To-Do or To-Don't: That is the Question

If you know me, then you know that I think at the speed of a hundred thoughts a minute. With so much going on in my head, it is sometimes hard to think over myself and sort each thought out accordingly. To handle the constant buzz of thought and internal conversation, I find solace in making lists. I literally make lists for everything from grocery shopping to future children names (But I mean come on, who doesn't have one of those). I actually have 2 notebooks, specifically for list-making, that I carry with me wherever I go. While I don't always follow my lists verbatim, it is still helpful to my sanity to have one for referring back to when I am in doubt. So to all of my fellow neurotics out there, here is a list of the different types of lists you can make to keep a level and organized mind.

1. Daily Schedule

I find it extremely hard to go throughout my day successfully, without having a tangible itinerary outlining my events for the day. It makes the day more exciting (not to mention organized) when I am following this particular list, because I feel like I'm my own personal assistant, making sure I get to my committments on time.

I make these daily schedules for everyday of the week, and they outline: my classes and the times I have them at, club meetings, work, mealtimes, and a list of the homework assignments I have to attack that night.

If you haven't ever constructed one of these lists, I highly recommend it because I owe a majority of my attendance to scheduled events, to them.

2. Packing Lists

These types of lists are a necessity when it comes to going on a trip. Any and every trip you go on should always be accompanied with a list of the items you need to bring, or suffer the consequences of having frizzy, uncontrollable hair when you forget to bring your straightener. I find it extremely helpful to organize items to pack into categories. Or lists within a list, if you will.

"Clothing", "Footwear", "Toiletries" and "Miscellaneous" are my go-to categories for packing organization, and they have yet to steer me wrong.

3. Grocery Lists

I've already expressed how near and dear grocery lists are to me in my previous post, but I'm going to mention it again because they are just SO vital. Grocery lists make the world go round. Well, not really, but they definitely make your shopping trips easier. These lists are not only good for serving your memory on what items you need to buy, but they are also good at acting as strict rules for getting only what you NEED.

It is way too easy to stray from your memory's grocery list and buy those Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies because the box makes them look so good and you're feeling nostalgic. but NO.

Practice restraint by sticking to your list.

4. Planners

While this is not a traditional list, planners are definitely an important means of list-making. In my planner, I write down when all of my homework assignments are due, important dates that I need to remember, and even specific to-do items that need to be done during a specific week or before a specific date.

My planner is my life-line and without it, I'm pretty sure the Earth would completely freeze over and there would be absolute chaos with people running through the streets and rampant crime sprees.

That is how important my planner is to me, and to the well-being of the rest of the world.

5. Budgets

If you are like me, then you have a tendency to blow more money than you have. I like to look at all of my purchases as "investments," but even I'm not fooling myself, I have a spending problem. So to handle my outrageous spending habit (or at least trick myself into thinking that I'm handling it) I make monthly budgets for myself.

These budgets inclue all of my necessary expenses: rent, utilities, car bills, grocery money, gas, icecream and all of my predicted expenses: eating out, bar money, clothes, icecream. They also include my incoming money sources so that I can subtract my expenses from it, in order to determine my net profit for the month

(which I tell myself that I will put into savings, but somehow never get around to).

6. Random-Thoughts Lists

Along with the more practical lists, I also feel the need to address more trivial topics, that are still worthy of their own list. These lists are for fleeting thoughts I have, that I like to refer back to: when I have down time, when a specific holiday is coming up, or when I think of something that belongs in a designated list.

For example, I have:

a Bucket List, a Christmas List (to-get and to-give), a Birthday List (this is actually just a list of the different flavored cupcakes that I want to order from Georgetown Cupcakes this year), a Names-For-Future-Kids-List, a Music-To-Download-List, a New-Netflix-Shows-To-Start-List, and a Future-Inventions-That-Will-Make-Me-Rich-One-Day-List.

I would share this last one, but I can't risk someone taking my million-dollar ideas, but I'll give you a hint:

The Vacuu-Pan. It's gonna be big.

7. To-Do Lists

The mother of all lists, the great bambino, the Alpha and Omega, the list that outshines all other lists in existence.

To-Do lists are essential, I repeat: ESSENTIAL if you want to accomplish any tasks that need completing. Unless you have super-human memory capabilities and your brain is a filing cabinet, that operates by the Dewey Decimal System, then you should know and appreciate the functions of to-do lists. The best part about to-do lists is that there are no limits to what they can include. The name itself explains it's purpose: things that you need, want, or have been meaning TO-DO. The possibilities are endless when it comes to To-Do lists, but I suggest two separate kinds that take a broad approach to the classification and organization of tasks.

A "To-Do-Anytime List," and a "To-Do-Now List." In the To-Do-Anytime list, you can include tasks that you can do (you guessed it) at anytime! These might include cleaning, calling your mom, or even making other lists. To-Do-Now lists include the crucial, life-or-death tasks that you need to do for your survival, or just in order to pass a class, such as: homework assignments, payments, business calls, scheduling doctor appointments, etc.

I know what you're thinking, "This lady is seriously crazy." And you're right, I am seriously crazy. Seriously crazy about making lists.

Without lists, I don't know what could happen, I haven't made a list for that... yet.