Apparently...Not Much Changes In A Year

I am not a 'LIST' person. There, I've said it.

I know that I am more productive when I work from a list...but I don't like making the list. It is overwhelming to me.

For example, I know from experience that it is so much easier and less time consuming to shop from a grocery list. But in order to make a grocery list, I have to (1) decide on a menu; (2) go through the recipes and list the ingredients and (3) check the pantry to see what items are already in stock. And then, (since I tend to create more work for myself) I usually rewrite the list in groupings (produce, freezer, dairy, etc.).

Needless to say, I usually buy groceries without a list. I would rather wander the aisles 'browsing' for something that looks good at the last minute than take the time to do all the prep work. (Not that I truly would "rather" do it that way...it just overwhelms me to plan the former so I end up doing it the browsing way most times.)

So...to reiterate, I am not a 'LIST' person.

Even though we are now 7 days into 2011, I am still struggling with setting goals for 2011.

Is it the exhaustion of just thinking about everything that needs to be done? (I do have a very long list in my mind.)

OR is it the fact that guilt piles on me like those Buckeyes on the Razorbacks during the Sugar Bowl every time I start thinking about it? (Oh my at the things I SHOULD have been doing but am now so far behind in!)

OR is it that I fear failure in living up to what I write down and attempt? (If you write it down, you have to do it or risk someone finding out you tried and failed!)

OR is it that I need to just rely on the Lord for guidance instead of a 'To-Do List'? (Having quiet time just to check it off a list does little to no good. I have found that out the hard way more than once.)

OR could it be because so many of the things that I want to accomplish contradict each other? (For instance, one is to slow down...but another is to spend more time with family and friends...and another is to go on an international trip with my husband this year to celebrate our 30th anniversary.)

So many bloggers have posted their 'Word' for the year, their 'Scripture' for the year; their 'Mission Statement' for the year or even a simple list of goals. I read their posts and think, "Yeah, that's good!" But that is as far as it gets for me. I am feeling like a bobber that has broken free and is just drifting in the Gulf of Mexico.

I did find some solace in my devotional reading yesterday.

"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1

I am trying to hold fast to those words...but I was little disconcerted when I found this post from almost exactly one year ago. I guess not much has changed in my life in the past year. So, where do I go from here?

This isn't a pity party. It is just me being honest with you about where I am at this time in my life. I am trying to "do what I know needs to be done" as Gretchen Rubin says in her book The Happiness Project. I put up something that needs to be put away when I walk in a room. I am trying to follow a morning and a night-time routine (but it takes me forever to get ready in the mornings now!) I am attempting small steps, I am just having a hard time with the larger ones.

I would love to hear your comments on how you deal with setting goals. (not resolutions! Heaven knows I can't keep those past January 15!)