No-List Saturdays

These days who doesn’t have a zillion things to do?

The way I cope is by making lists.  Each morning I think about the day ahead, decide what I want to accomplish, and jot down on a piece of paper my game plan.  The upside is that I get things done.  I send in my taxes early.  I always usually return from the grocery store with all the supplies I need.  I eventually even finish writing books.

The downside is that sometimes I get so caught up in ticking items off my list that my life devolves into an endless loop of tasks.  Like the mythical Sisyphus, I no sooner complete one round of to-dos than I start another.  (Sometimes I think that the ancient Greeks understood more about the human condition than we do.)

Efficient?  Yes.  Thrilling?  Not so much.  I don’t know about you, but for me, merely labeling an item as a “to do” takes some of the joy out of accomplishing it. 

My current solution?  To designate every Saturday as a no-list day.  Last weekend was the first time I ever tried this, but so far, so good.  I spontaneously re-worked a chapter of my novel.  For fun!  After which I grocery shopped.  For fun!  Then I walked on the beach with my mom.  Late that afternoon, the sun streaming through my living-room window, I even fell asleep reading.

When I woke up, I realized I was content to be right where I was.  Doing nothing.