Do you ever write lists? Does it bother you when someone does?

I know many people who do. They tell me it’s a sign of an intelligent, highly organized individual.

Others, those who don’t make lists, think people who do are just being anal.

I’m going with intelligent and organized.
I make lists too.

I’ve actually discovered that unless I write some task down on paper, I’m apt to forget about it. Not sure if that’s organizational skills or simply memory loss.

Probably my organizational skill set overcompensating for my low memory strength.

Anyway, I remembered my dad making lists of the day’s work. I used to work for my dad, as a meat cutter.

Growing up at home I don’t remember any lists but simply the knowledge of my week’s chores, do them and get an allowance, don’t do them and face his wrath.

At work, he’d rip off a piece of butcher paper and use a marker to write out the day’s tasks for all of us. He would push us to get the bulk of them done in the morning so “We can coast in the afternoon.” The list did give us some sense of direction.
Not to mention slow boring afternoons.

Then I went to work for the State of Illinois – Dept of Corrections.
Pretty ominous sounding, right.

My supervisor, Darrell, would begin each month by making a list for himself outlining the monthly list of tasks he was going to make for all of us! And then we’d get our lists broken down by each week, and then by each day.
No coasting in the afternoons either.

I sometimes wonder if this is how “list”eria originated?

(Oh by the way, I told my cousin Dan at lunch the other day I would mention him and Darrell in my next blog.)

But I did learn the value of listing items to do, goals to reach etc.
And it’s been a habit I’ve largely continued to this day.

List making is for accomplishing things! Taking notes is for remembering things.

So what’s the connection to reaching resolutions? (My brother Lou asks all the time)
Well, it’s easier to reach a resolution, if you know what you want.

If you know what you want, you write it down, if you write it down it helps you focus, if you focus you’ll remember it and if you remember it, odds are you’ll reach it – the goal or resolution.

My family writes lists too. All of my daughters (Niki, Sara, and CJ) had beautiful and highly organized wedding celebrations – everything written and planned to the tiniest detail. My son, Kris did too.

CJ included a 14 page itinerary for all in the wedding party. They knew what they were to do and when. They also knew what everyone else was doing and when. I was even in it – walk her down the aisle, don’t cry when giving her away, give great toast, you know, those things one might forget.

Planning for her family vacation next month, she showed me her vacation schedule – for the week, all planned out with each day’s activities, morning, noon and night.
Times for everything too.
I was very impressed – very organized! And intelligent!

And that is the reason to write out lists. It really is a characteristic of highly intelligent, very organized individuals.

And that’s why I do it.

And also because, I’d forget my name if I didn’t have it written on the top of the page.

(I think I covered everyone in this blog, thank goodness I wrote their names down.
Oh wait, can’t forget my bride, Miechelle! Just kidding, I already had it written down.)

JT

Check out this helpful video on using lists for shopping at Target!
You’ll know what you want if it’s written down!