The To-Do List
November 5, 2009 No CommentsThe Campus Community Weighs in on Organization
Kim Williams
Features Editor
“I have many things to do… I will write them all down on a list so that I can remember them,” Toad said in Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad Together. Lobel’s children’s book character is not the only one making lists.
Life gets hectic and one technique to handle this is to write down what needs to be accomplished. For many people, making lists has been a part of their lives for a long time. “I’ve loved to-do lists since, I bet you, junior high,” said President Joan Coley.
“I do not remember a time when I didn’t keep them,” said Dr. Mary Bendel-Simso, an English Professor.
A to-do list can range from a short list of reminders to a huge list categorized by importance, time due, area of life it relates to, etc. Bendel-Simso writes a number of different lists, such as “the to-do list for the house, long range and short range stuff, my work, one with each class.”
President Coley organizes her lists as well. “I even prioritize my to-do list sometimes so I know how I’m going to go through it,” Coley said.
These lists are not just helpful but crucial to those that keep them. If she happened to leave a list at home, Bendel-Simso says, “I’d have my husband deliver it to me.”
“I think with this current job, I couldn’t do it without a to-do list,” said Coley.
In support of the to-do list, Coley said, “I just think you accomplish more. I wouldn’t go through the day without it.”
Faculty members and the president aren’t the only ones jumping on the to-do list bandwagon at McDaniel. Senior Izzy Ennis, president of Gamma Sigma Sigma, said, “I am a fan of the to-do list.”
“There is satisfaction to be gained in crossing things off the to-do list. I’ve added things to the list just to cross them off,” Ennis said.
However, not everyone is a list enthusiast. “I am not a large fan of to-do lists,” said junior Ben Andres, a member of the honors program. Andres added, “I’ve actually found that looking at large lists of things to do makes me more stressed than I would be otherwise.”
While many sing the praises of lists, others find it hinders more than it helps. For anyone who has never kept a list, give it a try. Whether you’re opposed to lists or not, we can all agree on the desire for enjoyable, manageable schedules that leave time for relaxation and fun. And if the schedule is looking overly busy, there’s always coffee.
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