Using a List to Be Better

for some reason, i've taken a liking to Earl Hickey, and his "My Name is Earl" show.  If you aren't familiar with the show's plot, here goes:

- Earl is a thief that lives his life by scamming people
- He wins the lottery (scratcher) and gets hit by a car literally seconds later...losses the winning lottery ticket
- while laying in a hospital, comes across Carson Daley, and hears Carson talking about karma
- Earl decides that he wants to right his wrongs, and creates a list of all the things that he's done bad in his lift.
- Each episode focuses on the wacky adventures to cross an item off his list.

So, take away the fun backstory, and this show is literally about a guy crossing off items his to-do list.  I use my to-do list to manage my random tasks throughout the day.  The typical day has about 10 random things, from updating my blog,scheduling doctor's appointments, and now, staying on track with graduate school applications.  I get tons of shit from my friends about this ("My Dad doesn't even do that!", "lame.....what a geek"), but it helps me get shit done!

Now you have 2 examples (yes, 1 is a ton more entertaining and interesting than the other) of using a list to get shit done.  If Earl can use his list to become a better person (and earn some good-karma points), and I can use mine to stay employed, stay healthy, and get into a top-tier grad school (hopefully), imagine what you can do with yours........


once you decide to make the plunge, here's are good links to check out.  Some are overboard, but they get give you the idea....


building a smarter to-do list [43 folders]

Executing your to-do list [zen habits]