100 Things #28) I’m a List Maker

I sometimes believe people can be broken down into two very simple categories: list makers and non-list makers.  It might be overly simplistic but it seems to me that no one makes lists some of the time, its either habitual or not.

I’m OCD, list making goes hand in hand with that kind of thinking.  I also believe that list making helps me keep the OCD in check (most of the time).  I even include daily, no though needed, kind of items on my lists.

I keep lists galore, there’s the handwritten one that I keep in a journal that I carry with me everywhere.  This journal keeps a multitude of information handy, measurements for that desk I need, length of a zipper  I need to pick up, websites of note I want to visit, etc.  I also keep and carry with me a palm pilot.  The palm pilot keeps track of things I need to do in my task list (often repeated items from my handwritten lists), appointments on my calender, and there’s a great function to keep track of books I want to read and my shopping list.

Honestly, 99.8% of the time, my lists are way to optimistic.  I struggle with thinking that if I’d just buckle down, I’d get more done, but I know deep down, I just can’t fit everything into my days.  I’m blessed with my Jeff who helps me keep it all in perspective.  I have read that there is psychological benefit to crossing things off of lists, I know it makes me feel good but that’s not why I keep lists.  I keep lists for a multitude of reasons, it makes me feel more organized, it helps me focus, it fills a need to write, it helps me dream, and probably the biggest reason of all: I’m just hardwired to do so.