Article April 8, 2013 Issue

When listening replaced lists

Pauline Hutchinson

At one time in my life, I had a to-do list for everything—a list of tasks to do at work, a list of ideas for teaching Sunday School, a shopping list, a list of things to fix around the house, etc.

When I was promoted from deputy principal to principal within the state education system where I worked, I joined the new batch of principal appointees for a week full of conferences and workshops. One particular workshop was on “time management,” which to me can be a fancy administrative term for making lists. In the class, we were each given a stack of notebooks for making lists to help us in our schoolwork. Wow, I thought, this is just what I need!

Looking back now, I realize that I wasn’t alert to the materialistic thinking involved in the concept of time management. I was constantly concerned with having only so many hours in a day, prioritizing my tasks, and estimating how long each job would take. It was a very limited way of thinking. 

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

When listening replaced lists

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access