1/1/07

A Fresh Start

I'm a list maker. I make a new list every week, carrying over old tasks and adding new ones. I even have a task template to help me schedule my week. I love being able to cross things off my list; it gives me a great sense of accomplishment. I also love knowing everything that I intend to do; it makes me feel organized and busy. In fact, if I don't write something down on my list, you can bet it won't get done. My lists tend to be a brain dump of everything I'm thinking about, and it's like once I release it, it's gone. I lay in bed at night with thoughts swirling around in my head, and if I don't get up and write them down I will never get to sleep.

I can't find my current list, which must be hiding under the piles of Christmas decorations that need to be packed away and the new gifts and toys that haven't found a place yet in my home. So I decided that it's a new year, I'll just start a brand new list. That may sound simple to you, but it's a big deal to me. Surpsingly, I feel pretty good about my decision. Normally I agonize over the things I wrote on the missing list that I will never remember to do. Today, I consider those things tasks of last year. If I can't remember them now, they must not be critical to my survival.

Phew! It feels good to start fresh. Well, I'm off to make my new list! Happy New Year to all.

1 comment:

L.L. Barkat said...

List making is good for the mind! A psychologist friend of mine explained to me that the act of writing gets the left side of our brain engaged... which takes away that right-brain sense of being overwhelmed. Pretty cool. (I think I'll go make a list. :)