Fiona Duff: She's got 'em on the list — she's got 'em on the list
There is a time, dear reader, when your memory just ain’t what it used to be. One minute you have a pressing question to ask someone and by the time you have dialled the number that query has slipped into the ether.
I find the best way to deal with this is I write things down as soon as they pop into my head.
In the evening I sit with a bit of paper and pen and scribble away – all the things I need to do the following day in a list. Sometimes quite long, sometimes not.
There is something very pleasing as I get through it all, ticking off lines as the job has been done. Of course, this does mean that all around my computer are piles of paper which I am loathe to chuck away.
I mean I may have written a name or number down that I might need in the future. Or something that slipped through the net and I need to follow up at another point in time.
I suppose I should really add ‘tidy up desk’ to my notes. If I go to the supermarket I definitely need to write down what I need to buy. If not, I come back with bags of food and whatevers from the Middle of Lidl but no compost bags or milk, which were the reason that I made the journey in the first place.
However, the mini-flame thrower to tackle weeds shall no doubt come in useful one of these days. I have a friend who does the same, although at the top of the sheet of paper she writes ‘Chores’ and to be honest if I read that word I wouldn’t go any further.
Who needs to feel that doing something is as unpleasant as a difficult task? Then again that might be why her home is a lot tidier than mine, as I don’t have ‘vacuum the bedroom’ anywhere in sight. And quite a sight my bedroom is as well. There is one thing that I always forget to remind myself to do and that is write this column, which is why I am indebted to the editor who drops me an email to jog my memory.
A few days ago I did have an idea of a subject which I thought I should make an opinion, but I can’t remember what it was.