I have always hated – well, strongly disliked – “to do” lists. I suspect that part of the reason for this is that my wife would create lists so long that only Santa Claus could possibly complete every item on the list in the time allotted. Such lists were more an exercise in frustration than in organization.

Today, however, I woke up thinking, “I should make a ‘to do’ list for this weekend.” Huh!?! Me? A “to do list?” The world is obviously about to come to an end. Well, before panic set in, I started making the list up in my head, and guess what? Even thinking about making a list up helped me organize my weekend.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know – that’s what lists are supposed to do. Big revelation, eh? Maybe not, but only because I realized that I don’t have to list every little thing in minute detail, nor do I have to expect to get them all done within a certain time frame. The trick is prioritizing, and then not getting sidetracked (or, if you do get sidetracked, figure out if that should have been on your list in the first place and then reevaluate your list). So, first order of business today after I write this post is to make my list, which will largely be just writing down what is in my head and sorting out what comes first and what can slide until next week or next weekend.

Of course, this all depends on being in the proper frame of mind, which is actually 95% of the trick to properly using a “to do” list. If you decide that all you want to do today is sit on your ass in front of the television (and that’s not on your list) then the system is going to go all to hell in a hurry. However, today feels good, so on with the list, and best wishes to you this weekend as you work through your list. You do have one, don’t you?