Friday, March 3, 2006

Advanced List Mangement

"Habit is just a disciplined obsession," ~~ me
"Moses, write this down." ~~ Him

To Dos: whatever paper can be reached without moving
Brainstorm list in the order that things come to mind. Re-order according to a reasonable map that avoids backtracking.
If a weekend list, divide by day.

Groceries: right hand kitchen drawer
Write it down when it runs out. Food on the left; non-food on the right.

Netflix: saved in favorites
Whatever the load will bear. Rearrange as often as suits the mood.Occasionally scroll the list and reorder 1-12 from the lower end of the list without heed to what is picked.
Read Friends' lists and repress urge to do same.

Booklist: spiral notebook, nightstand drawer
Any of several rituals may be followed, depending on the library, and other books on the nightstand. Since the nightstand is usually non-fiction, fiction gets priority on the booklist. Non-fiction marked with a +, fiction not marked.
Sample options for picking the next book:
Open notebook to any page and start at the top...
Actually start at the beginning...
Start at the end...
Pick one row in the fiction section and confine choices to list items which fall in this area... [How Sons & Lovers got the call just yesterday]
Note the first number you see when you walk into the library and use that to determine page, line, or combination of the same...
When the book is completed, write the mm/yy next to the title. If the book was not worth finishing, strike it out. (Begone, disappointing book!)

Amazon Wishlist: they keep it
This is not a serious list. This is a true wish list, like circling horses in the paper. But people can shop from it, and that's nice.

Letter Basket: bookshelf
There is the regular rotation... and the response rotation. Pour a drink; this one is not for the normal.The rotation is a list of recipients, followed in order. One per day, generally, but not exclusively. That is to say... there must be one, but there need not be only one.
Letters received are in the response rotation, which supercedes a recipient's place in the regular rotation. BUT... responses can not fully displace the regular rotation, or people will fall woefully behind. So, the "next" letter is from the regular rotation, unless the last one was, in which case, go the the response rotation. (In other words, "every other one," a pleasing enough pattern when you don't specify it like a computer command.)

This List: appeared in my head driving home.

My sister keeps all of her spices in a cardboard box under her sink. But we love each other anyway.

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