The power of making lists

Writing this blog is one of the hardest things I had to adhere to. When I was starting I went blank every time I needed to write a post. Very soon I started to search the course discussions for a good subject. Eventually the course went out of the good subjects. Then I took some subjects from the advanced course and tried to write about them, without giving the exact methodology [because it is long and complex and most people are simply not ready to implement it]. I was trying to write daily, and it was a hard task. Eventually I found my way. I write all the good ideas I have and all the interesting articles I need to mention on a page [I use Google spreadsheets]. The page has between 100 and 300 items. If the page is longer, I split it according to subject. If the page is shorter, I invest more time in creativity, trying to build a longer page. Currently I have around 10 pages dedicated to various activities I do on a daily basis. When I have time to do something, I just go through the page dedicated to this activity, and presto – I am in the flow! Moreover, I have the first paragraph and occasionally a couple of links I can use.

When reading, I do not have a written list. I keep the relevant links and keywords in my head and browse accordingly. I do skip things occasionally, but usually I read everything I need within a week. I do have a list of the things I want to learn, and I am trying to gather resources for that stuff, but currently I am too busy with higher priority activity to pursue it actively. I recommend you also to have a list of everything you plan to read – either on computer or in your mind. Then you should try and cross as many items on your list as you can. If the list becomes too small, you should invest time in making it larger. Reading daily is the main part of your practice. If you stop reading you will loose your speed. When Anna gave birth to our sons, she did not have time to read for 3 years. As a result here reading speed dropped below 1000 wpm, and she never had enough time to regain her full speed. [She still is pretty fast and accurate, but she used to be a superstar]. Make sure it does not happen to you.

Personally I almost never use Anna’s methodology as-is, but adapt it for my own style and needs. When I need to make spaced repetitions, I have hard time not getting bored. To get around this issue I generate lists of ways to dive deeper into each keyword I need to remember, learn some new way to look at it. This way I generate several benefits: I do not get bored, I achieve deeper understanding than most of my peers, and I do not forget the things that I need to remember. Occasionally, while performing variations on repetitions, I encounter something totally new and breathtakingly interesting, so I really love this method.

Many people use more complex structures: asana tasks, calendar appointments, mindmaps, block diagrams. I love the minimalism of simple lists. With skimming speed above 3000 wpm, I can get a 150 items list in 10 sec. If I find an error, I edit it – immediately. I move the items around occasionally in different groups to feel more hands-on with them [double encoding]. I add comments and links if I want to. I copy a lot of stuff between lists, split and merge lists if I need. It is much easier with such a simple form of data.

I love lists, and I hope after reading this post you will also love lists, or at list give them another try.