A low thrill level

This week I was reading how a successful entrepreneur said she accomplished so much because she is a list keeper. 

That set me to thinking how I was once a diligent list maker and I was 99% more efficient in those days.  I had a constant little spiral notebook that, if temporarily misplaced, I joked I’d lost my brain. {No kidding because it contained a wealth of ongoing information.}

Today I ask myself : When my life went into crisis 4 or so years ago, why did I forsake my little book and my near-daily list making?

I honestly don’t know the answer to this because it makes so much sense to me. With the onslaught of my state of grief and my deer-the-headlights era, I would probably have fared much better had I kept up list-keeping.  Granted, I did have periods of improved efficiency when I did make lists – like before trips, and when family was coming for Christmas. There were some {probably desperate} futile attempts with index cards, Google lists on the side of my email and “sticky notes” that float on my computer screen. But I reverted back to a state of personal chaos.  I realize nothing works for me in the same way as a little book.

Today I’m vowing to keep up methods from what seems like a distant past.  I have a new companion notebook.  Once I had a quirky little routine that I'll try again {kind of like how individuals might have their own way of stacking a dishwasher.} A new page each day  ~  a column for phone calls  ~ a corner for emails  ~ a To Do list. If there’s something I don’t get done, it goes to the next page for the next day. On the opposite page I keep notes and phone numbers and ideas for menus or grocery lists or gifts.  This worked for me once, I hope it works again.

To tell you the truth, I’m excited at the prospect of being even slightly more efficient.  I think it could mean more time to be creative :)