40 Years + 3 To Do Lists: Introducing Whit and Wisdom

There are two things I must tell you before this blog post and series can go anywhere. First, I recently turned 40. Second, I have an affinity for To-Do lists.

And while those may seem like disparate thoughts, they are most assuredly not. See, for at least the past decade-plus, I live life with three To-Do lists by my side at essentially all times. 

• I have an overarching Personal To Do List that covers things I’d like to realize in my larger life. Projects around the house, movies I want to watch, trips my family and I are thinking of taking, things I'd love to write. I refresh this list about every two weeks.
  
• Then, there is a Professional To Do List that has all of my work tasks big and small. Quick things I can do in a minute to larger goals I’m working toward over a calendar year or longer. This list is refreshed weekly.
  
• Lastly, I have a To Do Today List. This is what I'm trying to get done on a specific day. It pulls things from both the Personal and Professional lists, and adds things like, “take daughter to the playground,” and “text your friend happy birthday” or “dinner with my wife’s parents.” This list is refreshed multiple times a day.

I know what these lists mean - that I  am crazy and/or have some form of OCD. But, I need them. They settle my brain and guide my life. I love my lists and I have no intention of changing course. However - and this brings us to the turning 40 part - I am starting to see them differently.

All of a sudden, something is bugging me about the Personal To Do List. Even though I refresh it every two weeks, it’s been staying more and more stagnant. I’m kind of rewriting the same goals. Sure, I cross off a “watch this movie” here or “a fixed the back door” there. But, I have yet to “Run a 50 Mile trail Race,” or “Book that trip to Hawaii” or “Write a kids-movie script even Pixar couldn’t turn down (although I do have an idea for one).”

Now, this is not some long-winded way of telling you about my mid-life crisis. I’m nowhere near having one. I love my wife, daughter and family unfathomably so. I am so grateful and committed to my employer: CannonDesign, which gives me incredible opportunities, freedom and flexibility. I love where I live. I spend free time running, swimming, golfing, hiking - life is good.

Instead, this is a somewhat long-winded way of telling you why I’m launching this Whit and Wisdom blog series. See, for years now, under a section of the Personal To Do List called “Write,” I’ve etched these three words over and over and over. Whit and Wisdom. The idea being that someday, I will write my own regular column of sorts. I have decided that someday is today.

What will you write about? How often will you write? Will you make a To Do list full of ideas for future blog posts? I knew you’d have questions!

I don’t have full answers to these questions yet. I just love to write, and I think I might try and share humorous thoughts on life and the things that make you smile while you are living it. I might talk about fatherhood, aging, travel and adventure, how I’m still striving for some sort of Ironman status, or some other curious observations I deem notable. Think Tony Kornheiser’s old Washington Post column, but with a much less talented writer guiding you. 

I don’t have it fully shaped yet, but I am going to write when I can, and I’ll leave it up to you if you want to read. There is no obligation to put “Read Whit and Wisdom” on your own To Do Today list. But, it would be honored if you do.

You know, I’ve been asked a few times since turning 40 if I feel that old. And, my response has been the same: More or less.

And that’s really all that starting Whit and Wisdom is about. More writing, less thinking. More action, less planning. More intention, less “we’ll do that someday.” More now, less never. More golf, less…. Well, just more golf. Maybe that resonates with some of you.

So there we go. I can’t wait to refresh my Personal To Do List by crossing out Launch Whit and Wisdom and then replacing it with Write Whit and Wisdom Post #2. The progress is exhilarating

We'll see where this goes. More soon....