Monday, November 17, 2008

Listing!



LISTING!


When your Ship of Life is listing
And likely to capsize,
And Sleep wont pay a visit
Even though you close your eyes
You must take heed of a trick of mine
That, maybe, you have missed.
It's that all-important, self-destructing,
Ever-decreasing  List.
I, too, my friends, have tossed and turned
And thrashed about in bed,
Thinking of things that must be written,
Telephoned or read.
Imagining the chaos
That will fall about my ears
When the next day dawns and I'm caught out!
It's sure to end in tears.
Get out of bed and take a pen
And write your 'Things to Do'.
Already you'll feel better;
I know, for sure, it's true.
There may be fifty items,
Or even fifty-six!
But seeing them in black and white
Makes them a cinch to fix!
Now number them. Find Number One,
The MOST IMPORTANT task.
And follow it with two, then three.
It's not too much to ask.
Now, there and then, be resolute
And concentrate your mind
On that vital Number One alone!
And I know that you will find
That, already, you feel better,
For your tired brain's been tricked!
It thinks you've only one concern!
The Number One you've picked!
Decide on a course of action
Then cross that devil out!
You'll feel that you've achieved your goal
Without the slightest doubt.
Go back to bed, exhausted.
You've wrestled with your life,
But now you're tired and satisfied
Not full of stress and strife.
Try this little ruse of mine!
Don't end up round the twist!
Write that all-important, self-destructing,
Ever-decreasing List.

9 comments:

Kat said...

How wonderful Brenda... you deserve a MBA-in-life degree..!!!

I too jot down all the trouble makers in the (motivatingly
described by you as)ever-decreasing list..!!

I write two lists - important ones and the 'not so' ones. I always
find the 'not-so' list pretty long :)))

Tackle the important ones and generally the 'not-so' ones fall in line.

I remember reading in a book, on how to pack big stones, lots of
pebbles and sand in a bottle. Best method is to put the big stones
first, then the pebbles and finally the sand. The bottle gets
filled and accomdates everything.

The big stones represent the 'important' works that need to
be addressed immediately. The pebbles and sand are fillers and
gets accomodated in the gaps.

Felt thrilled reading your little-ruse-poem. IT WORKS.!!

And as you mention - crossing-the-devil-out gives immense pleasure :))))

Winifred said...

Good idea!

Anonymous said...

Brenda, I can't believe you wrote this fabulous poem since the prompt was posted! It is great fun, well rhymed. My husband is a great To Do lister but it seems to stress him out more if one or two items get left undone. As for me, I write shopping lists and leave them on the kitchen table. I'm more of a suck-it-and-see-let-it-all-hang-out kind of a lister. There's always tomorrow!

PS don't forget to post your link on Friday's Come One Come All - it's far too good to miss.

RJ Clarken said...

Wow! What a great poem about making that list.

The problem is, when I write down stuff, late at night, in the dark, I can't always figure out what it was exactly that I wrote in the first place. Ha!

I guess item #1 is to get one of those little clip-on light thingees, huh? ☼

annell4 said...

Loved this poem indeed! Sage advice!

flaubert said...

Great advice Brenda. I'll give it
a try when I can't sleep.

Pamela

Laurie Kolp said...

An enjoyable read indeed!

~laurie

Tumblewords: said...

I'm on it, right now! Thanks!p

Anonymous said...

Love the ever deceptive list and how good it makes me feel to cross out items on the list! Great Poem!