List Lust

I cannot imagine my life without lists.
I am a list lover, a listoholic, a listmaniac!


On the go, I have : (oooh, I feel a list coming on!)

•  a list for each week on my study desk (the current week and next week underneath) for major things I would probably never forget to do, but hey, why not have them on a list to be sure

(Aha moment alert- maybe it's my Irishness that loves lists -
to be sure, to be sure, to be sure???!!!)

• a list for each of my work days (Wed & Thurs) with all the things I need to remember to bring and do for school in a notebook
• a list of upcoming birthdays / events with card & gift ideas for each
• a list of bills & payments that need to be made and their due dates
• a list of upcoming pay periods and just how stupidly in debt we are at the end of each
• a list of invited / attending peoples for whichever shindig we're organising next (Hubby's birthday dinner at the moment)
• a list of menu ideas and foods to be bought for our family dinner here on Sunday (Hee hee - that one makes me sound like I can actually cook!)
• an addresses list on the computer
• a list in it's infancy (or collection of lists) of things that I need to do, buy and pack before we head on our first overseas family holiday this month
• a long term list of non essential things to do and buy that would just be a good idea if I find the time (?! - even I find this one a bit 'what the?')

When I need to find the motivation to do something unappealing (like clean the house, right now) I make a list breaking down each of the tasks so I can tick each component off as I go.

I think I love the ticking and crossing through. Yeah, that feels fantastic!!

I like to accomplish stuff - even if that stuff is boring, mundane and pathetic.

Lists helped me to procrastinate beautifully right through school and uni.

Lists have made some awful Professional Development much more bearable.


Lists made our wedding just what we wanted it to be.


Lists filled my days of maternity leave pre Magoo.


Lists made me feel worthwhile when I was adjusting to spending my days at home with a bub.
It was satisfying to cross off  -
"put clothes in washing machine,
start washing machine,
take clothes out of washing machine (hopefully, close to the time the wash actually finished),
hang washing on the line,
bring washing in (when dry),
fold washing,
do not iron washing,
put washing away."
Maybe that's a slight exaggeration! But riveting reading, I'm sure. And it was riveting living too!!

I am a planner and an organiser. I like to be prepared and really don't dig that feeling that I'm forgetting something important - but I don't know what.


At one point (not that long ago) I had 10 pregnant friends. We're a fertile bunch!
I kept a list of these 10 girls in a draft text message on my phone in order of due dates.
????
Did I think that someone might come up to me in the street and ask me to name all my pregnant friends  - and I would feel terrible forever more if I missed one of them out?


Am I afraid that I'm too dumb to remember to do stuff? Do I need lists to be in control?


Do you feel the need to send me a list of psychiatrists in the Northern suburbs after reading this?

I promise I can be spontaneous, fun and "go with the flow".
I've got that pencilled in for Friday afternoons. :-)

Well, I'd better go clean the bathrooms, dust the furniture, wipe the toys, overhaul the kitchen, vacuum the carpet and mop the tiles now so I can earn me some big ol ticks. 

Shar :-)


P.S. Don't worry, sweet diary of mine, you and I will always have our spark.
Lists may come and go, but you and I , we're in it for the long haul (well, 365 days at a time anyway).