My Listomania....

I have a habit of keeping a small diary and a pen handy in my bag...who knows when I remember anything I have to do and I don't have something to note it down for reminding me later. And thus adding things one by one transforms into a list.

I have a list for everything...to-do list, grocery list, laundry list, to alter, to buy, to cook and sometimes (this may sound weird) list of clothes I have so that I can make out which all colors are there in my wardrobe and for which one I need to shop :P. And if I have to travel...the list of clothes to pack...things to take..medicines...camera...charger..etc etc. Give me a pen and paper and I would be lost in thoughts with these two gadgets and my unending lists....so  much that I have been declared suffering from Listomania by M. And so much for the mania that my pocket diary needs to be renewed quite periodically.... some people who know me question that how do I come up  with various topic for these list of mine..And I reply them promptly with quoting many advantages of this habit. I am an obsessive list maker. I really enjoy the sense of accomplishment by crossing the tasks off. Done. Finished. Mission Accomplished..... I like lists so much that if I accomplish something that wasn't previously on list I write it down so that I can mark it off.  Lists are often the core of my daily planning, the directions of what needs to be done next. Despite the fact that you may be having an iPad or an Android, there is nothing like scribbling on a piece of paper. Putting your to do task is on paper refine your focus...you see it and hence you are committed.

A practical example would be of last year when one of my ex-roommate was getting married and she was in process of doing up her new house..she kept calling me asking what else she needs to buy for kitchen or in cosmetics...as she was short on time and did not want to miss on anything important...and when she found my list mailed to her covering all the required kitchen items and the cosmetics list (which I had made before my wedding)..she was more than overjoyed and really praised me for my this habit :))))

How many times it has happened that you plan and leave home with what things you have to shop in your mind and you come back realizing that you have missed on a couple of things and cribbing on how you will have to go all over again for that...and if it was like urgent then God only help you to tread back to the market facing dreading traffic. So if you were having a list of things noted on a piece of paper, it would have been nearly impossible to overlook and forget it. I have really been caught in these situations before, hence these lists. This habit of mine helps me to be systematic and plan out my day according to the activities as per their importance. So I don't face the question of missing out on important things.

This habit can not only help you in your personal life but as well as your professional life. For eg.. If you are heading a team, that is working on a large complex project with so many tasks to be done and so many people doing them, that staying abreast of all seems unmanageable. You can use your to do list in this situation to help stay organised by structuring your list by team members, writing out tasks and deadline for every person on the project. 

It's not that I am alone who is stuck with this habit, there are many and hence there are number of tools or apps that help you out in creating your to-do list. Well, it's simply too hard to remember everything that you have to do. If you don't write it down, you will probably forget it or remember it at the wrong time (for example remembering what you should have told your boss today as you are just about to go to sleep at night). The point of making all these lists is not to be a compulsive list making person! There are some powerful benefits in making these lists. It helps you to get these items out of your head and onto a storage system where you can remember to do them when the time is right. Also, it makes it easy to get into action because the appropriate list of actions that you can take is there waiting for you. It's also valuable to separate the different types of items because you can deal with them more powerfully when you have listed them in related groups. 

Once you get into this habit, you will certainly be more organized and more effective. Another great benefit is that you can also be more relaxed. You don't have to worry about what you need to do because you have clarified it and written it down. This frees up your mental energy to focus on more creative and interesting tasks than remembering what you have to do. And because you have an appropriate reminder system, it is a lot less likely that you will miss things that you have committed to do. 

Some of the advantages of making list are listed below:

- Organizes your mind ( brings order to chaos...clear your mental clutter)

- Saves on time and effort

- Relieve stress

- Help us from procrastinating

- Beats workload

- Feel good factor (a visual proof that we have done our tasks)

So now if anybody makes fun of this habit of yours, you can surely give these feel good tips. List makers are successful, and if you don’t believe me — check out this fact. Madonna, Ellen Degeneres, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Martha Stewart have all been known to keep lists. Being able to accomplish your goals is one of the secrets of success. 

Well now its time to cross off another task on my to do list ...????.....that of penning my thoughts on my blog :)))))

Get out a piece of paper and pen or open a new document and start listing. Just try it – and if it doesn’t help you stay focused and complete your tasks, I want to hear about it. Also will like to know who all have this habit (mania) along with me :)))

Keep reading n writing too :P