Keep running lists

It's useful to keep a handful of running lists and update them periodically.

This practice is an application of an even more basic principle: it's easier to do many small things than one big thing. Inertia makes it difficult to start a substantial task, and the limitations of what you can remember or accomplish at any given time will impede you from doing that task well.

These are the running lists I keep:

• Books I've read and books I want to read
• Bands I've seen perform live
• Places I've travelled to and trips that I've been on
• Quotes and excerpts from books or newsletters that resonate with me
• New things I did each year (I only did this in 2015 and 2021, but I want to make it a habit)
• Funny things my roommate has said
• Ideas for blog posts
• Wardrobe pieces I'd like to acquire at some point
• Online courses that look interesting
• Names that I like
• Books I consider fundamental to the way I understand reality ("bibles")
• Recipes to try and recipes that went well
• Gift ideas for friends and family
• Movies and TV shows that people have recommended to me
• Things I'd like to do before I die
• Questions I have about the world
• and apparently, the running lists that I have going!