makin' lists
I confess. I'm a list maker...
I make lists every day...
To do lists.
Prayer lists.
Menus.
Shopping lists.
And...also...I try to write 10 random things everyday. This is where the life changing part comes in.
So just how DOES list making change my life.
For one things, making lists challenges me. Just the idea that I am going to sit down and write out 10 things. This can be everything from even the above lists: 10 Weekly Things. I think this will be pretty cool to look back on in a few years to see what was important to me right now.
Secondly, writing lists strengthens my idea muscle. Just like our bodily muscles, if not used, they will atrophy. So too our mental muscle. Try writing down 10 projects you would like to get done in the next week.
Lists can create amazing inventories of ideas. Very often, and while using the Heidi Swapp Journal Studio collection for holding my books of lists, I will just go and look at past lists. Most of the time those pasts lists prompt ideas I may have forgotten. But I didn't forget them, because I wrote them down. And now I have a fabulous inventory of ideas.
Lists keep me thinking. Not only does the act of writing a list down keep me thinking, but throughout my day my mind often wanders to, 'what will my next list be?'. So I am always thinking.
Inside the gridded journal inserts that are part of the Journal Studio range, I will just connect the dots and draw lines for my list headers. Boxes serve as bullet points to my list. And also give me a place to check something off that I may have accomplished or seen through. Love me those gridded pages.
Lists are cognitively beneficial. You have heard me proclaim before, writing problems down can create some distance between you and the problem. That idea translates into lists as well. Getting things out of your head and on the paper gives them place, and very often gives them life. AND... gives your mind some additional space. We all could use more of that.
Sometimes I actually write down really good ideas. I like the option of housing my lists inside the Journal Studio Kits. These hard back holders of the journal inserts (see this post HERE for some those details) keep my lists safe. I can easily refer back to them. It's like a catalog of really good thoughts.
And then sometimes I don't have really good ideas. And that's ok too. Close up my Journal, and do NOT take a photo.
Lists making helps provide me with a morning routine. I have a pretty solid morning routine that prompts the order of my day. Writing 10 things daily helps that routine get a kick start. It sets my mood. It provides for me a peak state to jump into my work, or assignments, or even the family responsibilities all around me.
And I could go on. I have found making daily lists super helpful to my productivity. Providing a space to brainstorm as well as get the things out of my head. It's safe to say that all around this list making has changed my life.
For a look at this entire collection of Heidi Swapp Journal Studio, and yes, my lists really do live on these pages, you can go HERE and check it all out.
Below I list several of my favorite items used to help with my daily journaling and list making goals:
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