Write It Down

Life is so exciting in so many different ways.  There are friends to call, email, sms and meet.  Then there are other things to do, like work and make appointments here and there, but mostly there, wherever there tends to be.  Then there are the things in life that are not planned or that happen without warning and an immediate response is in order.  How do you keep up with yourself?  I mean, how do you successfully keep up with all the things you have to do?  Well I find that I have to write down everything, and I mean everything now.  I used to be able to keep those seven items in my mind which science has proven to be the limit of our short-term memory.  But now I like to keep that number down to a more reasonable three, and they still find themselves on a piece of paper somewhere in this flat, or my purse, or the pocket of my coat or slacks.

 

I recall from my first year in college being advised to log everything in a journal or a things-to-do list not only so you won’t forget it, but so you will actually DO it.  Now that’s kind of different isn’t it?  It has been scientifically proven, and we also conducted experiments in college, that if you write it down, nine times out of ten you will perform the task.  You may not always accomplish it in the time frame you desire, (especially if like me you have a things-to-do list that’s 15-20 items long.  Bien sur pas, ce n’est pas possible.  Unless you’ve itemized the dishes you must wash, then it’s doable.  :-)) but you will end up doing everything on your list because eventually you desire to do them and they become priority over other things that may and do come up.  For instance I wrote on my list “vacuum” which meant I needed to run the aspirator in my flat.  Well, even though my eyes and feelings told me I needed to do this, I would always find something else to do.  This went on for a week when I finally wrote it down.  Well, even after writing it down it took me another week to finally do it, but guess what?  It finally became the number one item to do when all the others had been done, plus I just couldn’t stand to continue seeing what I was seeing.  Hear what I’m doing?  LOL!!!

 

Sometimes at the end of the day I would find myself frustrated because an entire day would pass and I would not have accomplished anything important.  I found that I had not invested, but wasted too much time doing other things because I had not kept before me the list of things I needed to do.  You see, the list also helps to keep you on task so you don’t lose your time.  It helps you budget your time for each task and rendezvous.

 

Another good reason for writing down everything is so you can make the most of your trips from one side of Paris to the other (or whatever city or town you live in).  When you see everything on paper you can plan your day on the metro much better.  You can decide if it’s realistic to go to several different arrondissments/cartiers in one day.  (For Americans outside of Paris these words refer to zip codes, so it’s like traveling to another city within a city.)  For you have to take into consideration train delays, arrival times, walking into and out of the metro, getting lost. :-)  A day can go by quickly on the bus and metro, so writing down everything can prepare you for a realistic outing and good use of not only your time, but your cash and respiration.

 

I had a wonderful trip through the Old Testament book, Exodus, earlier this month and even though I’ve been reading this sacred text since the 5^th grade (no don’t ask me what grade I’m in now.  LoL!), each time something different than before stands out that I can somehow apply to my life in a practical way now.  See, Moses, the Israelite who was raised Egyptian, murdered somebody, ran away into the desert for 40 years, got married and had some sons, but then ran into God’s mini-forest fire in the desert which didn’t burn up anything (can you figure out that one?);  yeah him.  Anyhooo, he had a long 40-day talk (not 40 minutes, and not an internet forum) with the Almighty, all alone up on a mountain called Sinai.  God wrote His notes on some tablets and gave them to Moses to teach to the people.  But while he was away the cats and mice were playing down below and when Moses came down, in a high-fever pitched temper he threw down the tablets and they broke. 

 

After dealing with these folk and setting them straight, he returned to the mountain top and asked the Lord to please forgive these wild, immature and rebellious people, who He, God by the way, loved with all His heart and soul.  So for another 40 days Moses and God talked.  It doesn’t say that they had tea or coffee, or even hot chocolate or wine.  I wonder if Moses even had some water, but what I know about God, the Creator is that He never invites anyone to His place without providing for them what they would need.  Moses didn’t seem to have lost weight when he came down either, so all was well in that category.  This time God told Moses to write down everything.  The first 10 Commandments he broke (oops) and then some supplemental laws to deal with specific things.

 

Why did He tell Moses to write them this time?  Well when I read this as a child I thought it was because God’s hand got tired from writing them the first time.  But now I think it’s because since he broke it, it’s only right that he should fix it.  LOL!!!  Also, if he wrote it he would more than likely remember them (the first one being “thou shalt not break these ten commandments.  LOL!!) (this is scientifically proven too, that’s why taking notes by hand yields better learning and comprehension in the classroom), and also he would more than likely DO them.  You see, Moses needed to not only be the bearer of the message, but a doer too.  When you do something it shows that it’s a part of you, whether good or bad, positive or negative.  Just to read it doesn’t mean you know it, believe it or can, and will do it.  But when you write it down you imprint it upon your mind and heart.  This is why I love the “old” (not necessarily in age mind you, but someone like me) teachers and professors:  even though they must accept computers  and be progressive, most of them know the value of writing in the classroom and they still require handwritten essays and test-taking.  I say “cool”. ;-)

 

This is also why I like handwriting letters still.  They’re more personal and show the recipient how much they cannot understand your writing and that you need to return to your third grade teacher for another few lessons in penmanship.  LOL!!!!  Writing things down also allows us to be creative and it’s the first thing we learn to do in school when learning the alphabet and numbers.  It is something that no matter how technically advanced we become with computers and voice recording machines we will always need, and come back to.  When the electricity is off, or your surge protector didn’t work during that last storm and your computer got zapped, and your friend called you on a landline with the name and number of the guy who would re-hook you up for free, you will pick up paper and pen and write it down.  Oh yes!!  When you find yourself trying to get a fantastic position working for the deaf CEO of one of the most powerful companies in the world for which the recession hasn’t and cannot touch and you are the most qualified applicant and they really like you even though you don’t know sign language, you will want to have on your person a notepad and a pen, for it is not feasible to carry your laptop for having drinks just to have a social discussion which also includes consideration for a raise before your first day of work.  Hmmm, yes I think you will want to be able to “write it down”.  LOL!!  Am I having too much fun?  Yes I think so.

 

Anyhoooo, again, I just finished writing by hand the rough draft of my second book.  Well I don’t sleep too well with a laptop; I’ve tried it and decided that’s not for me.  But a notebook and pen, that’s another story (pun intended).  If I wake up from a dream, I can write it down even in the dark.  If a new set of lyrics starts to flow through my mind, I can just write them down.  If I get a call in the night with important information, I can just write it down.  If I feel like writing myself a letter, you got it, I can just write it down.

That’s all I have to write about that.  :-)