A Tribute to TDL

To-Do-List (TDL): A Powerful Tool

Human civilization stands on the edifice of TDLs meticulously prepared and passionately pursued by adventurers, empire-builders, inventors, visionaries, leaders, and countless ordinary people over the millennia.

Our epics vindicate the utility and power of TDLs. Vishnu materialised as Nrusingha to kill Hiranyakashipu (a TDL), agreed to be born as Rama to kill Ravana (another TDL), and as Krishna to kill Kamsa (yet another TDL). Each of Vishnu’s ten avatars is a specific TDL of which nine have already been successfully executed, and there is little doubt that the pending one of Kalki would be similarly ticked off in due course. Hanuman’s TDL was Ram-kaj, further specified as – fly to Lanka and locate Sita, fetch vishalyakarani to revive Lakshman, and fight the Lanka war.

Taj Mahal, the Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, Amazon, Apple, Google, Tesla, and all other magnificent wonders of the world are built through TDLs.

Shah Jahan whispered a wish, his capable minister made a TDL with thousands of subsidiary TDLs for the project managers, sculptors, and masons down the line. That is how the ‘tear drop on the cheek of eternity’ was created.

TDL took a confused Columbus to the Americas, man to moon, and Putin to Ukraine.  

Are YOU organized?

On a scale of 1-10 (1 for Hopelessly Unorganized, 10 for Totally Organized) where would you put yourself? If you are at 6 or above, then I guess you manage your life and improve your productivity through one or multiple TDLs.

Everyone uses TDL, some a simple bulleted or numbered list on a scrap of paper, the zealous ones a list in two colours – Red for Top Priority, Black for the other tasks. Those who have never drawn a written TDL, not even a shopping list, manage with a mental list for shopping and other daily or periodic errands. TDL is not only a must-use tool for all workers, white-collar or blue-collar; but also for home-makers (laundry, milk, paper delivery lists, kitty-parties with list of games, menu, birthdays, anniversaries, PTA mtgs, and many more). Even the house-maid has a mental list: House A at 7.00 AM, B at 7.35 AM, C at 8.10 AM … (all flats in the same high-rise building!).

(Cartoon of an Indian bureaucrat frowning over his TDL: Image created by Copilot powered by DALL-E 3)

TDL History

In ancient India, TDLs were neatly organised in four silos detailing duties to be performed during the four phases of life - brahmacharya, garhasthya, vanaprastha, and sanyas. All activities were focussed on achieving the four missions – dharma, Artha, kama, and moksha.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), one of the founding fathers of America, and known for his multifaceted achievements, was a proponent of using lists for self-improvement. Belle Beth Cooper calls him the godfather of To-Do-Lists.[i] He had made a 13-week plan to practise cleanliness, temperance, etc., and many other lists to track his goals, virtues, and daily tasks, and monitored his progress on charts! His remarkable achievement in several fields might be the outcome of his devotion to TDLs!

 

(Benjamin Franklin's TDL: Source: Belle Beth Cooper, buffer.com)

Calendar

Calendar is possibly the first TDL invented by man. It comprises a series of TDLs: Navaratris, ekadashis, vrats, et al; Ramzan and Lent fasts. The clever panchang at our home also has columns for Laundry/Milk/Paper delivery day-wise for the month. How very ingenious and handy!

Do you think the unlettered manage without TDL? Nah, they have a mental list – the farmer knows when to sow seeds, when to irrigate, when to harvest, when to take his produce to the market; his wife knows when to milk the cow, wash clothes, cook and feed the family, and make badi, papad, achar, and more.

TDL in real life

A single event may create multiple TDLs as seen yesterday (Mar 27): A CM arrested under PMLA files bail application in Delhi High Court, argued by a top lawyer for the arrested person, opposed by ED, adjourned by HC, commented upon by US, demarche served on Acting Deputy Chief of Mission by MEA spokesperson.

TDL at Home

A few months ago, on a visit to another city, I dropped in for a chat with a friend in his office a little before noon. Why don’t you accompany me home for a simple lunch, he said. Roti, dal, bhindi, curd, and salad. When we reached his home at 1.30 PM, the dishes that my friend had mentioned had been neatly placed on the table. ‘Your cook is super-efficient,’ I said, ‘but how did you know the exact menu?’ ‘See the yellow stickers on the fridge? That has the Menu for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner for each day of the week, jointly prepared by spouse and self, in about fifteen minutes, and sparing us the trouble of the cook’s irritable query thrice a day, twenty-one times a week.’

‘You and your souse are highly organized,’ I complimented my friend. His spouse teaches in a college and takes her lunch at 4.00 PM upon return from work except on holidays.

Without TDL some feel rudderless, unable to navigate the vast ocean of life, and some are seized with panic.

I know a very meticulous person who uses the ancient method of dactylonomy (counting with phalanges of fingers) to check out the 16 items - phone, cash, debit card, pen, kerchief, pocket comb, driving licence, photo Id, eye glasses, aftershave, pen-drive, foldable umbrella, belt, train pass, letters to post, magazines to return to office library -  that must be on his person or travel bag before he steps out of home for his office.

TDL at Haat

Another highly-organized person (Score 10) never goes to the weekly vegetable haat without his meticulous shopping list: potatoes-500gms, onion-500gms, carrot-250gms, bitter gourd- 250gms, bhindi- 250gms, cucumber-250gms, tomato-500gms, fish-250gms; to be bought and put in the shopping bag in the sequence provided in the list so that the tomatoes will not be crushed and the fish will not mingle with the humdrum veggies!

However, a few moonlighters, freeloaders, and good-for-nothing shirkers deride it as a tool invented by masters to manage and monitor slaves, an Instrument of Torment.

Why bother about such inane stuff as work and worry about chasing targets, they ask: Aaj kare so kal kar, kal kare so parson; itni bhi kya jaldi hai jab jeena hai hame barson?

Daughter’s Maid

During a visit to our daughter’s home, we noted the efficiency of her cleaning-washing-cum-cook maid who finished all her work in an hour and went off for her next job. Then we noted a second maid who came in the afternoon, went to the spare bedroom, and left after half an hour. I asked our daughter, ‘What does the second maid do?’ ‘Difficult to put a name to her service,’ she said, ‘but she organizes our wardrobe.’ Daughter follows KonMari method popularised by Marie Kondo, the Japanese celebrity wardrobe organizer. The maid has been seen the video from the link shared by daughter, and rolls towels and folds other clothes and puts them in the assigned drawers! Is my daughter an organization freak, I wondered?

TDL of a senior citizen

If you think retired fuddy-duddies tweedled their thumbs when not lounging on Laz-Boy to watch cricket or a movie, think again. Peruse the TDL of an average senior citizen.[ii]

TDL Apps

There are several productivity and self-improvement tools of which TDLs are the most popular: Google Task, Micro-Soft To Do, Apple Timer, Todoist, Things, Keep Notes, Tick Tick and others. As soon as an email to join a meeting is received in your Inbox, Gmail demands to know your response – Yes, No, Maybe; and if you chose Yes, the meeting is automatically scheduled on your Calendar and you are reminded of it well before time.

Bucket List (BL)

BL is a kind of TDL. In 1999, the British screenwriter Justin Zackham created ‘Justin's List of Things to Do before I Kick the Bucket.’ He wrote the script for the Hollywood film titled ‘The Bucket List’ (2007) which popularised the term.

This heartwarming movie starred legendary actors Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, and revolves around two terminally ill men who decide to embark on a series of adventures before they ‘kick the bucket.’[iii] The list in the movie represents their shared desire to experience life to the fullest before their time runs out.

Today, BL is a product marketed by cunning dream-sellers who have flooded the media with ‘100 Places to See Before You Die’, ‘100 Books to Read/Movies to Watch Before You Die,’ ‘100 Things to Do Before You Die,’ and other similar slogans to nudge the consumers to buy products and packages. Notably, none of them publishes a list of ‘100 Places to visit Before I Die!’.

Not-To-Do-List (NTDL)

I have invented for my own use NTDL and have resolved

NOT TO:

1.   Live life as per others’ wishes and expectations.

2.   Complicate life with too many bank accounts, stocks, insurance policies, gadgets, Apps, User Ids, Passwords.

3.   Be a burden on anyone or for the planet.

4.   Hanker for more Friends & Followers on social media.

5.   Try the tips for long, healthy, happy life, and miracle cures prescribed by WhatsApp.

6.   Read a book just because everyone else has read and thoroughly enjoyed it.

7.   Watch the sitcoms or movies that the AI-enabled OTT recommends basis my watching history.

8.   Attend every meeting for which I receive an invitation.

9.   Join every Lunch or Dinner to which I am invited.

10.                  Discard good friends.

Go ahead, make your own TDL, NTDL, or BL.

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[i] https://buffer.com/resources/the-origin-of-the-to-do-list-and-how-to-design-one-that-works/

 

[ii] TDL of a Senior Citizen for 27/03/2024

1.   Get up at 5.00 AM

2.   Make Tea

3.   Savour the GM messages on WhatsApp

4.   Exercise (home bike-15 mins at 27.4 km speed, burn 87 calories, heart rate 110) while listening to Morning Mantras.

5.   Morning walk

6.   Read morning papers and briefly worry about the state of the world/country/state/city/Service from which superannuated.

7.   Tidy home, make bed, run washing machine

8.   Order stuff from Blinkit

9.   Take suits to laundry for dry cleaning

10.                  Look for a part-time cook since the regular chap would be away for a month for his daughter’s marriage

11.                  Book AC Service

12.                  Call a plumber to repair a leaking faucet

13.                  Water the plants in the garden

14.                  Pick up spouse from airport (Item responsible for Items 7 to 13!)

15.                  Pay credit card bill

16.                  Block spam calls

17.                  Make calls

18.                  Read/acknowledge/reply to WhatsApp messages

19.                  Write 750 words (Tip for wannabe writers!)

20.                  Finish the novel bought from Kindle last month, and begun last fortnight

21.                  Evening walk

22.                  Watch favourite sitcom

 

[iii] ‘Kick the bucket’ is the angrezi idiom for death and is related to the slaughter of pigs. We are more respectful of the terminal departure of a person and call it svargabas, our generosity extending to even to evil ones meriting a long stay in hell.