April 24, 2009., Bethesda, Md. To Do Lists.

I have lived my life with to-do lists. They have allowed me to function at high efficiency. I figured out early in my life that thinking is hard but doing is easy, so once I figured out what needed to be done, I was able to get things done. I have lived my life hostage to my lists. One of the joys of living at our place in Mexico is that we have no lists. No tasks need to be done other than eating and laundry. For two weeks this is glorious. This last time was the first time we spent three weeks by ourselves in Mexico and by the Monday of week three both Ken and I agreed to try to change our tickets and visit our Texas family right now. It was time to get back to the real world of having a to-do list. Of course, we were not able to change our plans, so we just lazed around a few more days before heading home. When planning the trip we talked about the three weeks and decided that we would try it out. Now we know. Two weeks are fine. Three weeks became boring.

Every morning at every job I have held I think about what I want done that day. I write down my list and check it off through the day. I write a list of people I need to call along with phone numbers, plus address the envelopes I must write notes today. The same is true at the beginning of each week and each month. I think first and then divide up the individual tasks. When all that is done, life becomes easier and I have a great sense of accomplishment. It has worked for me all these years and it is clear that I can only give that up in two week sessions.