5 Ways Lists Can Change Your Life

by Megan

Last week I purchased Pro-Blogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Workbook, and this week I started working through it. (I’m on Day 2, in case you were wondering; not exactly the Queen of Speedy progress, but you know what they say about “slow and steady”…)

Yesterday’s assignment was Write a List Post. I don’t know why, but that idea seemed to come at me straight out of left field and I had no idea what to write a list post about (you may have noticed that lists aren’t high on my radar when it comes to blogging) – so I didn’t do anything. I put the book away and worked on a completely different subject. Then this morning, wham, out of nowhere I had the perfect idea: a list about lists!

I suspect that the idea came from the other project I ended up focusing on yesterday; I’m working on an eBook called “Organized Chaos” – it’s a time management tool for all us right-brained creative types – so, of course, lists are a major factor in the book. Even though I’m the furthest from a Type-A personality that you can get, and even though Wakizashi’s suggestion that we make To Do Lists on Saturday is enough to make me consider divorce, I strongly believe in the appropriate use of lists.

Now, I know some of you hate lists, you wouldn’t be caught dead writing a list. And yes, I once belonged to your side of the fence, but the magic of lists have slowly wooed me to their side and I can confidently say that I now know that making lists can change your life.

Don’t believe me? Read on…

Way #1 That Lists Can Change Your Life: They Create a Magical Spark
Not all lists are boring, ho-hum, everyday lists; some lists are playful, fun, and magical. Take Julia Cameron’s list obsession, for example; if you’ve ever worked your way through The Artist’s Way (or any of her other creativity sparking books) you’ll know Julia has a thing for assigning lists.

Julia’s lists are often meant to exist only in and of themselves; you make the list for the sake of making the list not necessarily to DO anything with them. My experience is that a magical thing happens when you make this kind of list. Even without trying things start happening. Once the dreams and ideas are on the paper opportunities begin to appear. I didn’t intend to cross things off my magical list, it just happened that way.

Lists can’t help it, put a thing on paper and suddenly it must exist.

Way #2 That Lists Can Change Your Life: They Create Space to Think
There is only so much room in my head, and frankly, I don’t function very well when I give my prime real estate space away to mundane things like grocery and to do lists. Making a list makes my mind sigh with relief. It’s like moving the passenger seat back in somebody else’s (a short somebody else) car, or dumping your purse and finally getting rid of all the clutter. When you can’t stop your monkey mind long enough to breath (never mind meditate or do some yoga), or when you can’t hear what your kids are nattering at you about because you are so distracted it’s probably time to make a list.

Yes, making a simple list can improve your relationships with your kids and your spouse, they can make you more creative, and they can even help you finally learn to meditate. And if those aren’t life changing things I don’t know what are.

Way #3 That Lists Can Change Your Life: They Inspire Action There’s nothing more motivating than a list of great ideas. Sure, sure, you might have been playing with the idea for that new painting or poem for days (or even weeks) now, but once you’ve got it on a list, you can’t help yourself, you suddenly have to DO it.

Case in point, I made my 40 Ways to Delight Myself and My Body list and I’ve gone for more walks, done more yoga, and remembered my vitamins more in the one week since than I did in the month before. I’ve even had to remind myself that I’m supposed to do the things One Per Day otherwise it won’t last 40 days. Making lists are sure to make you want to do things, which is sure to make you change the things you’ve been doing up until now.

Way #4 That Lists Can Change Your Life: They Remove the Need for Worry
Worry is my nemesis; it is the enemy of Zen living, of creativity, and of spiritual practice. Still, I haven’t managed to master it yet… My experience, though, is that half the time what I’m worrying about is forgetting: Don’t forget to pay…. Don’t forget to buy… Don’t forget to call… I spend so much time worrying about not forgetting I actually forget what I’m trying to remember (how messed up is that)!

Which is exactly why I use a list. I’ll make a list of all the big bills I have to remember to pay, all the post ideas I might like to write, or even something as mundane as all the errands I need to run this week. If all my bills are on the page I can trust the page to do all the remembering for me. When worry starts to rear it’s nasty head I tell it, “I wrote that down already and I’ll invest in worrying about it later.” What better use of a piece of paper than to pawn my worrying off onto it?

Way #5 That Lists Can Change Your Life: They Work
The most effective argument is, of course, that lists work – they get things done! What more can you ask of a simple piece of paper with ink scribbles on it? The truth is, I get more done on days I make lists because I have focus – I actually know what I want/need to get done. I spend less time dithering, procrastinating, or wasting time in general and more time actually doing things. Even the dull and boring To Do list can be a powerful weapon for progress.

Make all the anti-list arguments you want, you can’t argue with results. I’ll never fully convert to the left-brain Type-A side, but lists have become essential in my day-to-day life (besides, I don’t have the body for bon-bon eating).

As a free bonus for reading through my strange list about lists (who doesn’t like free things) I’d like to offer you another list about lists. This time it’s a List of Lists You Can Make so that you can start creating some of this life changing magic in your life. (Just in case you were new to this whole list making thing and weren’t sure where to begin!)

1) The general To-Do (daily, weekly) List – action is obviously intended (as the name implies)
2) The To Get or Call List, otherwise known as the: What’s on My Mind List – you plan on acting on this list, just not at the moment
3) The Long-Range Planning or Don’t Forget List (can be closely related to the What’s On My Mind List) – action will eventually be required, but not today
4) The Inspired Idea List (like my 40 Days list, cool simple things you could be doing but aren’t) – action may or may not be planned/intended
5) The Dream List (aka The Way Out There Things You Haven’t Even Considered but Secretly Long For List) – no action is necessarily intended, but it sometimes can’t keep from happening.

Now go out there and make some lists of your own!

Are you a list user? Why or why not? Do you like lists? Have you seen the power of lists in your own life? Today your assignment is to make one list; choose one of the above lists and make it. Let me know when it starts changing your life!

Yours,
Megan

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