Do You Make Lists?

I bet you do. I bet you’re a list maker.

And you should be; lists are very valuable.

But not the kinds of lists that you’ve been making.

Make it Once

The lists that I’m talking about are the ones that you make once, and then you never have to do it again.

You might edit it from time to time; things change, and your list may need to adapt.

But there’s no sense in writing basically the same things down over and over again.

One time I found an old grocery list of mine, and it looked pretty much like every other grocery list I had ever written:

• Milk
• Eggs
• Bread
• Dog food, and on and on

What Kinds of Lists?

In addition to grocery lists, there are all kinds of lists that we make every time the occasion arises.

The problem is, a lot of these occasions happen more than once. Say every year or so. Maybe even more often.

Last week, my husband and I went to Michigan to dog sit for our daughter and her family while they went on a trip for spring break.

I remembered:

• My laptop – which I didn’t use
• My planner and two other notebooks, plus colored pens – which I didn’t use
• An extra set of clothes – didn’t wear
• A portable charger which didn’t fit my phone

Now here is what I forgot:

• Our pillows
• Extra blankets (I don’t know why she doesn’t have these things, but she doesn’t)
• Toothbrush
• Comb for wet hair
• Shampoo – I use a special one for thinning hair
• The toy and treats we had for the dog

Now if I had made a list of what to bring when we visit Sarah, some of this might have been avoided and I wouldn’t have spent $100 at Walmart to replace it (and buy some extra stuff).

And if I had made this list, and kept it in a safe spot (don’t laugh), I could just refer to it next time instead of making a new one and risking forgetting something.

Here are a few things that could use a permanent list:

• Christmas – this holiday lends itself to all kinds of lists – a card list, what you bought as gifts last year, sizes, meal ideas, recipes and how they were, and a note about what you need to buy next year – like lights or wrapping paper
• Thanksgiving, Easter, Halloween, the 4th of July – any holiday you celebrate might need a list
• Birthdays
• Vacations – what to pack, maybe additional notes of some kind
• Other trips – maybe business ones, or when you go some place specific

About That “Safe Place”

I know.

Those of us with ADHD are notorious for putting things in a “safe place” and then never being able to find them again.

But not this time.

Last year, when we went camping, I forgot almost everything. It had been a long time, and truthfully, my heart wasn’t in it.

So one day while we were there, my daughter and I made a list of everything that we needed the next time we went camping.

I always bring my journals, planners, and notebooks with me almost everywhere I go, along with colored pens. It’s a sickness.

But we used those to make the list, and I added it to the pocket in my planner.

In January, I transferred the list from the pocket of my old planner to my new one, so I know exactly where it is.

But a better idea would be to get a small binder or notebook, just for those lists. After all, there are quite a few.

And then you would know exactly where they are when you need them.

Or you can use an app. There are a lot of them out there, but this is the one that I like.

Get Access to All of My Checklists for Free!

Check out the Resource Library with the free checklist here.