Anybody else have to do lists?

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We are getting together with dh's family friday for Thanksgiving and by Tuesday I could take it no longer. I had to call each and every person and find out exactly who was bringing what so that I could compile my list. Up until that point, I had tried to stay nonchalant and just let dh handle it. However, when he failed to provide any feedback (give me exacting updates, as it were) I could not take it any longer. I typically enjoy planning everything, since I can get all of the details down, but relying on so many people to get it right was a stressful few days. I then had to explain to dh why I had been so unnerved for a bit and he wanted to know why I just didn't say something. Please tell me I'm not alone in this holiday madness. Oh yeah, Happy Thanksgiving!

I admire you for waiting till Tuesday to call them.

I've known for at least two months who is coming for dinner, what they are bringing, and what I am to make. I know what time they will arrive, and how long it will take me to do my part of dinner. I started prepping my dressing Monday.

They will probably have to wait thirty minutes past planned dinner time for me to have my stuff ready to serve.

Not celebrating Thanksgiving here in the Netherlands, but I do have to do lists, it keeps me from forgetting and stressing to remember.

I have to do lists. I also have to do lists of to do lists, in case I forget to do what was on the first to do list. I have a problem with losing to do lists, so I keep them on my wall, but often I forget to consult them.

I try to write to-do lists, but sometimes I forget to put things on the to-do list.

Shadi

I love a good list. Especially with bulletpoints, it's not a proper list without them. I've got an app on my phone that let's me save lists as wallpaper, so every time I look at my phone I see my list. Happy days

i can't do lists and do better (more peace of mind and freedom) without them, because i get STUCK in them. so it's just better for me to get away from them and any routine (maybe also rules and structure) completely, or else i will be stuck inside of them. i use mind maps instead, or, if i do need to write things down to not forget, i need to write them catty-corned....for some reason a straight list doesn't work for me, it just doesn't compute in my mind as well.

i can't do lists and do better (more peace of mind and freedom) without them, because i get STUCK in them. so it's just better for me to get away from them and any routine (maybe also rules and structure) completely, or else i will be stuck inside of them. i use mind maps instead, or, if i do need to write things down to not forget, i need to write them catty-corned....for some reason a straight list doesn't work for me, it just doesn't compute in my mind as well.

Apart from the occasional shopping list, I rarely do them unless it's needed

I very rarely need to write out to do lists as I have nothing to do

I have to-do lists in addition to a color-coded planner. And I make schedules (also color-coded) for school, vacations, and busy days. Sometimes I walk a fine line between organized and inflexible, but I think my lists do more good than bad.

i created lists from my teens into my mid 20's and then when i moved out on my own after college, i gradually stopped making lists. i kinda think that is part of the reasons for some of the problems/situations that have come about, that im not able to focus on something unless i have a list of things to do. well that sounds so obvious. why i havent gotten back into the routine of list making? well once i figure that out, i'll be writing lists again. is making to-do lists the adult thing to do these days?

Shopping lists, yes. I write one every Saturday morning (or Friday night if I'm really into forward planning). Not long ago I discovered that it's better to order the list by shop rather than by item. I used to get hung up on finding the ideal route (i.e. the one that needs the least travelling), and wanted a map with all the shops marked on it so I could get that bit right, but these days I don't usually worry too much if I've had to walk a bit further than absolutely necessary.

Otherwise, I've come to dislike to-do lists, and I prefer try and hold the info in my head. If I try to list the things I want to get done, I tend to try to include the whole universe in it, and I have little sense for how I'll feel about it when I come to doing the tasks......I'm rather like a bad manager in that respect, no understanding of the pain I might be causing with my insensitive demands. So I end up with an over-ambitious list which I can't carry out. I've come to trust my memory instead - it's not the world's best memory, but it's unusual for it to drop anything that I feel is really important, even though I often don't remember stuff till quite late.

I would only write a "to-do" list if it was pretty clear what should go on it and what shouldn't - that's why the shopping list works for me. It's a very finite list, limited by the weight I can carry, and by the time and money I'm willing to put into it.

Lists are Life. Life is Lists.

Yes, forever. But I get discouraged when I don't get them done.

I find it better to remake them totally, tossing out half done ones.
New things come up in the meantime, and some things end up not having to be done.

When I have a re-ordered new list in front of me things go better.

We went out for Thanksgiving for the first time this year.

But that dinner and all it entails will catch up with me at Christmas.

Yes. It is not heavily detailed and I am flexible about it. I also keep a note book handy for ideas that pop into my head. If I don't write them down, I know I will forget them.

Last year I had an idea for making a perpetual motion machine and I neglected to write it down. I was never able to retrieve it. I was so upset I listened to Richard Harris' version of -MacArthur Park- every day for a year. Someone left that cake out in the rain, and I'll never have that recipe again ... Oh noooo!

ruveyn