Lists

List-N. a number of connected items written or printed consecutively, an area for jousting tournaments or other contests V. (of a ship) to lean to one side

There were a whole bunch more really interesting definitions for the word list. For instance, did you know that in Old English list is related to lystan which means 'to be pleasing to'. A list is also selvage on cloth or thin strips of wood used as an edging.

I digress.

I make lists. I love lists. I make grocery lists; I make To Do lists; I make goal lists; I make chore lists; I make storage lists; I make wish lists; I make task lists; I make lists for other people;  I make lists for myself. The list just goes on.

I've heard all my life how wonderful and satisfying it is to cross something off your list. I've tried it. It does feel pretty good. But I think I have some sort of Oppositional List Disorder, OLD. Once I've crossed a few things off my list I get distracted, maybe distracted is the wrong word, more like deliberately distracted, or refocused, or perhaps defiant and oppositional. My list just sits there unloved and unused. A blatant reminder of how I continue to fail to cross things off of it.

My lists pile up too. I just cleaned out the car for Pesach and found a pile of lists shoved in the door pocket like unwanted step children. In the bottom of my knitting bag were several task lists and errand lists crumpled and despondent. I walked past the bookshelf in the dining room and was ambushed by another pile of lists that leaped off the shelf hoping to fulfill their ultimate purpose and find favor in my eyes.

Yet it's not all lists towards which I manifest OLD. My grocery lists are a piece of art. They are ordered by store, and aisle; there are ranks for budget considerations and meal planning; holiday meals have their own section. Oh beautious shopping lists! It's my To Do lists, task lists, chore lists and other action oriented lists that languish, pile up and remind me of my constant failure.

And it's not like I can't follow directions. I can follow a knitting or sewing pattern from step one to the finish, without a single mistake. I can put together an Ikea bookshelf like nobody's business. Recipes, piece of cake!  Everyone of these things is nothing more than a detailed list of instructions.

So where is the breakdown? When does a list become my antithesis? At what point does my OLD kick in? Am I the only Human Being for which lists do not work?

I reviewed a few of my lists just to get a feel for where the breakdown was. I had the cleaning supplies for the cleaning lists, no problem there, I just dislike cleaning and would rather be knitting. There were a few task lists that required something else be completed before the list could be accomplished, like acquiring boxes or moving furniture. That only made the list longer so I can see where the glitch was, I would rather be knitting. My errand lists were usually pretty well completed, except for the things that came after the craft or yarn store.

I'm starting to see a pattern here.

I'm going to go peruse Ravelry while I think about this.