I grew up with my mom, who taught me that using an agenda is bad because it hinders my ability to remember things. It’s better to get your brain to practice remembering stuff so it stays sharp, she used to tell me.
Then, at some point in my 20s, while becoming an avid meditator and studying various schools of Buddhism, I prioritized having an empty mind. This meant getting rid of thoughts, baggage, conditioning, and most practically, getting rid of recurring reminders in the mind. So I started using an agenda and it gave me the capacity to empty my mind onto paper.
However, up until last month, I’ve been overvaluing my ability to remember stuff. I wanted to remember what the next book was that I wanted to read, but I couldn’t remember the name. I wanted to make a new dish, but I couldn’t recall what was the dish, or even where to find the recipe. I had some free time to watch some YouTube vids in a rare moment when everything was taken care of and my baby was napping, but I didn’t use the “Save for Later” list on YouTube to pull up the dozens of videos I kept telling myself I’d watch once I have this exact moment at hand.
I’ve been undervaluing the utility of lists. I think I overemphasized the burden of creating a list, but especially of being organized to keep lists in one place so that the effort doesn’t end up a waste.
Perhaps it’s becoming a dad and realizing that whenever I want to watch, read, or write something, I more often than not am unable to execute my motivation. Free, unencumbered time is so rare now that I don’t want to leave it up to chance to remember a given thing.
My go-to system for lists is the in-built feature on a given app. I mentioned YouTube, but this “save for later” feature exists in pretty much every platform cause it’s in their best interest that you return to them asap. This way when you use the app but aren’t sure what content to check out, you have the list directly built into the platform and can tap instead of having to copy/paste a title or something.
Thanks to embracing lists, I’m able to continue to pursue an empty mind despite new changes in my environment.