There was a time when there was no need of lists. I retained all the information I needed in my head. It’s only in recent years that I’ve had the need to write my lists down. Well, that’s what I thought. But closer reflection tells me that’s not quite true. I always had a calendar or diary, which I used for appointments and work related stuff. In nursing, our notebooks and diaries often contained a series of lists – names, diagnostic information and actions. This was all paper based – i.e. in a book. But it is true to say that I held an awful amount of information in my head, probably too much.
Lists and diaries
However the range of topics to be contained within the list or on the page was relatively small. It wasn’t until I started working in management and at the same time had a child reaching his teenage years that my lists became more complicated. Around the same time I was introduced to the world of the electronic diary. For quite a while I was double running. I just like writing things down and before smart phones it was always easier to look at a paper diary than one on a computer. Even when I left my job 2 years ago I was still printing off my electronic diary and sticking it in my note book along with my lists!
I find lists most useful when there are a clear set of things to remember to do, for example when you are going on holiday or have a specific project. I tend to list my potential blog posts each week and then tick them off. Admin tasks and bills also get listed in my planner (previously just a notebook). I’m often rubbish at getting round to doing things like that and so a list with dates etc. is useful.
Master is the king of lists. He has a list for everything – books to read, things to look up in books or online, music to buy or listen to. He even puts things like cut the grass, buy milk or whatever on a list of miscellaneous things. We often come across lists written months or years ago. I don’t throw anything of his away, but try to encourage general housekeeping into the bin where possible. Our diaries are merged, so we know what each of us has planned as well as the things we are going to be doing together. It feels a bit sad now that we have no social events or holidays in our diary. It’s one of the things I’m looking forward to when the lockdown ends and we can once again plan things.
Kink lists
As a new submissive I was pleased to find kink lists documented in a number of places. Fetlife and Kinkly to name just two. These helped me not only understand the kinds of things I was reading and talking about online but know what I wanted to try or not. Fetlife for example make it easy for you to list your kinks on your profile. These lists help you work out where your hard limits lie and also to set soft ones. I also use those lists and their definitions when I am writing blog posts. They have been especially useful in the Blogging A-Z each April.
I also appreciate listing a lot of parts of my life)
For me, making lists also works)
I used to retain info in my head…or at least I think I did. Then I broke a couple of years back and I can’t remember a thing! We have all sort of random lists and quite often share them so we keep our to-do lists or shopping lists combined.