List-Making

Are you a list-maker?  I am a list-maker.  I make lists of things to pick up at the grocery store.  I make lists of books I want to read.  I make lists of errands that need to be run.  I make lists of steps of food items to prepare for a big feast.  I keep lists of appointments on a calendar to help clarify where and with which teacher I will be working on each day.  Lately I've been making LOTS of lists!  Yet, there are still some things I forget to add to the list.  Why is that?

I used to make lists as reminders because I was responsible for shuttling children here and there and then back again and I needed the reminder to keep me focused with so much going on and so many places to be.  Now, I make lists as reminders because I KNOW that I won't remember things!

I use sticky notes - with lines - to help me remember.  I use Google Keep because I know that I am slipping both at home and at work.

I am noticing that lots of others seem to rely on lists as well.  I noticed it most recently in some blog posts.  For example, there are the five evening habits of successful people.  When looking at that short list, I decided I need to add walking to my repertoire.  I'm not saying I need to do it at night - I just know I need to add it to some point of my day.  I do read each night before going to sleep.  I wonder what it is Gates is reading, though?  Somehow, I don't think we have or do read the same things because, financially, he seems a bit more successful than me.

I also noticed this list on productivity.  I don't know if I am not stepping outside my comfort zone enough or if I am multi-tasking and that is impeding me from becoming more like Zuckerberg.  Or, maybe the folks I'm hanging with are too negative.  Come on guys!  Be more positive!

I loved the concept of the top ten things we should be informed about in life.  I think it is great to be a bit reflective.  What kind of advice would you give to a younger self?  That question truly made me stop and think...and begin to jot down a list.

Then, this is an entire post focused on important lists to keep if you want to be successful.  I know this concept to be completely true.  I think back on a time when I was asked to write down something that was a goal for five days from that moment, a goal for five months from that moment, a goal for five years from that moment.  I don't recall what I wrote for the first couple of goals but the one I wrote as a goal for five years from that moment was that I wanted to be teaching adults.  Within a couple of years of writing that goal, I was teaching at the local community college on a part-time basis.  Then, four-and-a-half years later I began my current job as an instructional technology coach working with teachers every day to seamlessly integrate student use of technology in their classroom.  I didn't really consciously work toward that because I wrote it down.  I do think it might have happened more because I gave some thought to the idea and worked toward making it a reality.

While I have many of the lists mentioned in the linked posts, I certainly don't have all of them.  Plus, I've got some that aren't even listed - my Christmas gift list, for example.  Some of them mentioned in those posts I think might be valuable and beneficial.  So, guess what I'm going to do as soon as I click publish?  Yep, I'm making some more lists!  How about you?