Weddingbee Blog

I’ve always been a list maker. I make a list and I check it twice. Call me Santa. However, this list making thing has become ridiculous ever since I got engaged. My to-do lists have morphed. This is the evolution:

1. A single to-do list: One list with a single column of bullets
Although this list started off nice and crisp, I’d put it in my purse and go on my pursuit to cross things off of the list. However, as soon as it was folded in half and put into my purse, it began to wrinkle and fold. I’d whip it out after buying all the necessities (and then some) at Target and cross it off my list. As I was trying to load all my items onto the conveyor belt, the list would get folded again and again, stuffed in my pocket or held in my mouth. By the time I got home, this list was in pretty poor shape. I’d proceed to rewrite it, eliminating all the things I already completed.

2. Two to-do lists: Two lists with a single column of bullets
I began making two to-do lists when I became a teacher. Being an elementary school teacher is a lot more work than most people imagine. You are teacher, counselor, problem-solver, conflict mediator, nurse, mentor and even mommy sometimes. This is when I began making two to-do lists. One work list. One personal list.

3. Three + to-do lists: Three lists, two of which are a single column of bullets and one of which was in outline format
Then I was engaged to Mr. L. We began wedding planning right away because we were getting married in June and I knew we could bargain a bit more with vendors if we began early when they hadn’t booked clients yet. Well, not only did I have my work list and personal list, I now had a wedding to-do list. This was by far, the longest and most comprehensive to-do list I had ever made. My bullets had sub-bullets which had sub-bullets. There were arrows coming off list items with bubbles and exclamation points. Addresses, phone numbers, names and price quotes were haphazardly strewn on the list.

So this is where I am. Three to-do lists, yet the same hours in a day as when I began with one.

A couple of other interesting facts about wedding to-do lists:

1. No matter how much you finish, it seems to keep undergoing mitosis.
2. One sheet of paper is never enough. You must either use a small notebook or, like me, Microsoft Excel. (Sidenote: If you and your FI are on Gmail, use GoogleDocs and Google Wave to keep track of your documents. You can both edit, save changes and they are viewable as long as you have an Internet connection! We’ve been doing this and it makes life so much easier for us.)
3. Even though there is no apparent order to the haphazardly written price quotes, names, phone numbers and addresses on your list, you know exactly what refers to what.

What does your to-do list look like now that you’re engaged? Do you have any pointers for harmonious and happy to-do lists?