There was a period of time when I felt that God had told me to not write any lists. It was odd, yes, but I felt very strongly that He wanted me to do what needed to be done when the time arose. I wasn’t to be thinking about what I would be doing in the future or what needed attending to. I was only to focus on the task at hand. I can’t remember how long ago it was that I lived by the no list rule but I do remember that it was nice. Sometimes I just wanted to grab a pen and make a list but I always refrained and as far I knew everything always managed to get done. The thing I missed most was crossing things off the list but the peace of mind that came from living in the moment instead of looking towards the unfinished future was more rewarding than that little act of putting a line through a completed task. It’s been quite some time since my no list days. I’m not sure when or why I began to jot down tasks again.
I’ve felt so busy, so overwhelmed, and so tired lately. At least for now I’ve decided to reinstate the no list lifestyle. I just deleted the to do list I keep on my desktop and I already feel a little freedom creeping in.
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Excellent point. I was on the plane today and of course there's the part of the plane ride where they make you power down your computer, so I pulled out a notebook and started jotting down the inevitable to-do list for the week. At first I felt very organized, but by the time we landed, I felt very overwhelmed, and I think it has actually made me less productive. So.. maybe it's ok to have a list as long as it's a short well-prioritized list with only the most immediate/important items being added ?? So it's living in the moment, but with some structure to it.. not sure.. I'm going to have to give that one some thought.
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