“Our urge to compile lists probably starts at age 40-something. If you are thoroughly convinced you routinely kept lists in your 20s or 30s — it didn’t happen. But the value of a list is no longer underrated. It’s our shorthand for long-term thinking. A list focuses us, sets priorities, gets things done: the grocery list, the errands-to-do list, the New Year’s resolutions list (hah! lists get old if you plan too far out).”