Evolutionary list

It was about 32,000 years ago, sitting in a cave the smartest of the what we could loosely call our distant cousins grew tired of popping down the forest only to find when he arrived his pea brain had forgotten the very reason he had left in the first place. He hit upon the notion of making a physical image and with no paper to hand he drew it on the wall for safe keeping. Never again did Mr Caveman forget the many tasks that needed performing that day and as most days consisted of hunting, cooking and Friday nights knocking down pins at the Bedrock bowl-o-Rama one or two pictures were generally enough and saved all the crossing out and re drawing. The images that remain and what we refer to as cave paintings serve as a reminder of the advancements in evolution. They show the important and pivotal role in allowing cavemen to become a more productive bunch through the conception of the humble to-do-list.

There are a few things that are disputed about my opening gambit, firstly that a bloke wrote the to-do-list. Assuming gender stereotypical roles at the time it could quite easily be a shopping list from his wife, meaning that man did not invent the list but a woman, also other theories do exist based around the images being for the purposes of art and religion but I guess we will never truly know, one thing we do know is that lists are a bloody good idea. 

At any one time I will have three lists on the go there is one that I carry about, another sitting on the kitchen work surface and then a third in the ethereal space in my mind. I am of the old school when it comes to lists so it has to be pen to paper. A list made in the virtual world of a smart phones programming has no more presence than the wisp of a thought flying through my mind. The ink has to solidify the notion on paper before it becomes a pressing concern. I have to feel the papers presence in my pocket the corners rubbing against my leg nagging me to fulfill its purpose and check everything off. I get a satisfaction from all parts of the to do list. Its very inception means I have purpose. Being able to visualize the tasks ahead in black and white, pick the next one to tackle and the climax of crossing them off one by one in a game of chores bingo must surely be one of the most satisfying aspects of menial jobs. For a fully checked off list is a beauty to behold a testimony to your achievements that day. When completed it is almost immediately replaced by a newer more current list, but for a moment in time the list shines in it's completed glory before being resigned to the recycling bin.

I am almost sure that without my to-do-list the house would be in such a mess as to resemble a cave, the shopping left so long that I would have to forage in the back for anything edible and the washing forgotten leaving me no option but to wear the animal print tshirt deep in the recesses of the wardrobe. Maybe I am not so far along the evolutionary chain as I once thought.