The Life of Riley: lists

Lists!

1. Do you make them?

2. Do you use them?

3. Do you love crossing things off as you go?

4. Have you ever done an extra chore and written it down just so you could cross if off?

Me, too!

I was reflecting on why I have such a love for lists, and it really comes down to organization. It helps me focus. It keeps me from being overwhelmed and it helps me make a plan.

If I just have an ambiguous bunch of "have tos" in my head I have a hard time starting and prioritizing what needs to be done.

As I was writing this post, I found a great article from the New Yorker.

It reinforced all the things I love about lists.

Why we make shopping lists:

"For instance, it’s hard to memorize through brute force the groceries we need to buy. It’s easier to remember everything if we write it down in bulleted, or numbered, points. Then, even if we forget the paper at home, it is easier for us to recall what was on it because we can think back to the location of the words themselves."

The article itself is more about why we look for lists in media but I thought this part was important as well.

"But the list’s deepest appeal, and the source of its staying power, goes beyond the fact that it feels good. In 2011, the psychologists Claude Messner and Michaela Wänke investigated what, if anything, could alleviate the so-called “paradox of choice”—the phenomenon that the more information and options we have, the worse we feel. They concluded that we feel better when the amount of conscious work we have to do in order to process something is reduced; the faster we decide on something, whether it’s what we’re going to eat or what we’re going to read, the happier we become."

There you have it. Why lists are great. Interestingly, I don't use the fancy planners that are out there. When I think about those, I feel anxiety, like my lists have to be perfect, like I have to decorate with stickers and other things. It becomes another "have to".

On that note, my updated project list:

Quilts to be bound
Small Hexie Mini Quilt (moved up)

Tops that need to be quilted:

French General Irish Chain

On Ringo Lake Mystery Quilt

Bee Panel Wall Hanging

Charm Parade

Baby Blue and Red Charity Quilt

Large Flower Blocks Charity Quilt

Spider Web

Blue Fairy Quilt

Star Quilt

Girl Bonnie and Camille Baby Quilt

Flower Fairy Panel

4 quilts from a friend's mom

Pixie House Quilt (I forgot this one on the last list)

Gridsterbee Christmas Blocks (moved up from the TTBF)

Tops to be finished (more done than not)

Handmaids Christmas Quilt

10 year Hexie quilt. (I've decided to put on borders)

Another Nut House (needs more embroidery)

EPP Orbit (applique to background?)

EPP Honeycombs (applique to background?)

Blocks to be turned into tops

Eclipse (pattern by modernquiltstudio)

Sampler blocks from Gridsterbee

Blue and White Log Cabin

Ugly Quilt x 6

EPP Star Flowers (thrifted)

Stack and Whack (thrifted)

Bug Jar (thrifted)

Quilts to Start

Si Bday quilt

Possible Two Baby Quilts

Checkers Quilt Kit

Other Sewing to be done

Shorts for Mini

Pjs for Mini

Swimsuit for Mini

Possible Swimsuit for Me

Curtains for Laundry Room

Hand Bell Table Covers

I love January, truly.

The days are getting longer. The sun comes directly in to my dining room (which is where I sew). The taking down of Christmas decor creates an instant satisfaction of de-cluttering and cleanliness. I don't mind the cold and snow either, because its an excuse to stay home. We are currently cold, but snow-less.

So here we are in a new year AND a new decade. A perfect opportunity to take stock of where we've been and where we're going.

To that end, I think I'll go ahead and make one of those SUPER LISTS. You know the kind that lists all the UFOs. Prepare yourselves, you've been warned.