checking off my list!

my list of "to-do"s is HUGE right now!  the problem is... until yesterday, i hadn't actually made my list... all the things "i keep forgetting to do" were not getting done, but instead were hanging, quite rudely, over my head.

i am a big fan of lists. i just love making lists. i find it very satisfying to write things down.   and crossing things off.  i love coming across old lists while cleaning and realizing i had LONG since completed everything on it.  i find little to be more satisfying than completing a list. :)

in grad school i was glued to my laptop, and i became a big fan of 'sticky notes' on windows. nothing fancy, but very practical... and a great way to procrastinate from the work i should have actually been doing on the computer.  i'd have about 5 different colored boxes on my screen... class assignments, household duties, lists of potential apartments/houses, grocery list, board exam topics.  but it's a little bit less thrilling to close a box than it is to draw a big X or a squiggly line.

then in the fall, i (finally) became a member of the smart phone culture, and fell in love with the "Any List" app.  now, crossing things off is a little more exciting, because a mere tap causes a big fat red line to run across the item!  the grocery list feature even categorizes my list by section of the store so i can be really efficient and cross off my list even faster... and clear my checks to save my list for the next time!

but, even with these fancy list-making technologies, e-lists just don't have the same power.  my electronic notes get ignored and forgotten about amidst all the other texts and emails and reminders popping up on the tiny multi-purpose screen.  and my computer had been gathering dust since i hadn't used it in over a week.

i moved to a new house about a week ago, and besides having heavy shoulders, i am still so unsettled and many of my belongings are trapped in unlabeled boxes!  but yesterday, i just had to find a special something.  the search was on- i knew if i could dig out these supplies i would be set.  yep, i scrounged up a good old fashioned notepad and a pen ... and my life changed!  there is nothing like classic ink and paper to get me motivated!  and OH did it feel good to cross off things like formal address changes for postal service, my job, bank, the state board, and others, find my lost w2 from a job i left last March, DO MY TAXES (granted i am extremely uncomplicated), empty the dishwasher, water my flowers, call the electric and gas companies to change the account names, mail my car payment, and do two loads of laundry..... things i had needed to do for WEEKS, wrapped up all in one night.

TO DONE!