Make Lists, Not War

I have never liked New Year’s resolutions. I think they are an excuse to put off until later what you should be doing now. Why wait? You can start fresh any day of the week. Just do it.

I do like lists, however. I am a list-maker extraordinaire. I have lists for everything – grocery shopping, home improvements, flea market treasure hunts, Airstream repairs, kid fun activities, travel preparations, art projects, and of course, the ever faithful, everyday ‘to do’ list. There is something so satisfying about making a list, and then scratching off completed tasks one by one. It’s a perfect little package - an acknowledgement of commitment, a validation of efforts, and finally, proof of hard work.

So instead of hocking New Year’s resolutions, I’m pushing the good old fashioned list. If you’d rather not draft your lists on the back of an old phone bill, I found a couple of neat listing tools on Etsy. Check out the set of pocket sized List Books by YourSecretAdmiral, or the Yellow Owl To Do List by BoyGirlParty.

For those of you digital-saavy list makers, there are some nifty new online alternatives to the hand-written to-do list. Like Jott.com where you can make online lists and even call in additions using a toll free number, or Evernote.com where you can capture information from the web, and create convenient, searchable lists.

So now you have no excuse for waiting until a shiny new year to make resolutions. Just log onto your computer, turn on your iPhone, or grab a pencil, and make yourself a to-do list. Just do it.

Happy New Year!