Omegan the List Maker

AHHHH!!

It’s Monday morning… You’re running late; the kids have school, but are still in bed from staying up late working on whatever projects were procrastinated; you haven’t had breakfast, let alone thinking about what you’re going to eat for lunch and dinner…

…then add in trying to coordinate schedules with buses, work, errands, and chores, and you have a real calamity on your hands!

Thankfully, my life isn’t quite that crazy… At least not yet.  [My girls are in Kindergarten and preschool].

AND, I am: OMEGAN the LIST MAKER.

I have list upon list upon list… and lists within lists. I even have long-standing lists… Like “wish lists” of kitchen items, or some fancy picture, etc. Then, of course, there are always the Personal Goal lists. Those are always a challenge to fulfill.

But, each and every day, I usually have a mental list checklist that I go through right before I rise from bed each morning. Then, throughout the day, the list making begins without thought… usually while prepping breakfast and packing my lunch, as I discover items that need to be added to the Grocery list.

As the day goes on, if it’s a weekday, I will almost always make 1 to 2 lists of some sort at work (i.e.: supply list; literature orders from customers; re-stock lists). And I think of 3 to 4 things on a normal day that I need to stop and get at the store that day on the way home, for dinner or lunches the next day.

Enter in yet another list: the mental checklist for needs for the following day. I am a “sack lunch” advocate, when it comes to my own lunch and snacks. I don’t like to rely on taking the time out and about to stop at fast food establishments or gas stations for quick bites. [Plus, I like to know what kind of nutrition I’m eating—which is an entirely different type of one of my lists!]

Therefore, every weekday afternoon, I spend a little time going through what food I will need in my lunch bag for the following day until I arrive home again – and certain days need more planning, as I’m away from home a little longer.

I also have to take into account my girls snacks; and sometimes providing AlphaJ with leftovers for eats while He’s working. Add in the coffee pot, refilling the water bottles, and maintaining the dish pile, and I’ve got mental lists longer than Santa’s checklist – and I check mine twice, too!!

If it’s a weekend day, I have a whole different set of lists to accomplish; usually involving cleaning and sorting the weekdays from around the house – I’m a notorious “pile-er.” Laundry, dishes, keeping the girls entertained (mostly with them stepping on my heels, following me around – “Mom,” “mom,” “Mom,” “mom”).

My other list, as I mentioned with nutrition, is my daily tracking of food: my Food Diary. Every day, I write down everything I eat (and indicate breakfast, snack, lunch, etc.) and drink; how much I weigh in the morning; what time I wake up and go to bed. I also keep track of my workouts in my log, along with about what time it occurs. [I have two completed diaries – working on my third now and I’m halfway through]. This list is one of those “personal goal” type lists that I use to help maintain my health and happy lifestyle.

I also use this log to track what “work” I do each day… Whether it’s actually going to work (on the weekdays) or housework; grocery shopping or other extra-curricular activities – they are all tracked and noted. It’s fun to go back and look at a day from a year or more ago… I can tell where I was and what I was doing based on the day’s tracking. It’s neat :-)

With the holidays approaching, I’ll be making a few new lists: Card recipients; outgoing gifts; incoming gifts; budget charts; and thank you cards. Phew!! Add that to all the other lists, and I have a Plethora of things to keep track of!! Good thing I write it all down! There’s no way I’d be able to remember it all!

Sometimes I’ll even get list “back-ups” in my purse to where I’ve neglected to take old lists out after they’ve been completed. When I finally go through them, I have to look at them and do the mental checklist to remember when and where I got the items.

I’m so crazy.

With all that being said…. Do you make lists?? What types of things do you keep track of?? If you don’t make lists, what do you do to keep track of ALL the day to day things we as people need to take of to maintain life?

I’d love to read your comments and feedback!

 - Omegan :-D