Blog 3790 – 04.08.2026

Things To Do List

I find a certain satisfaction in checking things off a Things To Do List, in organizing and prioritizing things I want to do, to accomplish. It gives me a sense of direction and of purpose. Overcoming difficulties and negotiating with competing priorities is, I think, not only challenging, but ticking off goals accomplished helps me to stay positive and to get things done.

Set backs and detours are a natural part of any life or journey. It is important, I think, to set certain goals and to recognize milestones achieved to keep moving forward. Without goals and a plan for success we might just end up wandering around in the wilderness for years and years like the Old Testament story in Exodus.

It is never enough just to exit one scene, we need something to look forward to in order to keep going. Moving forward is what helps us to find and keep our balance. Retirement cannot be the end goal but only a step in achieving some other goal that we never had the time to accomplish while we were busy earning a living, building a home, and raising a family.

What are your goals? What is on your Things To Do List? I am reminded of one of Mark Twain’s funny anecdotes about the importance of always hanging on to a few vices in order to have something to bargain with God. Maintaining a List of Things To Do works in the same way. Eat, drink, and be merry, the writer of Ecclesiastes says for tomorrow we die. I, for one, think we can find a few other tasks besides just those three to keep busy and find something to do worth sticking around for.

Your friend and fellow traveler- staying busy,

David James White