I’m a listmaker. I even make lists to organize my lists. I use journals, a planner, notecards, Trello, the back of envelopes, whatever’s handy. Sometimes I even text myself a list just before going to sleep so it will be in my face first thing in the morning.

The last time I visited my brother, I noticed that he’s a listmaker too. Post-It-Notes™ on the steering wheel was one of his tactics that I noticed.

But when it comes to list-making and organization, I declare Jonathan, my son, the winner. When he still lived at home, I noticed a large whiteboard on the floor in front of his room’s doorway. There’s something beautiful about putting a physically larger-than-life to-do list between yourself and where you need to go. My favorite part about his list in the photo above is the last item — “bigger whiteboard.” That’s not just planning. That’s planning ahead.

While I continue to try out new formats, patterns, setups, and configurations, for me, it all starts and ends with a list. What’s most important is that we find a system that works for us and go with it. And if that doesn’t work, get a bigger whiteboard.