May I write you a list?

I used to carry around a DayPlanner. I LOVED that thing. It was so useful for keeping all kinds of information that I might need. I kept the names and contact information of former employers, references, and college details that I might need for a job application. I kept the addresses, phone numbers, and birthdays of everyone I knew. I wrote down appointments, holidays, random thoughts, to-do lists - just about everything.

Then it became kind of tacky to carry those. And THEN... then everyone went electronic. I got a Palm Pilot. Remember those?

I tried. I really, really tried - but I just couldn't love it. I missed paper.

The hubby loves Google Calendar. I accept the things he sends me (appointment reminders, etc) . . . and then I write them in my paper calendar. Every time a new device comes out I think, "A ha! This! This will be the one that makes electronic work for me." But nope. Nothing yet. (I wonder about the iPad but I'm not about to spend $500 to find out.)

So I'm on paper - and these days, boy, am I on paper. I printed out two paper calendars today to compliment the personal calendar I keep, the Google calendar I keep for certain reminders, and the new "family" calendar I just created to start keeping track of our "family" activities and responsibilities.

Oh, the paper. But why all the paper?

Nate's first birthday is seven weeks away and we're going to have a party for him at our house - our house that is an utter disaster at times, does not have anything hanging on the walls, has permanent soap scum in the shower, dust bunnies hopping in every corner, and no sofa in the living room.

You'd want to party there, right?  Right?  No, right.

So we need to get the house in order. If the hubby was the one working and I was the one home, we wouldn't need a list. I would just do things until it was all done. But he needs lists - so, boy, is he getting one. More like a calendar. With weekly and daily tasks.

So there's the "what we're going to do in the house, step by step, week by week, for the next seven weeks" list. Then, as I was considering catering for this party and realized that one catered lasagna tray costs anywhere from $60 - $95 and nearly had a heart attack, I realized that I don't need catering. The party is going to be simple and relatively small so the food will be manageable - lasagna, chicken fingers, salad, cold cuts - that kind of thing. So we're doing it ourselves. (See: food list and cooking time-frame list.)

Then there's my job. I really have to buckle down and do some big programming this upcoming quarter so I have a 12 week schedule printed out and I will basically be planning out the next three months of my working life. There's a separate, huge list just for next week, which is the break week between quarters. It's quiet because there are no students here but I have a lot to do to prepare for the upcoming quarter and a conference I'm presenting at the following week.

Then there's school. I didn't write this list yet, but I need to write out a list of everything that's due this Tuesday and next Tuesday (both of my classes are on Tuesday) so I can visually take it in. Otherwise I'm left with a vague mental idea of what I need to do and then when I sit down to do it, I'm surprised at how much there really is. That's never a good moment. I'm doing well in both of my classes but as we approach the end of the semester, it will be far too easy to fall behind and screw up my final assignments.

I feel like I'm juggling two dozen things at once.

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But as long as I have lists, I feel okay. I feel in control. I feel like nothing major is going to get past me if I'm hyper-aware of everything that needs to get done.

Are you a list maker?