Meet the "list" me!

Seriously, this is something I am not apologetic about. I don't exactly remember when and how I cultivated this habit, but for as long as I know, I have been making lists. 

During school days, I remember making lists of books I need from the library, lists of songs to "tape" from friends, list of lessons to study, movies to watch, friends to call over - for everything I had scraps of paper with bulleted items. (No wonder I became a technical writer :P) 

In college, I always had a ready list of things to shop when I had spare pocket money. That one even had a priority number assigned to each item. At work, I had lists on paper and the white board of documents to review, extra activities to do if time permits, list of tools and concepts to learn and what not.

Now that I am married, and have a family to "run", there's no limit to the lists I have. Here's a peek into all my active lists as of today:

1. Groceries/Other household stuff - This list is divided into 3 sub lists, as follows:

• Regular (for stuff I can get at the regular grocery/convenience store)
• Indian groceries
• Large scale (items that would warrant a visit to Costco, Sam's Club or the likes)     

2. A shopping list for my daughter: Contains all sorts of things ranging from diapers to clothes to books to toys to medicines - each item has an approximate Buy By date next to it.

3. Pediatrics' List: This list is updated with all the things I need to discuss with my daughter's pediatrics - whenever some specific query strikes my mind, it goes straight to the list.

4. Blog Posts To Write: Yeah! Given that I don't have the leisure to instantly start typing the minute I think of something, I quickly put the topic in this list and refer to it the next time I am at the comp!

5. Recipes to try: I follow a few food blogs, and once in a while the "regular" bloggers I follow tend to post some interesting recipe too - the links to all of these go into a list that I can access at a later date.

6. Daily to do: You won't believe it but I am this crazy. 99% of the days, before 9 or 10 AM, I pen down what are the things I need to do on that day. These include such mundane stuff as cook, clean, do laundry, keep trash out, call parents, exercise, walk, blog, mail so and so, oil hair, and so on and so forth - basically every single thing I need to do. It's a surprise I don't write breathe or even brush teeth in there!

7. Places to visit: I have been maintaining this list for years now! (Before every visit to a place, I again end up making several lists: things to carry, things to bring from there, must visit spots, must eat local food etc.)

In addition to all these lists, I have recurrent activities like payments, appointments etc. logged into Google calendar, which is set to give me reminders at 5AM of the day an event has to occur.

And I still deny that I have OLD - Obsessive Listing Disorder!

Why did I think of sharing this info all of a sudden? Well because, the other day, we went for my daughter's monthly pediatric appointment, and I was ready with my list of things to discuss. The doctor looked at me in complete amazement, and said, "Wow! I really admire the fact that you come so prepared for all the appointments. You have everything written down so clearly. Its a pleasure to see you each time." She then turned around to my husband and said, "You are one lucky man that your wife is so particular about everything". I needn't mention that Vish didn't even consider that as a compliment to me. He is forever irritated with pens and papers lying everywhere around the house, and notepad files named Things to Buy, Things to do etc., all over the desktop :D!

On a lighter note, I often joke that I also have a mental "hit" list. A list of people who I feel should be shot down - and the only reason that list does not have a physical manifestation is because I am worried if something does happen to those people, I might be put behind bars :D.

So, what lists do you keep? Or do you just go with the flow :P?