"Just make a list!" - F*** off.

In an earlier post, I mentioned the difficulty of needing medication to take my medication.

One of the problems I also have is with lists. People keep telling me to have a to-do list. Write things down, so you can check them off as you go. 

This works for a lot of people. One problem I have is that of losing my lists. I can’t keep track of them. I have gone through about half a dozen notebooks this year, because I keep losing and misplacing them (including one that had the insurance details of a guy who rear-ended me)

I keep some of them on my phone, but I’ll often also forget that they’re there. I actually once got to the point where I was putting lists on post-it notes and sticking them to my mobile phone, because I was unlikely to forget my phone and if they were right there and BRIGHT YELLOW and impossible to ignore because they’re shouting “LOOK AT ME I’M BRIGHT YELLOW WITH RED RED RED INK!!! LOOK AT MEEEEEEE!!!”, then I might actually remember that they exist and take a look at them! 

This became a problem when I ended up with multiple sticky notes. Or if the notes weren’t sticky enough and fell off. Hey, I tried. I just suck at it.

This video actually illustrates the problem pretty well...

The simple fact is that, in order to remember something, I need it to be right there. I need to be able to see it. This is anothe reason my desk tends to be messy and why I tend to spread out a lot at work, which can annoy people who are anal about their personal space (thankfully the people I currently sit next to aren't).

Most people cope really well with vertical shelves - they have things layered and organised  that way. I, on the other hand, need to be able to see and access everything in order to not forget that it exists. I guess this is one area where my brain hasn’t developed beyond that of an infant; If I can't see it, it ceases to exist. In my mind, most things (worksheets and that sort of stuff) immediately lose their usefulness once they’re stored away or up on a shelf and in a folder (but don't worry; if you leave, I do know you still exist and remember that you’re there. You’re a people and people are different). That shelf suddenly becomes a flat surface, and it is now part of a pile of stuff, only the top of which matters (if that). My shelves just end up being piles of stuff.

I’ve just done a bit of a circle, haven’t I? Damned loops.