him a master list where were we discuss a reasonable timeframe of when we would like to have the job around the house done.
I laughed at the comment “you will feel lonely. With all those conversations that have been going on in your head gone, there will be space for the air to circulate and thoughts to come together constructively.”
Sometimes I feel like I am going crazy trying to remember everything for anyone! Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night because I forgot something and need to run downstairs and write it down.
Last week we even taped a huge piece of paper on the tv screen that read OFFICE so we wouldn’t forget (again) to watch our favorite show together
December 17, 2008 at 12:00 pm
The list is not a bad idea, except what usually happens is that I make a list, set it down somewhere while I do something else and then can’t find it again. Same thing happens with tools, drill bits and many other things. So I don’t bother with lists anymore, except for groceries. This is why I own half dozen hammers and over twenty #2 Robertson screwdriver bits.
December 17, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I used to be a consumate list maker, until I had kids that is. I found that even the best laid plans would go out the window when they were younger, so I got out of the habit. Now I’m slowly getting back into some form of organization to the chaos so I don’t feel so overwhelmed every single day. I’ve started a folder on my work desktop for each month so I know what I’ve worked on or what’s coming up that month or future months. My grocery bill was severely reduced thanks to getting back to flyer browsing and list writing again, so that’s been the proof I needed to remind me that I was craving order again in my disorganized life. Long live Lists (and remembering to carry them around). My next list is getting smaller with each Xmas gift I get to cross off for the individuals I have to buy for still.
December 17, 2008 at 12:35 pm
“even the best laid plans would go out the window”:
That’s true for me even without kids. I guess the key to my lists is that they usually don’t go in chronilogical order. I just make it my goal to get as many things on the list done as possible that day, however I have to do it.
December 17, 2008 at 1:03 pm
I am the Queen of List Makers. In fact my husband says I’m overly organized. My problem is if I don’t write it down – I forget to do it. I have a Palm pilot – which I back up regularly on the computer. Then I print out each day’s Do’s – and like Gail says, cross things off as I get to them. Speaking of which – I better go and do some of the do’s right now.
Best wishes Gail & the gang.
December 17, 2008 at 1:13 pm
If I had to guess I would say that in couple situations, it is usually the female of the species that is responsible for the list… as I am, as my mom is. I LOVE lists. My partner doesn’t. It is one of our only major differences.
I highly recommend Google calendar (or any other free electronic calendar) – it’s super easy to input standing events (e.g. housekeeping activities, tv shows, birthdays…). You only have to print one month at a time, and you can just write on top of the printed copy or re-print if there are major changes. I have some kind of calendar widgeton my google desktop, which is set at my homepage, so that if I surf the web at home, the tasks for the next few days are staring at me in the face.
I’m not the cook in the family but I’m usually at least partially responsible for the grocery list, so I try to have somewhat of a meal plan in mind so that we have all the necessary ingredients.
December 17, 2008 at 1:24 pm
I have this thing, it’s really handy, it’s called a pocket weekly day planner.
It gives me about 2″x3.5″ of space per day in which I write down everything I have to do. Including appointments, classes to teach, classes to take, to do lists, etc. It cost about 6$ in Staples. I’ve been doing this since 1998 and I keep them for posterity.
December 17, 2008 at 1:46 pm
I bought a white board that I write whatever needs to be done. I’ve written my to-do-list for next year. Now, I am using Google Calendar do send me notifications about things that I need to do next week.
As I spend a lot of time in front of my computer at work and also when I get home, this is the way that I’m doing. Works, so far
December 17, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Lately I’ve been using “Remember the List” – a website that allows you to create online lists and prioritize the things you have to do. It’s great – I love it! It’s at rememberthemilk.com.
How to – I totally want a whiteboard too!
December 17, 2008 at 2:33 pm
I have been using lists all my life – and have been the butt of jokes because of it. Now I have a PDA (mine is a palm pilot). I have daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal and annual lists that are divided into categories such as:
house/errand/email/phone/follow-up/organize/pay/school/mail – recurring items are set up to repeat automatically.
When people tell me that they are not list makers, I don’t understand how they function. If I didn’t have lists, nothing would get done. I would be too busy worrying about all the things I have to do.
December 17, 2008 at 3:55 pm
WoW! I guess Im not alone with writing a list for everything in my life…:) I didnt think so many other pple did this. My family/friends find it terribly funny that I write everything down, that I have to schedule everything.
I am known as the one who “needs to chk her calendar first” because you may miss something that is coming up…if you dont write it down. As crazy as this may sound…Ive often thought that if my house burned down to the the ground (knock on wood that doesnt ever happen) I would be lost without my calendar. How would I know what was coming up? How would I know when our oil changes in our vehicles were due? when its time to change the furnace filter?
Everything in my entire life is written down in my handy dandy calendar. My husband often jokes that if he wanted to know when the last time he “scratched his a**”….he could just look in my calendar, cuz no doubt Id have that written down too. Plz excuse the humour, certainly dont want to offend anyone….but its just the way it is..
December 17, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Fiona, lol…love the humour, I also didn’t realize how many people kept lists. I’m sure my husband would say the same thing….thanks for the laugh!
December 17, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Fiona, that is so funny! Thanks for the laugh!
I am a list maker too and a firm believer in using a daytimer. I still use an “old-fashioned” book style one instead of an electronic one though. There is just something about physically writing something in it that helps me to remember.
When my 3 kids were younger the calendar in the kitchen was the “go-to” spot to see who had to be where when. I couldn’t have functioned without it.
December 17, 2008 at 4:17 pm
I so love that my 2009 Gail/TDDUP planner has a “Things to do” section every week!!!
If I don’t write it down I certainly forget about it. I’m with Arthur J.-where I’d end up losing my list..especially when I’d hit the grocery store…Once Dec. 29th hits, it’ll be in my TDDUP Planner that I’ll be toting around with me everywhere!
December 17, 2008 at 9:09 pm
is everybody exited for DEC 29th or what??? It can come fast enough to start using the planner…. wify is going to be the “cash” manager
December 17, 2008 at 9:24 pm
I make lists. And I’m guilty of forgetting where I put them too. I like the list book idea and thing I’ll do it!
Thanks!
December 17, 2008 at 10:53 pm
I love lists!!! And I have lots of list books too.
Daily lists for short term stuff, Life lists for goals and asperations, Dream lists (what I would do if time, money and education were no limits), House list (both dream home for the future and things I am saving up for to renovate in this house)…. Lots and lots of options, and it is really satisfying and fun going over these lists checking things off, adding things, crossing things out as they aren’t relevant anymore.
Making a list of things is my way to solidifying things prioritizing so I don’t feel overwhelmed and the easy first step to accomplishing the goals!!!!
December 18, 2008 at 12:42 am
Funny I am SOOOO a list person I make master lists sub lists you name it. When my kids have jobs to do i write it on a list and they get great satisfaction out of crossing it off. Ill never forget the time i went out from about 10am ot 3 pm and i left my 2 girls aged 14 and 16 home with a list of jobs to do. When i saw them at 3 they said they were hungry and i asked why they hadnt had lunch and they said it was because i never wrote it on the list. I can not imagine my life without lists especially when i have a birthday party to plan for 30 people or for christmas. I would go bonkers trying to remember what i had what i needed etc. I have a friend who does not believe in lists and she is constantley forgetting stuff. I love my lists and wouldnt dream of not using them.
Love your show Gail.
December 18, 2008 at 2:30 am
The females in my family are all list makers – I don’t think I could function without one. By listing everything I have to get done, I can prepare for out-of-the-house trips, and arrange the order of stops to save time and travel. Camping is a breeze if you plan, and list, all the contraptions/food, etc. that you may need for your holiday. It is such a huge confidence boost, when you wonder where your day went, to look back at that list with stroked off items and realize what you accomplished. And, it is a good starting point for the next day – just carry forward unfinished tasks. I would love to find the TDDUP 2009 planner, can we buy them somewhere without a credit card/paypal??? Not everyone has those…..
December 18, 2008 at 6:47 am
Suzanne, sorry hon. Because it’s the first year and we had a short time-line, we were only able to make it available online. Who knows what the future holds. It depends on how well the sucker sells. g
December 18, 2008 at 4:58 pm
I use lists a ton. I usually make a list before I leave work for the next morning and at night before I go to sleep. At some time in college I found I slept better because my brain wasn’t busy all night trying to remember something. I don’t live by a list but when I am stressed I make one if for no other reason than to cross items off as I complete them.
December 20, 2008 at 12:56 am
I am pretty much a list girl and I love my lists. I use colourful post its in all shapes and sizes so that the list becomes a fun list rather than a list of chores. But when I started out, it wasn’t a whole of fun cuz I would have a long list of things to do and at the end of the day, the list remained just as long. It was pretty depressing. But it also got me thinking that if the items were important enuffL for me to do yet I didn’t, I am doing it all wrong. So I didn’t give up on the list. Like Gail said, I used the list to empty my brain cuz I have tons to do and have people contantly coming up to me wif things that I need to attend to. When I do my walkabout, I carry my list and jot down things. it helps remove the stress of having to remember everything. And I review my list a few times each day to see if I am on task and it feels great to cancel the things off the list. I have also learnt to prioritise. Things that HAD to be completed, I would have a star or a smiley face next to it. These would be the things I would look at at the end of the day to see how I did for the day. as for the lil things that I may not have completed, I tell myself its okay instead of feeling really lousy about it. its about making the list work for us instead of us being controlled by the list. At least thats how I use my list
March 18, 2009 at 1:03 pm
My sister and I both are big list makers. I have always had a daily planner that goes EVERYWHERE with me, and that is my list book. I have a master list that is an extra sheet fitted into the daily planner and it gets altered and moved ahead as the weeks go by.
I employed the same tactic when I was working; I had a notebook that I carried everywhere and kept notes on projects, conversations, conf. calls, as well as actual “to do” items, etc. I’d be completely lost without it.
You don’t need to pay big $$ for a fancy-schmancy day planner (binder and special sheets). You can get a nice notebook in the size you prefer at a dollar store or Zellers, etc.