On the subject of lists

When I am under pressure to deliver and there are a million and one things going on both in and out of my life I start making lists. I know that I should do this all the time because I know it really works but when the number of items on the list is small I always think I can hold the list in my head. It is only when things get interesting that I resort to list making.

But what should go on these lists. The bottom line is almost everything. I keep at least two lists both in priority order, one for work and the other for the bits I try to do out of work.

The list for work items helps me maintain balance by keeping the high priority items at the top I know that I just need to work my way down the list. By having a list for personal stuff I can make sure that in the odd moments when I am not actually working I know what I should be doing.

Having the lists mean that I do not have to keep remembering what to do next.

Simplify your life - make lists!
There are some excellent descriptions of how lists can be made to work for you over at the http://www.pragmaticprogrammer.com. In particular http://www.pragmaticprogrammer.com/titles/rdbcd/index.html