I’ve always been like a Boy Scout. Their motto is: “Be prepared” and I like to think ahead too.

January 1 is still a month away but I would like to share a little bit about New Year’s Resolutions, a list occasion that has become fraught with anxiety and self-loathing. I don’t think it has to be that way.

We have a bizarre relationship with New Year’s resolutions. In late December we’re bombarded with tips for thinking big, so we can become the ideal person we want to be. On the other hand, there’s a growing sense of fatalism around resolutions—that if a commitment is made at New Year’s, it won’t work, by definition. Forty to 50 percent of Americans make annual promises to themselves. The other 50 percent boast they have given up resolutions. They’re not going to spoil a holiday dedicated to debauchery with the quest for self-improvement.

I’ve always been fascinated by resolutions because our relationship to them is so complex and contradictory. I have a whole chapter dedicated to New Year’s Resolutions in To-Do List.

Why is it so hard to keep a resolution? Probably because a yearlong promise just doesn’t make sense. Change happens in fits and spurts. The most effective to-do lists are full of items broken down into their most minute parts, extremely achievable goals (walked up a hill today as a first step, yeeha! . . . now I can cheerlead for myself by crossing that off). I always thought monthly resolutions might be a better approach, if you can stand the constant work and thought of self-improvement.

I do think that there’s something very special about New Year’s lists, though, as a time of collective listmaking introspection. It’s the only time of year when we all make lists and talk about them together. That can be fun, if you don’t allow yourself to be burdened by the pressure of fully living up to them and instead use the holiday as an excuse to find out how and what other people resolve and use their ideas as inspiration for your own. I am by now notorious for buzzing around New Year’s parties asking people about their resolutions and giving them an impromptu life coaching session to help them create at least one or two if they don’t have any. Come on, I will say, there must be some area of your life where you’d like to explore something differently: friendship, work, love, art, travel, exercise?

Here are some ways that I think resolutions can be fun and less full of self-flagellation. Add your own in the comments.

• Sneak a peek at other people’s lists. First and foremost. I think it’s really fun to find out what other people are resolving to do. You can easily do that on todolistblog.com. I will publish five handwritten resolution lists every Monday in the month of January.

• Throw a List Party. Instead of making your resolutions alone, ask your friends and family to come over and write lists together. You may even be able to make resolutions for each other and help each other achieve them.

• Even better, make your list party visual and make it a collage party. Invite everyone to bring over stacks of old magazines. Cut out photos from magazines of all the things you want to manifest in your life. Hang your poster where you will see it often.

• Treat New Year’s as a true list holiday and go on a list spree. Light a candle, sit in a comfortable chair, crack open your journal, and write list after list. Lists are not just about self-improvement, they’re a chance to take your mental pulse, to listen to the voices in your head. Make at least five lists: Accomplishments in the past year, lessons learned, things to be grateful for, the top ten moments of the past year, things that interest me.

• Give yourself credit for partial success. If your resolution was to read a book a week and you keep it up for two months, that’s eight books. Same goes with weight loss, exercise, and saving money. Tiny steps!

• Save your New Year’s lists every year in a special box; every year you can read them. Just don’t be depressed if you don’t happen to cross everything off. Think of your lists as more of a personal history than just an organizational tool. Our lists can be a unique window into who we are and what we want. It’s truly wacky to read your meta to-do lists from ten years ago and see how similar (or perhaps different) they are.

Every day, more and more people use technology to organize their lives, including their to-do lists. But do we lose something when we do everything on a computer screen? I believe that handwritten lists are still the holy grail of listmaking—and I am declaring January 1, 2008 the official launch of a worldwide Save the To-Do List Campaign.

Save the To-Do List will kick off with New Year’s Day, our national holiday in celebration of listmaking. Whether we’re writing resolutions or top ten lists, New Year’s is when we’re most obsessed with lists, and we can enjoy the special powers and pleasure of taking pen to paper.

To participate in Save the To-Do List Campaign, please send your handwritten lists (especially New Year’s Resolutions) to todolistblog.com [email them to todolistblog AT gmail.com]. During January, five handwritten New Year’s Resolutions will be featured every week.

Why save the handwritten list? Here’s a list of five reasons why we shouldn’t stop making paper lists (regrettably typed):

1. Taking pen to paper just feels good.

2. Crossing off tasks–highly satisfying.

3. Electronic lists look generic, handwritten lists are unique to us.

(And therefore more effective at getting us to get things done.)

4. The act of writing is meditative. It focuses us to clear our heads and commit to our goals.

5. Doodling!

Please add your own in the comments.

Single and ringless? No more. Singelringen, a Swedish company that manufactures aqua rings designed to telegraph a message of both availability and pride in one’s single status, are now available. Singelringen is hosting a party to promote their rings and I and a few other single-minded authors will be part of the event. Here are the details, and a photo of me wearing my single ring. I have to say I just kind of like it on its own aesthetic terms.

Jerusha Stewart, The Single Girl’s Manifesta
Sasha Cagen, Quirkyalone, To-Do List
Jane Ganahl, Naked on the Page: The Misadventures of my Unmarried Midlife
Heather Estay, It’s Never Too Late to Look Hot

Sponsored by the makers of Singelringen, the Swedish ring for single men and women, proud to collaborate with leading authors around the world who celebrate Singlehood.

Please join us with a toast to Singledom and to DV8, the fabulous Sacramento retailer celebrating the launch of their store in a great new location.
DV8
1050 20th Street (between J and K streets), Sacramento
Tel: 212-620-5430
Saturday, November 17, 6PM – ?
Space is limited to 150 people so please send your reservation to sales@shopdv8.com

Here I am spreading the gospel of To-Do List!

The To-Do List book comes out officially today! Buy it on Amazon, Powell’s, or Barnes & Noble. Here’s a video trailer to celebrate its release.

The SF Weekly has a very nice write-up on this Saturday’s To-Do List release party. Yes, it’s true, the List Slam is mysteriously alluring. You won’t want to miss it. So come to Cafe Royale, 800 Post Street at Leavenworth, with your list in hand. 8 pm. Saturday, November 10.

People often comment on the connections between To-Do List and Found magazine. We both started publishing magazines around the same time (2000ish) and we both felt like kindred spirits but we only finally met earlier this year. Now we have the same editor at Simon & Schuster and we both love her. Last Thursday my friend Sonya, who maintains an amazing blog People Reading (she interviews people on the street about the books they’re reading) and I went to see Davy perform readings of found notes. Here are photos of me reading Found and Davy reading To-Do List. Kindred spirits reunited at last.