Lists

I am a list maker.  I have a to-do list at home, a to-do list at work, a list of monthly bills (aka my budget), a list of goals for 2011, and on and on.  So how do I manage my lists?  I decided that the easiest way was to create a book of lists.  Well, actually, I have a couple of books of lists.  Lists that change, like my to-do lists, I keep in a composition notebook that I can put in my purse and carry with me.  I also jot down phone numbers or other bits of info that I might need to have at my fingertips.  I just recently got a smart phone, and so far, it's smarter than me.  I'm still a paper and pencil kind of girl.

My other lists go in a binder on a shelf by my desk.  The lists in this book change too, depending on what interests me at the time.  My lists include my goals for 2011, a list of projects that I want to complete, a list of basic pantry supplies (which really helped to set up my pantry), a list of basic first aid supplies, a list of important information for my family, etc.

My most important list is what I half jokingly call "My Book of All Knowledge".  In a small, spiral notebook I have a list with all my user names and passwords for my computer.  I keep this notebook in a safe place so that I don't lose this information.  I can't tell you how many times this list has saved me, especially when I visit a website that I haven't been to in some time.  I know that my computer can save this information, but I'm not comfortable with that, even though I'm the only one with access to my computer.

I know that making lists is a part of who I am, but like anything else, the key is knowing how to manage my lists.  I've found a system that works for me.