Okay, now to-do lists.
Nothing particularly profound, this issue. Probably.
I use to-do lists, regularly.
Usually at work. I’ll be taking notes (or catching thoughts as they fly through), and realize that some of those things I’ve jotted down are actionable items. So I add a little box at the front of it. Later, I come back to those items, do them, and then check them off. Feels good, doesn’t it.
And on my days off
I always have grand dreams about how much I could accomplish with a whole day. Then I write those things down, again with the checkboxes. If this process happens later in the morning (or even in the afternoon!) I may even supplement my list with things that I have already done that day, just so that I can check them off. Everyone does this, right?
My 2023 reading goal is similar, I suppose.
Aside from my New Year’s resolution, I have set myself the goal of reading the entire series The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. Two chapters a day will get me there, so it’s like every day I have an invisible checklist of “[ ] [ ] Read WoT chapter” and every day I get to invisibly check them off. That feels good. It also feels good to go through the story at a steady pace without binging. It also keeps me reading consistently instead of binging in a day and then not picking up the book for a week.
Life goals too, both past and future
I’ve been to all 50 states. In 2015 I went on my “GRAND EPIC ROAD TRIP TO LIFE, THE UNIVERSE, AND EVERYTHING” and completed that invisible checklist. No doubt you have questions about that road trip. I bet I’ll end up writing about that someday. Does that make this a tease? Yes.
I also kind of have a personal goal to watch all of Star Trek. I’ve seen all of the Original Series, all of The Animated Series, all of Deep Space Nine (my favorite Trek), and all of Enterprise. I’m fairly certain I’ve seen all of Voyager, but I’m counting from when it was broadcast, and I may have missed an episode here and there. Same for The Next Generation.
Checking things off sure does feel great.
For one, there’s the accomplishment. You get to make evidence that some things got done. And then there’s the dopamine hit. It’s the brain’s little reward for doing things: sex, shopping, eating, and probably pooping too I don’t know I’m no doctor. But I know that dopamine is good and it helps one feel good. Huzzah for dopamine!
So I would like to share this dopamine source with you. Let’s get things accomplished, together! You deserve to get little hits of dopamine by getting things done. Maybe you can even draw a little box and check it off!
It’s called “body doubling”
For me, it helps me get things done if there’s someone with me. Not even to help me do the thing, just to be present. For example, having my friend over for lunch helps me pick up my apartment. I don’t need him to pick up anything or wash a single dish. He could sit at the table and watch movies, or even lay down and take a nap! And while he slept I would get so much accomplished that I would struggle with, were I by myself.
So maybe this kind of thing will help you too. And if it does, maybe we can do it together, by zoom. Would you like to try it? You can schedule a 25-minute zoom “Accountability Partner / Body Doubling” meeting with me. I’ll get some work done, you’ll get some work done, and we’ll keep each other off the bird app.
Schedule some “get work done” time with me! (link removed) Text me and let’s put it on the calendar!
Finally, a list.
I talked about making lists like those in The Pillow Book of Seishonagon, and I wasn’t kidding. This prompt is from a friend.
Board games & card games that I like
Forbidden Island
Spirit Island
Aquatica
Cribbage
King of New York (when one adds a little bit of role-play)
Arch Ravels
Legend of Korra Pro Bending Arena (with all the Kickstarter bonus teams and the Amon Expansion)
Chess
Gin
Michigan Rummy
Puns of Anarchy
Regicide (especially when using the app)