TO-DO LIST

Ideal World List (By a Writer and Major Listmaker Living in Phoenix)

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:33:00 +0000

Secret Wisdom of Listmakers, Part Two: The Magic of Writing It Down

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:15:00 +0000

When was the last time you wrote something down on your to-do list, and the item just magically happened soon after, without even any effort on your part? Now that is the magic of a list. I just that kind of magical to-do experience and I must share it.

I was locking the door on my apartment when I realized that there is an urgent to-do item that I keep forgetting. I whipped out my phone to log it: "find credit card or get new one." Since Sunday my preferred credit card has been MIA. I felt more calm having written down "find card" in my list app, though, knowing that I had set a deadline: if I didn't find the card by the end of the week I would cancel it. (I have already verified no one is using the card. There have been no extravagant shoe-shopping trips or tickets booked to London.)

Before I got in my car, I decided to take a look underneath the driver's seat for my special gluten-free lip gloss. The lip gloss dropped while I was driving two days ago, and pang went my heart: as a celiac, it's no simple matter finding safe lip gloss and I wanted to find it. What do I find, lo and behold, as I peered under the bucket seat of Martha, my car? The credit card! That problem is solved, and I can already cross it off, just two minutes after logging the item. All I had to do was write "find credit card" and the card boomeranged back into my life. How can I not believe in the magic of writing down an item on my list? I even found the lip gloss too, in the back seat. Double joy.

What about you? Has this every happened for you . . . you wrote something down on a list, and then it just happened with little effort on your part?

What I Love About You

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:23:00 +0000

It is very common to write a list about our ideal mates. The qualities we are seeking. But what about a list about the qualities you love in your beloved? Or your best friend? Or your BFF at work?

About this list: I think I’m in love with Garret.

To get a better look at the gorgeous cursive, click on the list to enlarge.

Totally Clean House

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

For the next book?

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:30:00 +0000

Bored at Work List

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:15:00 +0000

Click on the image to enlarge the list.

Personal Values (in Italian)

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:31:00 +0000

To-Do List in the Wall Street Journal

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:24:00 +0000

Check out my thoughts on "Conquering the To-Do List" in the 12/28 Wall Street Journal!

My Vision of the Perfect Mate

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 19:22:00 +0000

Click on the list to enlarge the image.

Stuff to Do When I'm Old

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:58:00 +0000

Click on the list to enlarge the image.

Dinero

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:52:00 +0000

Mix Tape for Emily

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:47:00 +0000

Niggling Things to Do

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:52:00 +0000

To-Do List for the Last Week of High School

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:14:00 +0000

Have you planned your outfits for Thursday and Friday?

Five Most Miserable Things This Week

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:44:00 +0000

Click on the list to enlarge the image.

My Five Year To-Do List, Five Years Later (On 11-11-11)

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:21:00 +0000

Now it is time to reflect on my five-year to-do list, five years later, on 11-11-11! My friends made this list for me one night exactly five years ago. It's Adam's handwriting, and Kenneth and Sonya contributed ideas for me. We made five-year to-do lists one night before we saw a play. Who could believe that five years have passed?

What have I done? And what awaits for 2016?

House with wrap-around porch: Not yet, though I did find another town with wraparound porches where I would like to spend time, or even live: Asheville, North Carolina. Originally I developed a taste for houses with wrap-around porches in upstate New York when I gave a quirkyalone workshop at Omega.

Live in foreign country learn language well enough to talk in bar with loud music: Absolutely rocked this goal. In 2007, I knew no Portuguese and by 2010 I spoke fluently, even in bars with loud music, after spending six months in Brazil.

Write a horse?: Adam wrote down "write a horse?" as a trickster goal. I am writing a horse right now as I sink into writing a travel memoir about my last year of unplanned travel in South America. As I take the reins of this mystical writing project it carries me along, to where, I don't know yet.

Actively lobby outside local SF scene for reproductive rights: Instead of lobbying for reproductive rights I became an advocate for gluten-free labeling laws after being diagnosed with celiac disease in 2011.

Get married---maybe 1 kid: No. In retrospect I can see writing "maybe" next to a goal does not help to manifest it.

Sing in a choir publicly---lounge singer: Yes. On my birthday this year I sang Chega de Saudade for the party.

Be Perfect at Work, OK?

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 22:31:00 +0000

Bruno sent this list in and writes, "I found this list in the middle of the paperback version of "The Road." It was one of the books they passed out at a speed-reading class I took a few months ago. Whatever he or she does for work (actor?), expecting to be perfect there seems a tad optimistic. I hope Chris is happy they get to hang out 1:1."

LA Mysteries/Curiosities

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:47:00 +0000

Brush Teeth

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 17:45:00 +0000

Before Getting Pregnant

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:59:00 +0000

Click on the list to expand the image.

Stop Guilt

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 17:53:00 +0000

Click on the image to enlarge the list.

Happy Thoughts!

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 18:41:00 +0000

Secret Wisdom of Listmakers, Part One

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 04:02:00 +0000

I am kicking off a new series on To-Do List, called Secret Wisdom of Listmakers. In the past I have focused on the story behind the to-do list, and while I am still fascinated by stories (I love stories), this series will really shine the light on listmaking tricks and tactics that help people get things done and focus on what we most WANT to do. After all, life is just one series of decisions after the next about what to do--whether it's waste another hour on Facebook or go for a sprinting walk around a lake or around the world.

What helps you to get your stuff done? I'm talking big-picture dreams as much as the equally important things like flossing your teeth. To kick off this series, I am sharing an email from a dear Belgian friend Griet who has recently relocated to the
United States and is making up a new life from scratch with the man she fell in love with in Buenos Aires (but who lives in North Carolina). Here are her listmaking reflections. Enjoy. And send me your own personal wisdom (and tips and tricks) gleaned from your lists.

For me a list brings structure in an empty space called "too much time." I arrived in North Carolina during a period of my life when I have an abundance of time. I don't have a job or a social life (yet), and instead of using this beautiful abundance of time in a good way, for example by improving my Spanish, dancing tango, reading Cheri Huber, figuring out what I really want to do for living (all things I was waiting for until "I have time"), I wasted my time by...uh...doing nothing. I turned into a complete passive mode where I don't even get little things done.

So that was the moment I decided to start using a list. And thanks to the list I found my energy back. A list really helps me to focus, to get things done, to move on. But, don't think I finish my list at the end of the day. And please don't think I finish my list at the end of the week. And that made me wonder: What are the things that I pick up from my list, and what are the things that stay on it forever?

I noticed that my list works partially for me. I have on my list three different categories of things:

Category 1: Practical stuff and things that concern the daily "here and now": laundry, answering e-mails, repairing my bike, contacting the bank, cleaning up the house

Category 2: Things that have priority but which I neglected in the past. Here we are mainly talking about doings sports and eating healthy

Category 3: Skills I always wanted to improve: Spanish, ballroom dancing, baking quiches (maybe for starting a business), exploring the idea of a mediation job (also for maybe starting a business)...

So, here is my evaluation of my list.

A list works really well for the daily to do's (laundry and stuff). If you don't get those things done, make a list! Until now I am doing a great job with my list in Category 2. Yes, finally, I reached the point of no longer neglecting my body.

Category 3, the Category of "future projects” (or "the bigger projects in life") is a different story. I am not completely faithful to my list on that level. I am working on my Spanish and I searched for information about mediation studies, but I didn't watch one YouTube video to learn a chachacha and I didn't bake one quiche. Maybe I am not completely convinced that I want to be a dance teacher who brings quiches. That's it I guess. And to come back to my list: the ideas I am not 100 percent convinced of, they just don't work on my list. My list is working as a mirror, as a guide towards my real passions. So my road is more likely to be in the direction of Spanish or a mediation job (who knows? both?) rather than on the road of becoming a dance teacher who brings you quiches.

These are the lessons I learned from my lists:

A) Don't put too many projects on your list. B) Or put them all there and see which ones you work with. If you are really convinced of something, you work with it. And if not you simply...don't.

2006 Love Resolutions & Criteria of a 24-Year-Old Woman in Jarkarta

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 18:34:00 +0000

Click on the list for an enlarged image.

Translation:
The 2006 Love Resolutions & Criteria.

1. I never want a guy who has hurt me with or without any purpose.
2. I never want a guy who’s the same age as me. At least he is born in 1981.
3. He always rides a car or a motorcycle.
4. He has been working in a company. Bachelor in Information Technologies, Information Systems, Information Managements, Graphic Designs, and Architecture Engineering with minimum GPA 2,8 out of 4,0 is highly recommended.
5. Has an ideal weight, chubby is more preferred. Doesn’t have to be charming but he has to be good looking (has a good sense in fashion is highly recommended) has a good voice, call and send text regularly, humorist and communicative.
6. He has to be faithful. I don’t want a guy who like flirting to another girl and has an other “too close girlfriends.”
7. He lives in West Jakarta (Kebon Jeruk region is highly recommended). Tangerang is included.

5 Happiness

noreply@blogger.com (Sasha) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:57:00 +0000

Click on the list to enlarge the image.