Results: A Day Without Lists

Warning: this post might be kind of boring...



I braved the world yesterday without a to-do list.

Things went pretty well.
I'm not sure if I got more done or not, but I did have a more enjoyable day than usual. There might have been other contributing factors to that though. All of my classes were cancelled yesterday, and I hung out with friends in the evening. My classes are not necessarily unenjoyable, they just sometimes intrude into my day. I might be getting really into something and getting a lot accomplished or just be having a good time, and then have to drop whatever it is I'm doing to drive to class and be taught. Not really conducive to "flow."

Anyway, yesterday, I accomplished a pretty standard amount of things. I did the stuff that just needs to be done, but also a lot of noninstrumental things. What's more, I excelled at the noninstrumental things and created new records for myself. The same thing happened today (no to-do list again!).

This might not be a really accurate depiction of my day yesterday because things tend to be forgotten during sleep, but here it goes:
I woke up fifteen minutes earlier than usual. Not sure why.
I got stuff together to make an omelet and began making it, while my mother finished.
I checked emails. More in-depth than usual. On the newsletters I get, I clicked more links and read more.
I fed the cats and played with them a little while. Then proceeded to scoop their poop.
I played my vocabulary game, and set a record score for myself (something like 2870?).* The game was also more enjoyable and I found myself coming up with words I've never thought of using before.
I practiced with my devil's sticks. Kind of like juggling. I set a new record of flips performed consecutively: 16.**
I finished reading my book, "Drive" by Daniel H. Pink.
I read and made flashcards for 3 pages in my geography text book.
I went for a longer-than-usual walk.
I stopped by my step-mom's house and chatted with her for awhile.
I made a blog post.
I did my 15 minutes of yoga. I did it in the morning, whereas I usually wait until late at night and then get made at myself and struggle to begin. Morning is a lot better.
I went through some old clothes, tried things on, and rid myself of four shirts and a dress.
I researched some intentional communities and sent off an email to one that I might want to visit this summer.
I made a super delicious swiss cheese veggie sandwich and promtly devoured it.
I played with Sunny (beautiful doggie) for a while.
I got really pumped up about going to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows for free at the Student Union with my friend.
I repeatedly called the Student Union, getting the answering service everytime because they closed all day due to weather.
I instead went to my friend's house to have a Harry Potter maraton.
I took roads I've never taken in order to find her house.
We ate food, chatted, watched the first Harry Potter and part of the fourth, treated the bite on my finger from her vicous dog.
I organized some of her kitchen counter tops and alphabetized her DVDS. (I can't help it.)

That's probably not a totally comprehensive list of my day, but it's all I can muster currently.
There were a few things that I didn't get done. I don't know if this really had anything to do with not having a list, or more to do with time constraints.

Some things I didn't do:
Wash dishes
Read more for geography
Finish my food log

Those are pretty standard things that I sometimes fail to do. I'm not used to washing dishes because my mom usually does it. She can't stand or walk much lately though, so the duty has been transferred to me. I got them all done this morning.
Reading for geography is oftentimes a struggle. So, not really suprising.
I didn't do a food log for the evening and nighttime hours for which I was at someone else's house. Oops.

All in all, I think this experiment went really well! I think it would behoove me to continue without lists for a week or so and see where I end up. I might end up just doing it for the more mundane tasks, but I think I run the risk of making lists for everything again if I start it up at all. It will be interesting to explore.

Before I leave, I want to talk more about why making lists is such a big deal. You might be thinking that I'm taking the fact that I make lots of lists way out of porportion. Maybe you're right.
But I think my need for list makings stems from a couple of issues, including inadequacy and a search for external validation. There's kind of a feeling that I'm not doing enough. That somehow I'm falling behind and falling short. A portion of this feeling is alleviated by putting everything I do down on paper and crossing things out as I accomplish them (Look how much I've done!). This is an issue because I've become incapable of seeing my accomplishments for myself, always looking towards a list or another person for validation. I don't know if that makes sense or not.
Another issue inherent in my list making is that my life becomes a race to see how many things I can cross off. Things cease to be enjoyable, and instead run the risk of becoming mundane tasks that just need to be done. It's like I compartmentalize the joy out of my life.
That's all I have for now.


Aubrey




*Today, while playing that game again, I set a new record of 3180!
**Practicing with my devil's sticks this morning, I beat that by a long shot. New record: 33.