Toss or Keep Your Lists?
It’s always so interesting for me to hear how other people manage their to-do lists. For instance — I thought everyone kept their lists after crossing everything off — just like I do. Apparently that’s not the case. A lot of people toss their lists as soon as they’re done!
I Keep All My Lists!
For me — I like to keep all my work to-dos in Steno pads and keep them in my desk. Each day before I leave work I write a new list for the following day. I run through the next day in my head and list out every phone call, followup email, meeting and shoot I need to take care of the next day. But even when I fill up the pad — I keep it in my desk…just in case.
Sometimes I have to refer back to a note I made on a page or remember what I was doing on a particular day. I just like to have a record of my life — even if it’s a scratched out, doodled on version. Apparently so does Karen Rizzo (no relation) — as she told her memoir, “Things to Bring, S#!t To Do” entirely in lists!
Many People Toss Them
But there are some people who throw out their Post-its the second they accomplish whatever goal they set for themselves. I guess this is a way of physically getting the task out of your way so you can clear your head and move onto the next task.
So what about you — toss or keep?
Madonna is a List Maker Too
Madonna (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
When I was in Paris this summer — there were reports that Madonna was staying at the Ritz Carlton hotel. So me, my friends and hubby did what any sensible traveler would do — we stood in the rain outside the hotel hoping to get a glimpse. That never happened. Oh well — thanks to my hubby Jay I will be going to see her perform live tonight at Yankee Stadium! Yay!
Madonna Makes Lists
But the real reason for this post — is that Madonna is just like you and me — she’s a list maker! Yep — it’s true. There have been several reports of her listing away in her limo while trekking off to events and concerts.
There’s even this to-do list that I found on my new favorite site “Lists of Note” — check it out — it’s a list she wrote in the 1990s:
Our Love Of Lists Makes the New York Times
Just the Grocery List (Photo credit: Krissy.Venosdale)
Lists have officially made it! Did you see the opinion piece in this Sundays New York Times? (such a New Yorker thing to say btw.) It’s basically all about why we all love lists so much. Two friends and my mother-in-law sent me the article.
Here’s some of the highlights from the New York Times piece:
- The web makes lists the easiest way to consume information. (If you’ve ever read an article with a headline like “9 Ways to Make Someone Fall in Love With You” you know what I mean.)
- We have short attention spans.
- We are competative — even in our list making. (Whose bucket list is cooler, who has read the most books?)
- Lists tell stories about your life (What’s in your Netflix cue? It says something about you!)
- Atul Gawande is the man when it comes to checklists. These are very sophisticated list making techniques that surgeons, pilots and construction workers use daily.
- The Roget’s Thesaurus was created by compulsive list maker Peter Roget — from just a little list of words.