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Banish Listlessness
If you're the organized, analytical type, the odds are that you're already an accomplished maker of lists, and can stop reading right here. Lists come naturally to those sorts of personalities. I couldn't function without lists. I tell people, if it's not on my list it isn't happening, so e-mail me, and I list everything each day, work-related and personal, then cross it off or carry it forward.
It's people with the opposite type of personality who need to read on - but won't want to. Take actress Justine Aboud, 26, for example. Not having a check list once almost cost her $20 000 when she staged a charity event for a major corporate client - and forgot to get a signature of approval beforehand. 'I only got away with it because it was such a cool function'.
The very idea of lists is anathema to laid-back, visually oriented, creative individuals who thrive on spontaneity. My man's an accountant and he makes meticulous lists - even, recently, for choosing a new house. I go mostly on gut and finally persuaded him to take a house against his reasoned judgment - and we both now love it, as I'd sensed we would. Through my coaching work, I understand the enormous power of lists for many people. And how better to explain these than, well, to list them:
1. Lists Give Clarity
We carry so much information in our heads, especially now that we're plugged into the world virtually 24/7 with computers and cellphones. Writing down your thoughts allows you to off-load info and examine it. Lists help you clear the clutter in your head to access it - they're a kind of self-coaching.
2. They Bring Perspective
Once you've listed things you can give them a value and prioritize them.
3. They Give Control
By helping you to sift and order your thoughts, lists stave off panic and pressure. Listing the tasks you've accomplished in a day is a way of recognizing what you've achieved and saying thank you to yourself. Noting any tasks left incomplete, and the action you can take towards completing them tomorrow, helps you let go for the day, enabling a good night's rest.
4. They Make for Efficiency
Shopping and to-do lists stop you forgetting things and wasting time. We recommend linking listed tasks to your cellphone alarm - a great way of staying on time with activities such as taking food out the oven or turning off the swimming-pool hose.
5. They Motivate
Lists invite you to start projects and complete them, and allow you to measure progress so you stay on track. Writing down goals brings a degree of commitment. And even for a non-list type there's no denying the satisfaction of crossing things off as you achieve them. Sometimes I write things on my list that I've already done - to get the ticks going.
Lists to Make a Decision
When you're faced with a decision, a list can help. Simply creating a space in your
life to focus on the issues can be useful. And making a list rewards you with the sense that you're doing something to address them.
Write down the parameters of the decision. What are your choices? List every possibility.
Gather information about each one, doing research on the Internet, reading books or talking to people who have the relevant information and experience.
Under each option, list its pros and cons. Think of them as your resources and barriers. Don't try to order them or limit yourself in any way.
Revisit the list, assigning each pro and con a rating out of 10 based on the considerations that are important to you. There aren't any right or wrong reasons for making a decision. The fact that a particular course of action is important for you, irrespective of the views of others, makes it legit.
Now review your ratings, thinking of any biases that may have colored them, and change them if you sense you should.
Add the scores for both lists and see which weighs most, pros or cons. But in the end always listen to your intuition, say the coaches. Ask yourself what the most - and least -desired possible outcomes would be for each option and whether the best is truly worth risking the worst. If the worst would be totally unacceptable for you then revisit your possibilities and narrow them down further to doable options. We tend to make decisions because of either commitment or desire. Be aware of which is driving you.
A decision based on commitment comes from inside you and will allow you to feel fulfilled. A decision based on desire comes from outside - you believe it's the right thing to do for others, or that it's what they expect from you - and seldom brings fulfillment.
Consider whether it's possible to work your options into a compromise that capitalizes on the pros and plays down the cons to an acceptable level.
Stop dithering and decide, or you could develop analysis paralysis, a common condition.
Remind yourself that all choice brings uncertainty and no decision can be perfect. Change is very hard. You can only take your best shot, and using lists will give you that.
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