Question

[simsqu]

If you don't make a list, how do you know when things need to be done?

I'll give you a good example.

We do a weekly/two weekly online grocery shop. Pretty normal behaviour.

I spend, like most people, a fair amount of time in the kitchen when at home, so you get a feel as to what's there, and more importantly, what is not there or what is running out. Also a bit of time in the bathroom so again, you kind of know what you've got.

So I go online and start ordering stuff because I know roughly what we need. End of story.

If the lawn needs mowing I mow the lawn. If a room needs painting, I paint the room (well actually I don't do it personally, but I get a little man in. He's six foot three but you get the point).

No lists or memorising required.

So I repeat, you're all nuts

[Howyoudoin]

No lists or memorising required.

So I repeat, you're all nuts

We've moved on from just household chores.

What about for making a note of all of the kid's birthdays and all of their kid's birthdays? The date of your next prostate examination in 5 months time?

HYD

[AleisterCrowley]

Car service, tax return, check investments, birthdays, subscription renewals...
I couldn't operate without my notebook and 'to do' lists..sadly i can't delegate as i'm a singly loner type..
I do occasionally ask my mum to forward mail

[Lootman]

If you don't make a list, how do you know when things need to be done?

I'll give you a good example. We do a weekly/two weekly online grocery shop. Pretty normal behaviour.

I spend, like most people, a fair amount of time in the kitchen when at home, so you get a feel as to what's there, and more importantly, what is not there or what is running out. Also a bit of time in the bathroom so again, you kind of know what you've got.

So I go online and start ordering stuff because I know roughly what we need. End of story.

If the lawn needs mowing I mow the lawn. If a room needs painting, I paint the room (well actually I don't do it personally, but I get a little man in. He's six foot three but you get the point).

No lists or memorising required. So I repeat, you're all nuts

I am in your camp. I have a simple rule. If there are three or fewer things to do then I can remember them. If there are more than three things to do in a day, I postpone all but three of them to a later day.

Simples.

[melonfool]

I don't have lists, nor a diary. I can remember what needs doing, like Simsqu, I do stuff when it needs doing (today I loaded and started the d/w, I probably won't unload it, the cleaner can do that Monday) or it's a routine (e.g laundry happens towards the end of a week, I've done some today as I was working at home and am away from tomorrow, usually I do it Sat - it didn't get on a list).

I can remember dates and birthdays, never miss them.

I can tell you right now, off the top of my head, I have a car service and hair cut 16th (9am and 12pm), gigs on 9th (hotel booked, Kensington) and 11th March (day off worked booked as this is an early one), am away Good Fri and Easter Sat (hotel booked, Brecon Beacons), also away 23rd and 24th Feb (AirBnB booked), tomorrow I'm off to the parentals, best friend's birthday 2nd April her son's 26th March, mum's April 29th, I have tickets for Hay last weekend of May (hotel booked in Hay), builder comes 4th March to do flooring (he's also coming Tue to measure and I'm leaving a key for him). I have a walk with my walking group 17th, though I am currently on the wait list and might not get on it (probably will), I am also on the wait list for the weekend in June which is in Stratford. The plasterer came today, I knew he was coming. Re work, I am in the MK site Mon, Wed, Thu, the Thu one is at the Shenley site, Tue is London, Fri undecided but I usually work from home.

Etc.

I am not going to forget any of that, it's all just in my head. I think having lists rots your memory!

Mel

[PinkDalek]

I swing between both camps (ho ho ho).

If a note is genuinely thought to be needed, I put it on my mobile. I then find I've already got one thing for that day, so move the new one to a day later and so on. Then the alert comes and I defer the item for at least 24 hours or forget to look at the mobile altogether, until the deadline has passed. The few important deadlines are usually etched in the memory anyway and the other stuff can wait until I'm ready.

The really important dealines and appointments are hand written in a calendar and the butler alerts me to them, should I be due to leave in the next hour or so and appear to have forgotten, again.

For most other stuff one receives electronic reminders from the dentist, the NHS and other people who have such matters in hand.

I've been known to email reminders to myself but they get lost amongst the other unread emails.

[PinkDalek]

... gigs on 9th (hotel booked, Kensington) and 11th March (day off worked booked as this is an early one), ...

Missed your post whilst I was typing, slowly. You'd have thought a Fool Social could have been arranged around you meeting "James" again. If he's to be there.

Btw are you tempted by https://www.berlininkensington.stein-s.com/?

[melonfool]

Fools socials don't end to be Saturdays/Sundays though?

That restaurant looks nice - if you like German food. Which I don't, much. It's OK if you're in Germany where you don't have much choice, but not sure I'd choose a German restaurant when I have plenty of other to choose from where they sell those rare things like veg-et-ab-les!

Mel

[Howyoudoin]

I don't have lists, nor a diary. I can remember what needs doing, like Simsqu, I do stuff when it needs doing (today I loaded and started the d/w, I probably won't unload it, the cleaner can do that Monday) or it's a routine (e.g laundry happens towards the end of a week, I've done some today as I was working at home and am away from tomorrow, usually I do it Sat - it didn't get on a list).

I can remember dates and birthdays, never miss them.

I can tell you right now, off the top of my head, I have a car service and hair cut 16th (9am and 12pm), gigs on 9th (hotel booked, Kensington) and 11th March (day off worked booked as this is an early one), am away Good Fri and Easter Sat (hotel booked, Brecon Beacons), also away 23rd and 24th Feb (AirBnB booked), tomorrow I'm off to the parentals, best friend's birthday 2nd April her son's 26th March, mum's April 29th, I have tickets for Hay last weekend of May (hotel booked in Hay), builder comes 4th March to do flooring (he's also coming Tue to measure and I'm leaving a key for him). I have a walk with my walking group 17th, though I am currently on the wait list and might not get on it (probably will), I am also on the wait list for the weekend in June which is in Stratford. The plasterer came today, I knew he was coming. Re work, I am in the MK site Mon, Wed, Thu, the Thu one is at the Shenley site, Tue is London, Fri undecided but I usually work from home.

Etc.

I am not going to forget any of that, it's all just in my head. I think having lists rots your memory!

Mel

I could do that too when I was single. Things are are much easier when you're single.

However, when you double the above when you're in a relationship it's impossible to remember everything.

If you say you can remember everything without ever putting pen to paper, you're either a liar or one of those memory guys.

HYD

[melonfool]

I could do that too when I was single. Things are are much easier when you're single.

However, when you double the above when you're in a relationship it's impossible to remember everything.

If you say you can remember everything without ever putting pen to paper, you're either a liar or one of those memory guys.

HYD

Yeah, I've been in relationships and then I just have to remember double (or triple when I had a stepson) and I still managed not to miss things or forget things, but I didn't think it was my job to remember HIS stuff - and he frequently missed doctor appointments, family birthdays, mothers' day, even an interview once, he was constantly double-booking stuff or not telling me things we were supposed to be doing. I did remind him now and then, but it wasn't my job to keep everything he needed in my head. We once went on holiday with his son's passport out of date - he had decided to take on the holiday booking and had managed to book it all without noticing the passport was out of date. I felt nervous as we set off and asked if I could check we had all the paperwork, so I had a look through the folder, I was really looking to see we had all the right times for the travel (he had form for turning up on holiday a day late, missing flights as he had the wrong time in his head - he would transpose 'leave the house' times with 'departure times' in his head)and notes of all the places we were going to, with numbers etc (we had once arrived at a holiday cottage about 5pm, turned out we were supposed to be there at 3pm and he'd not got the owner's number plus there was no signal where we were so we couldn't check online), and I happened to open the stepson's passport and immediately saw it was about 9m out of date. He didn't believe me when I told him, which was odd as I had it in my hand. it was a very stressful time.

I don't really appreciate being called a liar. I typed that whole post from memory, none of it is written down because it doesn't need to be though of course some was arranged by email or booked online. I'm not a "memory guy", whatever that is - as you have met me, you know I am not a 'guy'.

I do have a good memory though, it is often noted upon. Last week I was at my walking group and someone was telling me something about a friend of hers and I asked if this was the same friend who takes a bath at 6pm every night - she was astonished I remembered that as it was the best part of a year ago we talked about it. Another walking person I chatted with two weeks ago was telling me about her troubles with an employee, she had told me briefly about it two weeks ago and I mentioned something she had said then and she was surprised I had remembered that.
Oddly enough, I had not written down either of those bits of information.

I can remember my dad's number plates from when I was a kid, and our phone number (though I don't know my current landline number because I never need it).

People just remember what they want to - I've known blokes who can list their football team's scores, who they played, which cup they were in etc for the last 20 years. Ex could tell you anything you might never want to know about any motorbike. But not his dad's birthday (he could remember his mum's cos it was the day after his own).

Mel

[AleisterCrowley]

I've actually got a pretty good memory - I can remember addresses (with postrcodes) from my student days in the late 80s
Thinking about it, I've realised that although I create lots of lists, I rarely look at them again!
I think writing the list helps to fix stuff in my memory, and I usually find I don't need to keep referring to it.

[Itsallaguess]

01 811 8055

Didn't even have to look it up.....

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[AleisterCrowley]

Swap Shop?

[bungeejumper]

I've actually got a pretty good memory - I can remember addresses (with postrcodes) from my student days in the late 80s.

I used to work with a guy who had a perfect memory for numbers. I think it's some kind of autism - but he never needed to write down any phone number, or indeed any number at all, because it would stay lodged in his brain indefinitely. Unfortunately he was amazingly vague and disorganised in every other aspect, which is why he eventually lost his job.

He had also been banned from every casino in the south of England, for card counting at Blackjack. A very strange talent.

BJ

[brightncheerful]

I spend, like most people, a fair amount of time in the kitchen when at home, so you get a feel as to what's there

?

Most people surely would know that a kitchen is likely to have a sink, a cooker, some cupboards, and so on.

[simsqu]

I spend, like most people, a fair amount of time in the kitchen when at home, so you get a feel as to what's there

?

Most people surely would know that a kitchen is likely to have a sink, a cooker, some cupboards, and so on.

Ah well now BnC, that's where you are wrong. Although I can remember what food I have in the kitchen, I often forget where the sink is, and can usually be found storing the pheasant pate in the Billiard Room

[zico]

That's why I had a cleaner before I met her

This brings back memories. When my girlfriend moved in, I said in front of others, 'well, I won't need a cleaner now'. She said 'excuse us, we need to have a word alone '. She then pointed out that despite being female she wasn't actually looking for additional part-time unpaid cleaning work, but the house would still need a cleaner, and suggested therefore that the existing cleaner should be retained! it was a reasonably firm suggestion. My only defence is that I was much younger back then.

[Howyoudoin]

That's why I had a cleaner before I met her

This brings back memories. When my girlfriend moved in, I said in front of others, 'well, I won't need a cleaner now'. She said 'excuse us, we need to have a word alone '. She then pointed out that despite being female she wasn't actually looking for additional part-time unpaid cleaning work, but the house would still need a cleaner, and suggested therefore that the existing cleaner should be retained! it was a reasonably firm suggestion. My only defence is that I was much younger back then.

I'd be happy to pay for someone to clean and iron once a week but she's adamant that we don't need one. I imagine that may change if our circumstances change though.

HYD

[stewamax]

In a case in today’s Times Law Reports, the outcome hinged on whether an ex-miner could claim compensation for ‘vibration white finger’ caused by using a jack-hammer. He had to show that ‘white finger’ had caused him significant difficulty in doing a range of specific ‘domestic’ tasks without assistance: gardening, window cleaning, DIY, decorating, car washing and car maintenance.

What a pathetic list. Where were vacuuming, bed-making, washing up, floor cleaning, furniture polishing and ironing: the sort of useful things a female would include in a list of things at home to do whilst she is out....

[Howyoudoin]

In a case in today’s Times Law Reports, the outcome hinged on whether an ex-miner could claim compensation for ‘vibration white finger’ caused by using a jack-hammer. He had to show that ‘white finger’ had caused him significant difficulty in doing a range of specific ‘domestic’ tasks without assistance: gardening, window cleaning, DIY, decorating, car washing and car maintenance.

What a pathetic list. Where were vacuuming, bed-making, washing up, floor cleaning, furniture polishing and ironing: the sort of useful things a female would include in a list of things at home to do whilst she is out....

HYD