CUP.....check...LIST...check

Lists, lists, lists....I tell ya I'm a list freak. I have to be or else I'd be way more nutty than I already am. I met with a mgmt shrink several years ago (okay he was a mgmt coach but I fondly referred to him as a shrink) and he hit it on the head when he told me that if I just keep all my to dos running around in my head then I feel overwhelmed but once it's written down, I relax and let me tell ya it's like a drug. Because I'm a born multi-tasker I rarely forget anything but it all just stays "active" in my brain so many times if you ask me how I am I would ALWAYS say "I have alot going on" and if you were in my brain you'd quickly agree and you'd buy me a latte!

So when something is a "to-do" but it's weeks or months away it's a huge relief to right it down on that month and I don't think about it again because I've written it down and when the times comes I'll deal. I've kind of always done this but not as seriously as I do now and I never let it go like I do now.....

But....I learned a lesson about lists (and those of you that have reached this point of my post and are yawning...this is for you). My dear friend Jenny....I helped her plan her wedding so naturally we spent months together chatting and planning away (ahhh Jenny I miss our sofa times so much). Then one day something happened........things were not as hunky-dory with us as usual and she was upset and before I knew it I was handing her kleenex and thinking "oh Andrea what did you do now"?

Well what I thought was this new found genius way of living is not so genius, much less helpful, for everyone. There are people out there, yes I was shocked too, that DON'T LIKE LISTS.....gasp (me too)! Little miss dear Jenny is one of them. She keeps things sorted out differently then my one giant freaky-task list. Well, I had cleverly mapped out the last 2 months of her engagement for her down to when she would buy bridesmaids gifts, wrap them, buy this, get this, etc. I was truly patting myself on the pack and no this isn't a thing normal wedding planners do but she's a close friend we walked this road together, every ribbon of it.

Well let me tell ya it wasn't pretty.....the list absolutely overwhelmed her. What spoke organization to me spoke OH MY HEAVENS to her. She needed to stay organized in a different way then me. So needless to say we quickly adapted and out the door the list went and still everything went off without a hitch...well except for the part where she moved to Washington - that still bothers me cuz it WASN'T on my list!

This is the "system" (if you really want to call it that) that I follow today - good 'ol excel!
I continually add things on here daily, several times a day - I mean everything goes on here (well almost everything....I don't list when I pee! The red is my stationery biz....yes I be a busy little beaver right now...the green is my RAM (room-a-month home tour)..catchy huh??! and the blue is errands, dates (not the love interest kind don't you worry you'll still be the last to know....wink wink) chores, etc. When a week passes, I hide everything in that week. When I complete a task I use strikethrough and cross that puppy off the list! It's old school but it works for me and I need it. I have other tabs attached for my biz but this is a precious file and always up on my home computer.

My BFF came in my office last night and said so "what do you have going on tomorrow night" and I said "look" (pointing at Wed's column) and she goes "ohhhhh".....haha! It was funny...okay maybe you had to be there.

I can't keep it all on my iphone, however I do use the notes app on my iphone alot for shopping lists, etc but i need a bigger visual so excel seems to work. Is there a better way - anyone? What do you do?

Today I picked up a pair of pants I had altered that I'd been meaning to get since last Friday but it wasn't on the list. After I picked them up and got back to my office...I added it to the list just so I could cross it off! I know I'm nuts.....but I know some of you have done the same thing before. We like the feeling of accomplishment way too much to not get the credit! ha!

Cheers!