I’m a closet list maker. Are you? There’s not a day goes by that I don’t have a hastily scribbled list of things I need/want/would like to do during the day. And while I don’t always get everything done on that list, I figure I’m less likely to forget it if I write it down.
I have all kinds of lists around my house. Grocery lists, home renovation project lists, work-related lists, and Christmas presents/cards/usual family letter lists. Countless notepads have met with my trusty pen. And I know I’m not the only one. I have a girlfriend who writes down lists of things she hasn’t managed to get done and leaves them in the fruit bowl. Her husband knows there’s always something to do if there’s paper in that bowl, so he picks a list and does what’s on it. You have to like her style. Clearly, she has him well-trained. Of course, this method only works if you have a husband who has the ability to realise what those bits of paper are there for. LOL.
I’m a big advocate of lists for my kids too. Whenever they want extra money for things (which, hellooo, is all the time!) out comes a list of things they need to do before they get it. Eliminates the need for them to think, you know? It’s more a case of don’t argue about it, just do it, okay? And without the attitude too, thanks.
Lists are pretty much a necessity for a multi-tasker like me. Otherwise I’m likely to get distracted by all the chitchat happening on the internet. Or by the pile of unwatched quality drama I have sitting on my hard drive. I can scan the list for the day, know what I need to get done by school pick-up time and get stuck in! After that, my time is my own.
“Mum! I need my baseball uniform washed by this afternoon!”
“Yes, love, I know… it’s on the list.”
“Mum? My school shoes are too tight.”
“Oh God, are they? Okay, I’ll put it on the list.”
“Honey! I need you to buy me some more pants for work.”
“No worries, darl… I’ve got it on my list.”
“Mum! There’s no more BBQ sauce in the fridge!”
“Okay, mate… on the list!”
Of course, there are times when things don’t always go to plan.
“Woof! Woof woof. Woof.”
“Spencer! Stop chewing my list!”
Honestly, I do try but there are only 24 hours in a day and sometimes they don’t stretch far enough. And you know, by the time I did the washing, bought new school shoes, did some paperwork in the office and went to the Workwear shop, I ran out of time to go grocery shopping. We can live without BBQ sauce for another day, can’t we? But don’t worry.
It’s on the list.
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