In an earlier post I discussed bedding in a new habit by making a checklist of everything I wanted to do in the mornings. Since then I’ve gone a bit checklist crazy – leaving the house checklist, leaving work checklist, travelling checklist, gym checklist.
The idea is simple – it’s not some simple slavish list to be followed – it’s a reminder of all the things that I might need or might want to do. For example the leaving for work checklist – it’s rare that I need exactly the same things every day – have I brought my laptop home or any papers, do I need to take my dry cleaning in, am I going straight out after work so need to take my trainers, my gym kit and so on.
The premise is this – sometime I’m creative and other times I’m not. Sometimes I can think of everything I might possibly need in a certain situation and a million more besides, other times I can barely remember to take myself somewhere. When I do think of something I write it down – that way it’s there, easily checked, for as long as I need it.
The problem with the mind is that when you have something on your mind that you want to be there - be it a good idea, a happy memory, a plan for the future – you feel as though you would never forget it. ‘I wouldn’t forget my gym kit, I love going to the gym’. The next day you’re half way to work before you even have you’re first thought, never mind thinking through whether you want to go to the gym.
Writing a checklist is simply another way of storing good ideas, to be acted upon or not acted upon as you see fit.
I know part of you might be thinking “I don’t wanna live my live like a slave, I’d rather live minute to minute and decide my own fate”. However the response there is simple – what greater freedom is there than deciding what you want to do, and taking the necessary action to do it? And not just the big things, but the whole of your life? Checklists can be helpful reminders of stuff, but they can also be powerful triggers. I have a checklist, of sorts, of the things I like to do on a weekend. These aren’t projects Iv committed to, just things I might fancy on a Saturday morning – good parks to go to, bookshops I’ve seen, coffee shops I want to check out, books I might wanna pick up, and so on. And bear in mind finally, that I can ignore everything on my list if I choose. Generally I don’t, for the simple fact that some part of me has already decided that doing whats on the list is personally profitable for me – why would I not do something like that?
Incidentally, a quick geek out, I’ve been recording my checklists in Remember the Milk. I had used it for my gtd reminders, but I didn’t quite like it for that. For checklists though, it’s wonderful, and it syncs nicely with my blackberry.
