#5: Sticky Note To-Do Lists
I think in order to combat the looming despair that I can’t actually ascribe measurable value to this list, maybe I’ll conclude with a thorough justification of why certain items beat out others. Or maybe I won’t, and that will have to be okay with you.
That is what I say to myself a lot when composing Sticky Note To-Do Lists. My school laptop has a perfectly suitable place for such a list, so I can keep it on hand at all times and regularly celebrate both the triumphant victory of crossed-off items and also acutely aware of the items yet to accomplish. I love to-do lists. I get it from my mom. It’s surely genetic that we both will write things that we’ve already done simply for the pleasure of crossing it off. You wouldn’t believe the mundane and meticulous tasks I have written simply because I know that once they’re crossed off, I’ll feel like a champion:
Shower
Play Wordle
Read paper
Wash stain
And the list goes on. I love lists. But the specificity of sticky note to do lists is especially unique and endearing, both for its portability and its quaintness. See, I would never dare make a list on an entire 8x11 piece of paper. Too daunting. Sticky notes are the perfect size where I don’t (usually) overwhelm myself, but I can easily fill it and create enough tasks to feel that swelling (and sometimes ego-boosting) sense of achievement.
Also, I hardly ever lose it. I can stick it to my hydroflask, my laptop, other notebooks, agendas, other, bigger to-do lists, and the fridge. The stickiness keeps it with me; the size keeps me realistic. On busy days, I might cycle through three or four. When I finish a list, I crumple the sticky note and start anew - equally as satisfying as crossing things off.
The writer of Ecclesiastes would probably not approve of my meaningless striving and never ceasing, and there’s certainly validity in that. But I mostly use them for organization, to keep my brain on straight, to not forget. Yes, the SNTDL affirms the Enneagram-3 Achiever in me who always needs to be doing. And yes, I ashamedly find some worth in what I have gotten done (or how much I’ve gotten done). And sometimes, I find that I’m racking up tasks for the sake of being busy so that I don’t have to
Face internal struggles
Tend to spiritual needs of the soul
Feel the inevitable pain that merely comes with being alive.
But also, I sometimes find that the items on my to-do list are things like “send funny text to Lilly” or “write an encouraging note.” Sometimes it’s simply “get outside” or “water flowers,” things that give me life and bring life around me all at once. Sticky Note To-Do Lists don’t judge or discriminate - from “pluck eyebrows” to “ask for forgiveness,” anything goes. And it keeps me moving whilst doubly keeping me rooted, grounded, sane. Together.
For all these things and more, SNTDLs rank 5th.