To Do

June 6, 2006

• Eat healthy
• Do laundry
• Clean my room (horror of horrors)
• Take out the garbage (groan)
• Exercise
• Read something non-fictitious
• Do something I enjoy: Write, drink coffee, hang out with friends, etc.

Yes, this is the to-do list I made for myself nearly three days ago. The result? I drank a lot of coffee and hung out with a few friends, but I didn't even come close to accomplishing my other tasks. In fact, I stayed away from home all day just so I wouldn't have to think about the responsibilities that awaited me there.

Why do I even bother making to-do lists? It's as though I write them to discourage myself. Because that's precisely what happens: I write down everything I need to do for the day and then realize I have absolutely no desire to do any of it. Consequently, I throw the whole thing out the window before I even get started on the first miserable task. Of course, I don't consciously think of it this way as I'm carefully planning out my list. I set out to accomplish my tasks with the best of intentions, but I quickly forget what my goals are for the day. Or perhaps I conveniently ignore them? Hmmm....

Today I didn't make a to-do list, but I did have a lot of business to take care of. I woke up at a reasonable hour this morning (10:30... shut up), I made it to the bank before lunch hour, I successfully sent a hefty amount of money home without any hang-ups (I usually have to make a trip back home to get the proper documentation required to wire money to the States, wait in line at the bank all over again, and THEN make the transaction), I went for a little hike (it's not the gym, but hey--I'll claim even the smallest of victories), and I even had time to spare for Starbucks and some long-overdue journaling. What a successful morning!

Then... I made the grave mistake of making another to-do list to accomplish during my lunch break. I figured since I had such a successful morning, I could most certainly pull off a productive afternoon. So, here's the list I made for myself:

• Make plans for my Thailand trip
• Take out the garbage (wince, groan)
• Throw in a load of laundry

Why do I even bother? Seriously! I'm currently on my lunch break, and guess where I am? Am I in my apartment, sweating from the work-out it would require to haul out my larger-than-life-size garbage bag? Am I sighing with satisfaction over my Thailand plans? Nopers! I'm in the school computer lab, writing a pointless blog entry about my failure as a to-do lister.

I think my to-do lists are cursed.