I admit it. I’m addicted to lists.
Lists are the best thing ever. Whether it’s your groceries or the things you got to do today, lists keeps things organized and keeps you on track. When you have your hands in a lot of things, lists are like that little flotation donut you find on a boat in the sea of adulthood. #MetaphorPoints
I cam across an article recently that said essentially that lists are beginning to “ruin our lives.” The gist of the piece was that since we are approaching life in a goal-orientated, task-based way, that we rob ourselves from the chance to “live life to the fullest” or to take in the experience of life itself.
A valid argument, but I offer two counterpoints:
1) The only people who “live life to the fullest” are those straining hard to write something interesting for their dating profile.
AND
2) What’s wrong with taking in the daily success of completing a task list?
I say this not to brag, but on a given day I’m usually contacting potential and current clients for gigs, working on personal projects, and general housekeeping (literal or metaphorical… like promoting this here blog). Though it may seem like busy work, seeing all of those tasks in a scary list actually empowers me to get them done as efficiently as possible. Now, I’m not saying they are procrastination proof (because frankly, nothing is) but it does help in the war against lazy. Did I ever tell you that writers and other creatives are their own worst critics? Because we are.
“Okay Flobito,” I tell myself. “If you don’t do your weekly post, your three or so readers are going to be disappointed. You put yourself in that ‘New Post Every Monday’ box, and now you have to battle out of it.”
So back to the lists. I actually keep three. There’s a Daily (ie “To Do” List) a Yearly (Things I want to do in 2015) list and and Overall (aka “The Bucket List”). I always check in from time to time to see where I land with each of these. Sometimes I surprise myself and tick off things with glee and other (or most) times, I tell myself I have to get myself in gear.
Because frankly, these things aren’t going to do themselves.
-F
Flobo Boyce 