A Few Questions For List Makers

Lists can be useful to help us remember stuff. In honest moments, some list makers - like me - will confess to deriving some satisfaction when crossing items off a list. And when a list can be tossed because everything on it has been accomplished? That actually can be a mild triumph.

Unfortunately, lists have a way of sometimes evolving. As soon one of my lists expands to include a goal, it's likely that list will be with me for a long time, unless the goal is modest. A similar result follows when any list ends up including one of my projects. Although I try to guard against putting goals, projects, or worst of all - missions - onto any of my lists, often as not, one of those somehow ends up finding their way there. When any list expands in this fashion, crossing items off gets much harder. The chances of tossing a list like that? Slim.

Now, instead of a mild triumph, I've got myself a mild burden. Sane people would likely coach me to stop making any lists. Reasonable advice. List makers on the bell curve: Tried going cold turkey? How long did you last? How much did you miss the moments of satisfaction and that occasional mild triumph? What was the first list you made after falling off the wagon? Mine could be a list of people who gave me that reasonable advice. Probably would be wise to avoid speaking with those folks for a while.