Unclutterer Forums » Tag: lists

Unclutterer Forums » Tag: lists - Recent Topics http://unclutterer.com/discuss/tags/lists The community for people interested in home and office organizing. en-US Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:42:40 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q http://unclutterer.com/discuss/search.php Stella on "What is on your TO DO LIST?" http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/what-is-on-your-to-do-list#post-44303 Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:51:34 +0000 Stella 44303@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ I love lists! All sorts of lists and I love reading up on them. I make TO DO lists for myself and it is usually one ongoing list of TO DO items that don't need to be done on a specific date so I label that list (in my notebook that goes everywhere with me) - "TO DO as of (whichever date)" then I add to it as I go, and another list for EVENTS that take place on a specific date. But the more I read up on the lists and how overwhelmed people are with them (there was a question recently about when people make these lists) it got me wondering about what is on them. Because my lists are not something that require me long to make, I just jot down whatever comes to my mind that needs to be done (and I usually do this at work, when I am at my desk) I also use Wunderlist on my phone for some things like websites to check out, books and movies, etc. (it is easy for me to jot it down at any time)and have it handy when I am at a video store/book store or have some time to browse the internet. But my TO DO LIST has items such as (actual as of last week) Make dentist appointment for myself Take my camera for repair Pay for my air ticket check out the Pilates club Take broken jewlery for repair Copy-paste from Kindle Clippings onto my master doc (yes, I do such things :)) etc. you get the point It is nothing overwhelming. But having read about people's to do lists I wonder what is on them to make them be so overwhelming. The only other item that needs to be done is our weekly shopping, but that is usually done by my husband and he has that one list in his head. (it's his only list BTW) I work full time, I have a 2 year old as well, so I don't know, maybe as your kids get older, you get busier. But like this, I can have one list spread on 2 pages in my Moleskine notebook go for 2-3 weeks without being completely full. My EVENTS page gets fuller, but only because I like to record every coffee catch up with a friend, etc. Am I just not very busy??? LabbieLady on "New here...with questions" http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/new-herewith-questions#post-43917 Sun, 15 Jan 2012 01:47:15 +0000 LabbieLady 43917@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ Hi Wow...I am glad I found this website. And the fact that it has a forum is even better! My biggest challenge right now is paper. To do lists, mail, insurance paperwork, bills, coupons, etc. It all makes me feel SO overwhelmed!! I enjoy making "to do lists" and putting my ideas and thoughts on paper. My problem is that I have too many lists and can never seem to find the one I need. I am getting better about putting lists on my smart phone, but I really prefer pen and paper. I have more notebooks than I can count. I keep thinking if I find THE RIGHT notebook, I will magically get it together. So then I find a pretty notebook but I don't want to write in it too much because then I will use it all up and not have a "perfect" notebook anymore. How insane do I sound?! I never learned routine or the importance of habit as a child, and at age 43 I am struggling to keep it together. Of course my 13 yr old daughter has to take after me and not her military raised father who never struggles with any of this organization stuff. I am not a pack rat, but I do tend to hang on to things longer than I need to..."just in case" :). Ok, so our house flooded the day before Thanksgiving, one of my dogs died and my daughter had her 2nd major surgery on12/28 (first major surgery was Sept 30th). Soooo it has been a very hectic 4 months. I always use New Years Day as my super duper cleaning day and get the feeling I will start the year off right...except my daughter was in the hospital on January 1st. I still have tons of stuff in my garage that needs to be put back in the house from the flood (all repairs are finished) but I look at allmof the STUFF and I just want to cry. It's so overwhelming. But I also feel like this is a good time to start fresh since I am pretty much starting over in terms of organizing my desk and storage areas. But still...so daunting. Oh...I went off on a tangent...I also struggle with disorganized thinking, too! The first thing I want to tackle is the LIST problem. Any suggestions on the best way to go about this? Any particular notebooks you can recommend? Any suggestions at all are very welcome! Thanks, Paige Ella on "When do you write your to-do list?" http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/when-do-you-write-your-to-do-list#post-40965 Fri, 16 Dec 2011 23:37:26 +0000 Ella 40965@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ Curious as to what timing works best for you when writing up your to-do lists: - each morning? - the night before? - first day of the work week? - or...? Usually I regard my week as starting on a Saturday, so that's the first task on my to-do list: each Saturday morning I write up the list for the whole week, then select which tasks to do for the day. Lately though, I've been getting bogged down and taking all morning long to write the list, then not having enough time to actually DO the tasks... and the repercussions are felt during the rest of the week. So I'd be interested to hear whether the time of day/week that you compile your to-do lists affects your productivity? This week I decided to try winging it entirely without a to-do list, just to see what would happen. Disaster! Extremely scattered thinking. Increased forgetfulness. Stress. Worries. Poor sleep. And got very little done. NOT gonna try that again! I think I'm suffering from wintertime SAD. Maybe I need to sit outside in the morning light to write my list! luxcat on "my tried-and-true routines are breaking down, advice?" http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/my-tried-and-true-routines-are-breaking-down-advice#post-37863 Sat, 05 Nov 2011 11:59:09 +0000 luxcat 37863@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ Now let me preface this by saying I am a "list person". I don't have lists of my lists but sometimes an item in a list may tell me to refer to another list :P So I have checklists for work tasks, household tasks, personal development goals, groceries, what to pack for a 3 day trip... you get the idea. In general this serves me well as I have a terrible memory, and I love the feeling of checking even a small thing off a list, it gives me an absurd sense of accomplishment. When trying to instill or correct a habit in my life I have always turned to the list format, since it works for so much more. Sometimes it works... but most recently it does not. At all. Take for example, weight loss. I have a modest goal in mind (15 lbs in 10 weeks) and a plan (15 lbs in 70 days means I need a calorie deficit of 750 calories a day- something I can quite easily achieve by cutting wine and cheese out of my life for a period of time, putting fast food off limits, watching the carbs a bit more and exercising a reasonable amount instead of sitting upon my behind watching TV- my diet is otherwise good). so I make a list of the many little things I should do to achieve this goal... and fail to complete it every single time. Same things have happened when I try lists to help me get my schedule under control (with a goal of working less and spending more time on self-care), create a list to help me get into better skincare and body-care habits (I'm getting to that age), etc. etc. I find myself forgetting to do things on the work list (big oops), and not getting the projects done on the "big projects to do in little steps" list... but most of all I fail again and again on the "self care and healthy habits" goals. I've read the Zen Habits blog, I've read a few of Leo's ebooks, I've read "The Happiness Trap" and "French Women Don't Get Fat"... all books with excellent advice on habit changing. Nothing sticks. Lists aren't working. What do you guys do to keep your life in order and remember to do your tasks- and the big one- stay motivated!! without lists? Ella on "To-do list formats and quirks ~ what are yours?" http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/to-do-list-formats-and-quirks-what-are-yours#post-33236 Sat, 27 Aug 2011 17:02:36 +0000 Ella 33236@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ Yesterday I went shopping for a new journal for writing my weekly to-do lists, which I like to keep on paper with pencil. After reading here about the joys of Moleskin, I thought I might buy the Moleskin calendar version with a weekly calendar on the left page and ruled lines on the right. It's a yummy book all right, but I didn't buy it. You see, one of my little quirks is that I like to draw a checkbox to the left of each of my to-do items and then check them off with a bright red X using a fine-point red sharpie. For some reason, this is very satisfying, much more so than crossing off an item by drawing a line through it. A glance at the page tells me how I'm doing for the week... the redder the better! By the end of the week, if I see the page covered with bright red Xs, I feel pretty good about my progress. But if the page is rather pale, it gives me resolve to do better as I write up the page for the next week. So I didn't buy the Moleskin because the paper is too thin and would show the bleed-through of my red Xs. Instead I bought a slightly larger version of the book I've been using for several years made by OE Inc. in Santa Fe. Larger because the smaller one was just a bit too cramped. Today I've been enjoying writing on the first fresh page of my new journal for Week 1. That's another quirk: I like to consider my week beginning anew on Saturday. So rather than being a weekEND, each Saturday is the fresh start of a new week for me. Here's my format: - There's a small header gridwork design across the top of each page. I use this for my "Daily 9s"... that is, the 9 simple things I should do each and every day to make my day go more smoothly, such as rise at 7:00am, to sleep by 11:00pm, make the bed, shine the sink, process the mail, etc. - The rest of the page is ruled lines, and there I list all my to-do's for the week by category, such as housekeeeping, health, appointments, paperwork, social activities, and so on. - The journal is sturdily make with a double cover, the right side tucking into the left. When it's open, the right side gives me extra space for a slim pad of lined Post-it notes. I use one of these each day for my daily to-do list, drawing from the tasks on the adjacent weekly page. - At the end of the week, I copy the undone tasks onto the next week's page. If I find myself carrying over the same task again and again, I stop and question why... perhaps it could be broken into smaller more-manageable bites, or eliminated altogether. I've tried a couple of online programs but writing my to-do's with pencil on good-quality paper feels so satisfying. And then checking off the tasks with a red X is the cherry on top! :) What about you? What format do you use? What little quirks make your to-do list work for you? brw on "Clutter of Writing Things Down" http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/clutter-of-writing-things-down#post-164 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:17:23 +0000 brw 164@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ I have (what I think) is a unique problem of writing things down and making lists. I use many different papers (looseleaf, blank white, spiral notebook, 3-ring binders, post its, 3x5 cards, etc). I end up writing things in different places, then I'll decide to just use one, and transcribe everything from one to the other, then I'm at work and don't have my notebook or 3-ring binder with me, so I use lined paper to make the day's notes, or to-do list....then sometimes when I get home, I don't even take out the paper to utilize the lists, thoughts, etc. I've tried online, using email, organizers, and nothing seems to work....I have an iphone, and have tried the to-do sites that even have iphone apps.... I always say I'm a highly organized person on the inside, but outwardly when it comes to this type of paper clutter, I cannot seem to tackle it.... I will add that while some of the things get done, most don't...my lists include everything from what I need to do today, to things that I am thinking about doing, random thoughts, etc... Then there's the bills and other paperwork..... Anyone else have these experiences? Or have you found a solution? Tired of it!! ;-)