What’s In A Name?

I have tried several different Agenda-type apps over the last couple years.  There are some amazing apps out there.  Let me tell you why these don’t work for me:  It goes like this, I enter items in to an app.  I close the app.  And it’s out of my sight.  Even with timers, I just turn them off because they irritate me.

I do better with paper.  I tried a Day planner with paper.  That didn’t work for me.  Day planners have times listed on them.  I don’t plan time well.  I have come to accept this as a personal flaw that is just a part of me.  I can’t curl ribbon with a pair of scissors and I can’t plan time well.  The word “can’t” is not a great word.  Of course if I wanted to devote a good portion of my time I could improve in these areas I suppose.  But, it is hard to devote time to work on my poor skills with planning time.  Do you see my ironic dilemma here? 😉

I have (I think) finally overcome my decades-long loathing of to-do lists.  I used to find  to-do lists as controlling.  Yes, even when I make them myself.  Maybe it is just the terminology “To-Do”.  No one likes to be told what to do.  I just happen to take it an extra step and not like myself telling myself what to do.  I don’t like “Agenda” either . . . that throws that time element reference in to it.

So here’s what I did last Friday:  I took out a notebook and I just wrote things that I wanted to accomplish that day.  I think I am going to label this my “Sticky Note List”.  I usually write things on sticky notes that I want to make sure that I remember to do on a certain day.  And I stick the notes all over my monitor.  Friday I wrote them in a notebook and kept the notebook on my desk, so it kept sitting in my way.

I am trying to make my days a little more planned out . . . and I have to deal with my inner child who doesn’t like time restraints and doesn’t like being told what to do.  So, just like our name for Deviled Eggs is Angel Eggs in this family; I believe my to-do list is being renamed the Sticky Note list.  I could maybe go a little more inspiring and call it a Daily Goal List or something like that.  But, that inner child may feel a little pressured with a whole list of daily goals.  Goals is a bigger-meaning word.  So, I’m taking the fun route here and calling it my Sticky Note List!

Tonight I am thankful that no matter what I call this daily list, I’m trying once again to have a plan for my day.  Being intentional with the day is just a way-better-feeling than chasing things all day long that need to be done.  And I want to increase that way-better-feeling!

P.S. – Yes, I made the picture below look this way on purpose.  I mean, I love you all; but you don’t really need to see the details on my sticky-note list!