To do list

I've never been able to master the concept of a to-do list.

I scribble notes on various and assorted pieces of paper, quite clear that this is not an efficient way to organize what needs to get done. Alternatively, if I have a one page list of things to do, I spend an inordinate amount of time crossing out what's been done and then recopying, on a new piece of paper, what's left over to do. Clearly re doing your to-do list is one to-do too many.

Killing someone because of my errant to-do list, though, has never been a concern. 

It was, however for Dr. Atul Gawande.

In Dr. Gawande's new book, "The Checklist Manifesto," he maintains that having a checklist would improve, greatly, the medical care we receive. 

Top of the list, keep the patient alive. Followed by wash hands, which, frankly, I am more concerned and suspect of in my local restaurant. At least medical staff put gloves on before they slice and dice. What was the last restaurant you were in where your "server" donned latex gloves. And while you don't see them touching your food, that errant pickle, piece of lettuce, or strand of spaghetti doesn't get nudged back onto your plate by wishful thinking.

Anyway, for Dr. Gawande, having a checklist keeps germs at bay, mistakes to a minimum, and saves lives. 

I am seriously thinking about my New Year's Resolution to-do list. The operative word in that sentence is thinking about. Writing it down, not so much.