The List
I’m a HUGE fan of “the list”. Do you write lists? I do, and it is the ONLY way I can stay organized. But, my list is horizontal and vertical. I have a list across for “Butler”, “Pharm”, “Yuspie”, “Law School” and “Other”. Then, I list out all the stuff I need to do under each group. Then, I go through and circle the stuff I need to get done in the next 24 hours under each group. This is just the method that works for me. And yes, all this goes in my black Moleskine notebook I drag with me wherever I go. My notebook also holds all my crazy ideas as well. Some of my friends laugh at me about my crazy little notebook. Others try to snatch it…but I don’t let it out of my sight, because it carries my brain!
At the back of my notebook is a list of my annual one pager of goals too. Frighteningly, I’m on target to hit most of them thus far. (Even though I can never find in print that crazy Harvard grad study about those who write down their goals vs. those who don’t and the ones who do succeed at achieving their goals exponentially more than those who don’t…so I’m beginning to think that is an urban legend…) But, I DON’T CARE. If I don’t have it in writing, it just doesn’t stick in my world. Unlike contracts law, it ALWAYS has to be in writing for me rather than just ‘sometimes’ under the statute of frauds.
Where am I going with this? Here: getting and staying organized rocks. Humans just can’t remember everything, and if we can put our brains on paper and get things done, awesome. If you have a different method – apart from my old fashioned notebook idea – great. Do what works for you! But, just don’t let good ideas, good things to do, and good people to help out slip away from you. Life is simply too short for that.
Ok, back to my list!
