Lists – #SOL Day 7

Lists.  I love lists.  I love creating lists and crossing off items on lists, and I love to create lists to track something happening in my life (miles run, tracking weight weekly since November 16th).  In fact, I am two list items away from being ready for school tomorrow morning.

The interesting thing about lists is that the items on the list can take different amounts of time.  For example, my yellow sticky note taped to my school planner had nine bulleted items when I left school on Friday, but some of the items, such as prepare science agendas and post agendas and activities to Google Classroom, can take ninety minutes to two hours, and other items, like grading the short story slides, take about 30 minutes.  No matter the length, it is always a pleasure to draw a line and cross out an item completed.  Honestly, this weekend, it was a rush to cross out each accomplishment.  It may have taken all weekend and hours of time, but everything is almost crossed out and I am ready for the week.

I have not always been a list person.  Back in 2003, I began to train for a really long triathlon event, and in order to keep track of school, home, and training, I began to make lists.  Obviously, I haven’t stopped.  Before 2003, I did not make any lists – no grocery lists, no playlists, no to-do lists, no lists.  I often wonder how different my life would be if I started making lists long ago.  I was always so unorganized as a kid and young adult that I am certain that it would have helped me in many ways.

So, I pass along my crazy list making ways to my children.  My son, who is sixteen-years-old, ignores me and thinks that lists are useless.  For him, I believe that he may be correct because I found three lists (collecting tons of dust) of things he never accomplished in his bedroom when I was helping him move things around last weekend.  But, the three girls, they are list makers.  In fact, the seventeen-year-old is a rock star list maker and task completer (if this is even a real phrase or person).  Maybe my son will be a late bloomer when it comes to list making (like me).

Now, I will post this on my blog and put a cross through “SOL – Day 7” on my list.  One more thing to do and I will be ready for the upcoming week of school.