Lists surround me.

I have a list on my calendar of what I intend to do today, and another with a plan for the week.  I have a list of things to do at the gym.  I have a grocery list.  I have a list of projects that need attention.  I have lists for Dixie that include work to be done, parts that need explored, and parts to be ordered.  I have a list of projects for other people.   To complicate matters, I have lists running through my head that have not yet made it to paper.

Sometimes my brain is processing so many different thoughts so quickly it is like a super-highway at rush hour.  I can easily become overwhelmed with the thoughts, ideas, and to-do projects flying through at lightening speed.  Sometimes I want to scream.

“STOP!”

I use my lists as a sort of therapy.  Listing is a process that provides me with a sense of focus.  By putting each item to paper, I can remove it from the superhighway in my head.  I can start to slow the pace, as there are fewer items for that moment.  Of course there are ALWAYS things that come up that work into the traffic flow of my mind.

That is life!

I know that my lists can overrun me as easily as my busy brain.  I get so tired just juggling my thoughts and my lists.  I feel mentally drained despite my sense of organization and accomplishment. There are days where it is necessary to put the lists aside and be in the moment. 

It is difficult to give myself permission to do so, but the exercise in allowing myself to just “be” is refreshing.  I may not throw the lists away for the entire day.  That would likely invoke a sense of panic in my analytical mind. 

Today I will set aside some time to just enjoy part of the day, list-free.  It will take some deliberate thought to turn the volume down when the list in my head starts to speak, but the effort will be well worth the result.

Today, list-free time will move to the top of my list! :-)