I’m a list person.

I love making lists, checking them off, re-writing them on a fresh piece of paper every morning and using them to make sure life will continue on without getting collection notice calls or realizing half way on my drive to Florida that I left the car charger for my phone on the kitchen counter.

Lists are a security blanket to mitigate my spotty short-term memory.

They are also a form of instant gratification. I get a little thrill each time I can cross off a completed item.

In fact, list making to me is a form of stress relief. If I’m worried about getting something done, I write it down and then don’t worry about it until I have time to refer to my list again.

In my love of lists I tried using the tasks application on my blackberry storm. But I’ve found it to be a cumbersome process. Moreover, I often forgot to check the list, leaving many a thing undone for weeks.

But if I have a piece of paper in my wallet or purse, all I have to do is whip it out and look it over. Hell, I can even check the list while on the phone at the grocery store.

My quest for making an organized and easy to read list is insatiable.

I try leaving rows between the items. I try putting an X on the left side of tasks when completed, but sometimes I decide to cross them off entirely.

When a list is marked up to the point that its starting to look unorganized I pull out a fresh sheet of paper and start the list over again.

Sometimes I write them in pencil so I can erase and revise at will. Note, I also have a love of sharpened no.2 pencils. Sometimes I use color-coded markers or just a blue pen. Black ink is not my friend because it doesn’t stand out enough, but if that’s all I have I’ll use a black ink pen.

Right now I’m using a legal pad. It fits nicely in my bag next to my computer. And yes, my lists are that long.

Here are some things I keep lists/spreadsheets for:

  • daily to-do’s
  • budget tracking
  • savings for big-ticket items
  • upcoming, pending, potential BeadforLife events
  • upcoming travel plans (with expected dates, expenses and to-do lists to prep)
  • To buy: groceries, household items
  • To call, to email, to return call/emails
  • Work to-do
  • Story ideas for blog and for work
  • Stories I’m writing/have turned in this week for work
  • A camping packing list
  • Packing list for flights/vacation (within US) short-term
  • Long road trip packing list
  • Things I want to do
  • Books I want to read

In fact, by writing this and posting this blog entry I have yet another thing I can cross off my list with my sharpened no.2 pencil. Wohoo.