If you're anything like me and have a million little scraps of paper scattered around your house with "to-do" lists scribbled all over them, you understand me on a spiritually level. If you're not and may think I'm on the side of psycho-maniac, please give me a second to explain to you why I write a million lists.

Unlike you, my memory fails me on a daily basis. If I don’t write everything down, I lose it. If you live a life like me that's utterly and completely busy from dawn to dusk, my lists are a must. I not only am a full-time college student, work two jobs, am on the executive board for two clubs, am a part of multiple other clubs, and training for a marathon, but I attempt to have a social life and get eight hours of sleep…silly me. Between workouts, homework assignments, work schedules, meetings, and events, life can get a little hectic. My little brain simply cannot store that much information. You might say, Elise, you should invest in an agenda, or a calendar instead of ruining trees and writing a million lists every day, trust me, I already have these organization tactics. And let me tell you, you can never be too organized. Never. My lists keep me sane. They keep me in check. They keep my life on track.

My lists also make me feel accomplished. It might sound a little cheesy but that sense of accomplishment I receive when I get to cross something off my list gets my heart beating a little faster every time. Of course, this leads to me writing stupid little things on my lists such as "brush teeth", "get dressed", or "eat breakfast". I'm not going to forget to do these things, but it's an opportunity to check something off my list and make me feel like I'm headed in the right direction. It's a boost of motivation; something to push me to do something on the list that might be a little more time-consuming and difficult. But hey, whatever gets you going in the morning, right?

List making not only helps you prioritize but it helps prevent an emotional breakdown from being overwhelmed. If you look at all the stuff you must accomplish by tomorrow morning at 8 a.m., then maybe you'll reconsider going out to Tiffany's 20th bday bash.

I'm not forcing you to write a to-do list today, I'm just encouraging you to give it a try. I think everyone will be a little surprised at how much organization can lead to a happier, more peaceful, and productive day. You never know, you just might get a little addicted to it… And if that’s the case, there's no turning back. Once you're a list writer, you will always be a list writer. Without them, life seems almost too chaos to handle. With them, nothing can stop me on my way to success (and happiness). Thank God for my lists