I have never known the derivation of the word listless (no. I haven't looked it up), but this morning, quite by chance, it suddenly came to me.
Since horse has been lame, my day has been thrown out of kilter. But another reason I'm being so inefficient is that I've stopped writing lists. Lists are wonderful - Aliya, for one, has blogged about them before - and they make me do things. Little things as well as big things. Like phoning the electrician or changing the sheets. On a list day, I write everything - and I mean everything - down, and then tick and cross them off when I've done them. I've even been known to write down something I've already done for the pleasure of ticking it off (we elderly people have to find out pleasures where we can).
So, today:
Phone electrician
De-coke shower head
Make big fuss at mobile phone shop (of which more when I've had a chance to calm down)
Put on some washing (I know. Boring. But ticking it off will be nice)
Prune messy jungle of plants growing over the fence
Write (I've been very bad about this recently. I blame the heat)
Post top back to sister (don't ask)
Phone daughter for daily chat
Well, that's a start, isn't it? My computer doesn't do ticks*, so no-one will ever know whether I managed to do all these things. Except me...
*Does anyone have a ticking computer?
I can only manage to do my lists if I write them by hand. Don't know why!
ReplyDeleteMy sister in law gave me a lovely notebook and I use that to list writing tasks. The book is so nice, I'd hate to waste it so I make a real effort to do the tasks. I don't tick them though - I cross them out when they're done (think computers can do that?)
ReplyDeleteHi, Jenny. Yes - I hand write my lists, too.
ReplyDeletePatsy, I'm afraid I tick AND cross out. Just to be sure. It's a kind of showing off.
Lists are one of the loves of my life! I am, after all, a Librarian, and therefore, putting things (or tasks) in order comes second nature to me. My mum tells me that, when she once asked me to tidy my room, I sat down in the middle of the "mess" (it actually was a town for my playmobile figures) and wrote a list for my pencil case, in which exact order the coloured pencils had to be put into the case.
ReplyDeleteHmmm. Just a touch of OCD, Librarian? But it sounds as though you're very tidy!
ReplyDeleteI don't know what OCD is, but yes, I am very tidy. I need that outer frame to be tidy and stable in order to contain the inner chaos and wilderness.
ReplyDeleteHi, Librarian - it's obsessive compulsive disorder!
ReplyDeleteBTW I've twice tried leaving a comment on your blog but it wasn't having any of it. Maybe it's just me?
Thank you for the explanation, Frances!
ReplyDeleteHmm... up until yesterday, people were able to leave comments on my blog. Were you trying to comment on the latest entry, or an older one? For the ones older than 2 weeks, I have activated moderation, not because I expect a lot of spam, but because I would never find the comments otherwise.
If it was the latest post, then I suspect it is blogger acting up again.