For some temperament types, making lists and planning everything come naturally. They live on schedules and by schedules every step of the way, doesn’t matter if they are at home, at work or on holiday.
Others just hate the very idea of a schedule. Planning inhibits their freedom and they much rather go with spur of the moment decisions.
Both approaches have pros and cons, but like all things in life, you must get the balance just right between doing things on the spur of the moment and planning all 24 hours of each day in advance.
Having a plan, detailed or just more or less, is always a good idea. In fact, a friend of mine in a rather demanding working environment, always have a plan B, C and D too. For all those just in case and what if’s that her particular team tend to come up with. “They are not going to catch me off guard” she always says with a smile.
Making lists might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but I have found that this is one trademark of the Perfect Blue Temperament that really could help the scatterbrain Yellows (like myself) and the Peaceful Greens.
I am also a strong believer that you should plan first and act later. You are not going to bake a cake without consulting a recipe first and checking if you have all the ingredients, now would you?
When to rely on lists…
When you are feeling overwhelmed.
Sometimes you might end up with a bit of a mess either in your work or personal life. If you don’t know where to start or what to do, instead of going shopping (Yellow), taking a nap (Green) or having an anger outburst out of frustration (Red), you might try the Blue’s calm and collected approach.
Make a list of what needs to be done. Prioritize your list next as to what requires your urgent attention first and what can be done later. Then start to do the things on the list, marking it off as you go along.
I heard of a woman who had a battle with depression. One of the things she learned was to incorporate the “Next 5 Things to Do” in her daily struggles to cope with life. She would make a list of 5 things se needed to do. Just 5. Some days her list comprised basic things like “brush my teeth”, “get dressed”, “feed the dogs” on other days, when she was feeling better, the list contained things like “going to the movies”, “calling a friend”. She had a sense of accomplishment every time she could mark off those 5 things on the list. Even long after the depression had passed, she still makes lists of 5 things to do on days that she feels a bit down.
When you are dealing with a huge project at work
One of my colleagues remembers the days when she was just a young communication officer at on of the government departments. “I had a deputy director who insisted we draw up lists for every function, launch and project. I never really appreciated the value of these lists until one day that I was in charge of an important launch where the minister was involved. I had a list, one that I just drew up haphazardly to please the deputy director. Minutes before the function was due to start, I suddenly realized that I have forgot to arrange for a public speaking system at the venue. The minister and his entourage were already in the building! Fortunately, I was able to arrange for one quickly, this was after all the SABC’s building, and while they were setting up, I redirected the Minister to our exhibition. He didn’t notice my mistake, but since then I spend a lot of time in preparing detailed lists to ensure that I don’t forget anything!”
When you are packing for a business trip or holiday
It’s a good thing to have a list for all the things you might need to pack for your business trip, from you cell phone charger to your toothbrush and that all important documents. Make it part of your preparations for your trip. It’s easier to know exactly what you have to pack, than to run around on the last minute trying to remember what you should take. That way, you will be much calmer and collected by the time you arrive at your destination.
A list even works well when going on holiday. Especially, if you have children. You don’t want to be 500 km from home and then realize your toddler’s favourite toy stayed behind on his bed or that you only remembered to pack a charger for the android phone, while your sulky teenager’s iPad charger is still in the kitchen!
It’s advisable to consult your lists again when you pack to go home. Too many times things are left in hotel rooms and at holiday destinations. If you start to add up all the things you had to buy again, you know toothbrushes, the odd brush, tooth paste, chargers and plugs, that you have forgotten in faraway places, it can be quite a sum.
Save yourself time and money by working from a list!
When you have to do the shopping
We all know that it is bad to storm into the supermarket on an empty stomach, because chances are very good that you are going to buy all kinds of food and sweets that you didn’t budget for.
Don’t go into a supermarket empty-handed. Make sure you have your list and pen with you. That way you will only buy what you need and not be tempted to buy all kinds of other stuff you don’t really need.
Drawing up a shopping list, need not be a hassle, especially if you have a list ready where everyone can see it and write down products as the month or week progress. This way you will have a complete shopping list by the time you set off to the stores.
If you are not inclined to make lists and plan detail on paper, this might feel totally strange to you at first, but stick with it, in the long run it can save you money, time and even embarrassment. Especially for the Yellow Temperaments, don’t do the list and then forget to look at it again, and for all the Green Temperaments, remember if you have written all the things down on a list, you still have to actually pack, shop or do whatever is written on the list. Just because you have written it down, doesn’t mean it’s done! 😊
