Amanda Knox’s To-Do List

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To-do ListI’m a news junkie — there I said it. Big news happens and immediately my heart starts pumping and I get that “news feeling.” Once a newsy — always a newsy. Years in a control room will do this to you. This is exactly what happened to me when the Amanda Knox verdict was read.  She was set free and cleared of murder charges. Whoa — no matter what your feeling on the case — it’s shocking.

Immediately I put myself in Amanda’s shoes — if I were being released from prison after four years…what would I want to do?  What did I miss? Who should I visit? How do you take all that in?  So I made a list of to-dos that Amanda Knox should consider:

1. Get an iPad: I tell everyone I know that it’s the thing that you don’t need but that you have to have! She should immediately download Angry Birds.

2. Get Twitter & Facebook accounts: Twitter was just a baby when Amanda Knox was first imprisoned and perhaps she had a Facebook page as a co-ed…but things have drastically changed in four years.

3. Catch up on Movies, TV & Music: Avatar, Betty White’s comeback, Michael Scott’s exit, Oprah’s farewell season, Modern Family, Mad Men, Anything on Food Network, Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse.

4. Eat Foods You Can’t Get in Prison: Green tea, dark chocolate, Pop Chips (so delish,) Pinot Grigio (I had to.)

5. Update Wardrobe: Buy skinny jeans immediately. Read more

Checklist for Going Vegan

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Courtesy: D Sharon Pruitt

This week was supposed to be our first week of “The Vegan Experiment.” Jay came home one day last month and said he wanted to try going vegan for a month. I need to fill you in on Jay’s eating habits — he’s the pickiest eater ever! I mean the pickiest! So this presented quite a challenge.

I told him that a month was a long commitment — so how about if we tried doing it for a week? He agreed. I had seen an Oprah episode where her entire staff went on a vegan diet for a week and the results were pretty stunning. People had more energy, were more regular and felt better overall. Those are pretty great side effects.

Despite my support — Jay chickened out. (haha — I wasn’t even trying to make a carnivore joke!) So I think we’ll try vegan meals once in a while at least– just to see what it’s all about. But I realized that I don’t know the first thing about going vegan — or what I need to get rid of or stock up on in our kitchen. I, of course — reached out to a friend for a list! Read more

Fulfilling Dreams With a List

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A dream may be to visit a winery in Italy for example, or to write a book. Even if this seems difficult at first, there are always options like checking out a plot generator, for example, to start the writing process off. We all have to start somewhere. Another dream could be to own a fabulous apartment, hold a koala…these are all things on my “life list.” You know, the things you want to do before you die — some people call it a bucket list.

I think having goals is essential to living a happy life…that way you always have something to look forward to and work towards. My love of lists of all kinds lead me to MyLifeList.org, where you can record all of your life dreams and wishes. It’s a social media site for goal-oriented people. Soon there will be a magazine called “Achiever” to go along with it.

I’ve been fortunate enough to get to know the CEO Bill Starr and COO Shelagh Braley — they are seriously fabulous people and so motivated to make people’s lives more enriched. Shelagh is this month’s featured list producer: smart, successful and a list nerd!

Q: Why do you call yourself a compulsive list producer?

A: My company, My Life List, is totally based on lists for success in creating your major life experiences. How do you achieve any goals without making a list and a definitive plan? My Life List is based on the concept that if you write down your dreams and engage others to support you, they become achievable goals. Read more

Checklist for Organizing Your Home

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This upcoming weekend is the last free one that I will have in quite a while. So I’m going to make the best of of it! Jay will be watching football and I’ll be organizing! But as you know — I don’t take on a task without being prepared with a checklist. Professional organizer Bonnie Joy Dewkett has helped in the past with my paper problem — and now here’s her list for staying organized at home.

Top 10 Home Organization Tips

by Bonnie Joy Dewkett

Organizing your home doesn’t have to be a challenge. Take the time to effectively plan your projects out. Then give them the thought, attention, and time they deserve.

1. Start by writing down your organizing goal. Don’t start with “organize the garage.” Start with WHY you want to get organized. For example, “I want to organize my family room, so that I have more time with my kids” or, “I want to organize my closet, so that I have a less stressful morning routine.”

2. Next, write down the space you want to organize. From there, identify the smaller steps you will need to take to do so. This will make the overall project less daunting, and will create a great “to-do” list. This can seem like a big task, but making the smaller to do list will show just how much better it will make everything else. For example, in a garage, you may write down the following: Read more

Keep Track of Your Lists

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To-do lists aren’t limited to just items you need to pick up at the grocery store. I make to-do lists for books to read, restaurants to try, quotes that mean something to me, movies I want to see, names I like, recipes to make, clothes to buy, etc. I basically take notes on everyday life.

Usually I keep a running tab of these lists in my email drafts folder. I may or may not remember to refer to them.  Oh well — at least I try! But now I’ve found a website that will help you keep track of all your running lists and even remind you to check them out again.

The site is called Pistashio and it allows you to “stash” links and items to check out later. The creators have broken the lists up for you into categories. These are Eat & Drink, Watch, Read, Listen and See & Do.  I like all these categories — but I wish I could change some of them and add my own.

One of the things that I really like about this site is that you can share your lists on social media sites and set reminders. The reminders will nudge you to check out your lists and take action on them.  Pistashio is like if your to-do list and Read It Later had a baby.  Check it out and let me know if it helps you keep your lists straight.