52 Changes

Because 101 in 1001 was such a "success,” and because I like to announce my goals and fail at achieving my goals publicly, I bring you a brand new meme: 52 changes. This little project stems from the fact that I like resolutions, but tend to overshoot with a long list of Herculean tasks that overwhelm me. Instead, I’ll be spreading the resolutions throughout the year, one per week. Some (most) will be small, some will be major—and I know I’m not going to keep all of them up, but I can’t help but think that at least some of these fifty-two changes will stick.

Change One: Maintain a To-Do List

From my early twenties on, I loved me my to-do lists. My typical list was broken down into subcategories (To Read, To Watch, To Write, To Call,) and I kept it handy whenever possible. Some of the items were things I definitely needed a reminder on, others were gimmies—things I had no doubt I’d accomplish within hours of writing them down. Gimmies aside, these stupid little paper lists helped me get a lot done. I’m not gonna kid you, I still put things off whenever possible, but I think back then my total procrastination time was half what it is now. I can’t pinpoint exactly when I stopped with the list maintaining, but I guess it was sometime around the wedding. It was about then that I started relying on Sarah to do all my remembering for me (she loves this, FYI). It’s not the same though. I need a tangible list. And I find that even electronic lists aren’t as effective. There’s just something about a paper to-do list makes me all industrious and junk.