Anyone who knows me knows that I am a fan of the to-do list. I love the expectation that I feel as I plan out my day and get a great sense of satisfaction from crossing items on the list.
Yesterday, I had a long to-do list. It was Monday, which always means laundry and ballet and the library, but I've been on vacation for so long that I've let some of the house things slide, which means that my house was a pig-sty. So I wrote up my list of twenty or so things and set to work. After about fifteen minutes, I had crossed off at least a third of the list, but it took me the whole rest of the day to cross off the next third. I probably should have tackled the third third after I got the kids to bed, but if you read my last post about my Lost addiction, you'll understand when I tell you that one of the things I accomplished on my list was to rent Disc 3 of Season 1.
In the middle of the afternoon, as I ran to the computer to update my list, I was frustrated that I was progressing so slowly. Then I had a brainstorm. It doesn't seem fair that something like "take trash to the curb" which takes 30 seconds, appears to carry equal weight with something like "put sheets on five beds," which takes at least 45 minutes (and is backbreaking with the bunk beds) or "wash and dry clothes," which takes all day. I'm not sure how I'm going to do it, but somehow I want to restructure my list so the things that are hard carry more weight than the things that are easy.
While I'm at it, I'm thinking of adding some fun things to the list, just so I can have the satisfaction of crossing them off. I might write: "Read while Isaac naps," or "meet a friend for ice cream" on the list, just so I'm sure those little indulgences get done.
I guess this whole ramble just shows how nuts I am-- I mean, no one even sees the silly list but me, but for some reason it's suddenly vital to me that easy jobs don't get as much credit as the harder things on the list.
--originally published 6/27/06
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