on my list!

The Ten Commandments. The Bill of Rights. “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” Some famous lists that hold their place in history.

Lists are useful because they document what we ordinarily forget. Memory strongly prefers internal structure, and without this structure, remembering is hard work. People naturally take things one at a time. What feels like parallel processing is often sequential, with several tasks performed one at a time quickly. The linear layout of a list is friendly to our processing. Lists convey a lot of information in relatively few words. Lists are concise and orderly. Lists are easy to write and efficient to read. There’s no need for complex sentences or paragraphs.

I love making lists. None of my lists will hold a place in history but day by day they sure do keep me organized and on the right track.

I hand write my lists. Having them on my phone just doesn’t work for me. I love seeing the list grow shorter as I physically cross off a completed item. Such a sense of accomplishment as the list is finished, crumpled up, and tossed in the trash can!

Depending on the need, my lists can be long or short. Recently there have been a lot of short ones and Post-It Notes stuck to my computer come in quite handy. These list sites around Ohio for an adventurous day trip, firework displays to celebrate the 4th of July, songs to put on a playlist, ideas for seeds to plant in next year's garden, to-dos, and Christmas ornament ideas for a few of my kids. Yes, these lists like they're all over the place but all are relevant to some point in time.

I also try to write a daily gratitude list which helps me consciously focus on what's good in my life. There is a lot of good around in big events and small moments. Writing down positive moments helps to keep a forward-looking focus in uncertainty and keeps an awareness of all the good things that are present in life.