Post-its and Lists

If there's one thing I know all too well about myself, it's that I don't do multitasking. I've been blessed and cursed with what can best be dubbed a "one track mind."

It's not that I only have one thing on my mind at all times (i.e. What it means for guys to have a "one track mind"). In fact, I usually have 5 million thoughts racing through my head at any given moment. Rather, it’s more that I've trained myself to never divert my attention from the task at hand, for better or worse.

I cannot type and talk in multiple conversations; walk and eat at the same time; or perhaps most unforgivable, fully invest myself in a new project if I’m in the middle of another one. My mind just doesn’t have the capacity to work that way, har har.

But I’ve figured out recently that thinking this way works for me.

This is why I move through tasks relatively slowly, ensuring that everything is done to a certain degree of completion before even being able to think about the next step.

Or maybe that’s just the excuse I give myself for being so single-task-minded.

In reality, I think the truth is a lot simpler than that: Nothing makes me happier than crossing things off my never-ending to-do list.

My life is made up of post-its strewn throughout my room, spilling out of my notebooks, stuck carefully on the edge of my dashboard. I look at each day as a post-it, each part of my day filled with bulleted lists and checks and arrows – what’s the priority and what isn’t necessary? How can I break down the overwhelming flood of responsibilities into bite-size, manageable items on a list?

The method’s worked for me thus far, but I’ve been wondering recently if this is the best way to go about each day, working endlessly just to complete tasks but not necessarily enjoy them. So I’ve started adding other things to my lists, interspersing the need-to-do’s with the have-to-do’s (initially seem to be the same concept, but there IS a subtle difference between the two).

Need to do:
Finish scholarship applications.

Have to do:
Return personal emails and phone calls. Catch up with old friends.

Need to do:
Copy-edit incoming stories and return them to my writers.

Have to do:
Start pitching story ideas to begin freelancing.

Need to do:
Drop off laundry, pick up books, buy groceries, clean room, order tickets, write thank-you cards, wash the car, get my ish together.

Have to do:
Breathe.

My lists are getting more focused as I start to realize just where my priorities are. It’s all about balancing the personal with the professional, private with public, and I think I’ve struck a happy medium. Life’s been really good to me lately, and I’d like to think I can attribute this contentment to the new additions to my list.

My life story is written on a series of post-its, and I love it. It’s a form of temporary adherence – no permanence, just a few notes and reminders and a few scratches along the way to make sure my thoughts (and my ink!) are still flowing.

Forget about getting stuck in a rut or dwelling on the negative aspects of being “one track minded.” Living my life this way means that I literally only have to worry about one thing at a time, and if I have a bad day, I know I can paste over it tomorrow.

One list, one item, one step at a time.