When trying to keep track of all that needs to be done or remember what you had planned on doing, many people resort to using lists. I am one of those people. At any given time, I will have several different lists on my desk or in my pocket reminding me things I have to get done, posts I might want to write sometime, what I need to pick-up next time I’m at the grocery store, and any other miscellaneous lists that I might have at that time.

From my experience, lists are a very powerful tool. For one thing, they can save you time. If I don’t have a list, I will be bound to forget something at the store and have to make an additional trip to go get it. They can also save time because rather than sitting there and pondering what it was you had thought of that you wanted to get done, you write it down when the thought occurs and simply check your list later to recall what it was.

Many people prefer to go high-tech and keep their lists on their computers, in their email, or on a PDA. While this may work good for some people, I find that hand-written lists are more satisfying to me. For one thing, I seem to get more satisfaction from crossing an item off my list than from deleting the line from a text file. Another benefit I find is that, if I am compiling a new list, when something comes to mind that I want to add to the list, I can easily jot it down on the list without having to find the correct text file to add it in to or get to the right screen on a PDA.

I think many people do use lists to help keep themselves organized, but if you don’t, I would strongly suggest it. I’m not saying everything has to be list based, but it seems to help me remember things I either want or need to get done. Also, by writing an item down on the list, it makes life less stressful because I am not trying to remember everything I need to get done.

If I am in the middle of working on something and remember something else that needs to be done or get struck with an idea for a post, that idea will remain in my head until I either write it down or do it. By writing it down (usually on one of my lists) I am then able to focus on the task at hand and finish what I was working on.

What is your opinion/view/practice in regards to using lists?