The Power of the To Do

Astrid and Astrid logo are property
of Todoroo, Inc. References used by prior
written permission. I am not affiliated with
Astrid or Todoroo, Inc., except
as a user of their software.

I am a compulsive listmaker.  I have to do lists for work, to do lists for the house, to do lists of yardwork, to do lists reminding me to do the groceries, you name it - I've got a list for it.  Except for writing.  Which makes no sense.

As I recently upgraded my phone into the land of Android, I went in search of a good To Do list function (needed something more robust than the lame included version and Google Tasks just doesn't even synch well with things), and I stumbled across Astrid here.  Now, to be clear - I'm not associated with Astrid, other than by my use of it, so I'm not a shill or anything.  And it's got problems, bugs, etc. from time to time.  But, it has been a wonderful productivity tool that reminds me to feed my fish, make my grocery list, mow the grass, do household repairs, and take out the trash.  And every time I check off a task (and keep that happy little squid from popping up to remind me to do something), I get a little burst of joy inside.

And so it was, one day this week, that I had my epiphany...Use my little red squiddyfriend to track writing goals and just check them off as I go.  I could even start by setting target dates for outlining a short series of books, then having recurring tasks to remind me to write, and I was already tracking my woefully overdue and incomplete need for blog posts...

Now, as has been suggested elsewhere, and I think it's probably not a bad idea, I should stop talking about writing and write.  So, perhaps I will do that and periodically check in here (though there might be non-writing blog posts on the other blog sections here...).  Off to the land of outlining for me, now, though.

And then I can check that off the list.