I live by to-do lists. I get so much satisfaction and validation from crossing things off old and new lists it feels like a quick jolt of dopamine hitting the head. And writing things down helps me focus on fewer things while thousands circulate in the brain. A few years back I began merging to-do lists with to-be lists, and that really helps me not to solely focus on material gains and accomplishments but also on character traits that I want to develop. Since I haven’t written a to-do list in a while, and I am starting to feel a bit swamped, I am using my every-other-week blog post time to make sort my thoughts.

Follow along, or don’t, it’s all good either way. But if you do keep reading, maybe my list will remind you of things you need to do, or maybe it will make you feel like an overachiever, or maybe it will help you see that you do a pretty darn good job of keeping your mind and life clutter-free, unlike Bobby Joe over here.

So join me as I perform one of my favorite organization tools. The old-fashioned TO-DO list.

To-Do/To-Be List

Every Day
-Stay clean and sober
-Pray and meditate every morning, afternoon, and evening while stretching
-Kiss wife and daughters every morning, afternoon, and evening and say, “I love you.”
-Go on a walk every day with dogs
-Go to beach every week (with or without family)
-Listen more, talk less (besides on podcasts… they expect it!)
-No cussing, no yelling
-Pushups & full body workout 1 day, pull-ups & full body workout 1 day (alternate)
-Work on Book 2 every day (6 days a week)
-Provide time for Savanna to do whatever she wants for a minimum of 2 hours each day before kids are in bed
-Keep working the land
-Keep writing books
-Be present with each and every person I am with

Before Leaving to Missouri
-Give Savanna time to make 10 pairs of earrings before we leave
-Make How-To videos for house sitter (even though I don’t think the sitter needs them.)
-Buy new generator (head gasket blew out leaked oil into generator… not cool… $$$)
-Celebrate Savanna’s birthday in style (January 15th, 37 years old!)
-Find 5-10 houses to tour in Kansas City area
-Finish 1st draft of “Stark Raving Mad” Newsletter (it’s coming along!)
-Buy 4 bags of chicken feed, 4 bails of hay, 2 bails of straw
-Pay credit card (14th)
-Pay extra $100 on car payment (14th)
-Pack bags (skateboard? microphone and gear for podcasts?)
-Tune-up Honda generator (oil change, change spark plug, clean spark arrestor, clean air filter)
-New battery in 4-wheeler (for snowplow)
-Move vehicles around for sitter to park by house
-Put away guns (the sitter has one)
-Finish bucking up logs and stacking rounds
-Use tractor to widen driveway
-Turn straw in coop
-Sweep and mop
-Water plants 2x
-Dinner at Whites on Wednesday
-Record “That Sober Guy” podcast on Thursday
-Swimming & Horseriding on Friday
-Move meat from outside freezer to inside
-Do Laundry (wash bedding)
-Brush Charger
– Fill gas tanks & add HEET (vehicles, tractor, 4-wheeler)
– Give mail key to Whites with box #
– Mail book to Willow, Alaska (paperbacks never came!!! I may have to mail a hardcover)
-Print farm sitter checklist
-Send mail to Borough

In Missouri
-Go on 2 dates a week with Savanna!!!
-Visit family!!!!
-Finish “Stark Raving Mad” Newsletter, Publish on January 31st for Paid Subscribers
-Film and Finish Monthly Video, Publish on January 31st for Paid Subscribers
-Record two podcasts
-Talk with Doug Capra about Homesteading for his Book
-Send emails to other podcasts
-Work on Book 2 every night (Even if only for 30 minutes. Be in proofreader’s hands by March 1st, to Editor by March 31st)
-Start promoting Kickstarter campaign in February to start in March (Super excited for this!)
-Look for a house or land to buy in KC (pray about it/explore in and outside of town/be patient)
-Enjoy the weather (rain, snow, shine)
-Explore Kansas City (Local co-op, skateparks, BBQ joints, thrift stores, libraries, book stores, sister-in-law’s shop, AA meetings, coffee shops, parks, playgrounds, rivers, hikes, bordering towns)
-Buy groceries and cook every day (mental and physical health/Trader Joe’s/Co-op!)
-Don’t eat candy everyday
-Be kind and open to people I meet
-Find a local American Legion (Maybe)
-Try to hang with father-in-law one-on-one (bible study? hike?)
-Try to hang with sister-in-laws’ boyfriends one-on-one
-Hang with Teresa Evans and family
-Try to make it to Arkansas to visit Hans and family
-Eat fried catfish more than once
-Find out what is local and eat the crap out of it
-Order seeds for 2024 growing season
-Decide what fruit to buy/propagate for 2024
-Finish crop plan on Territorial Seeds App
-Tell mother-in-law I love her every day and give her a hug
-Allow my girls to play with their cousins without being a helicopter Dad
-Be a hard-ass, (because you can’t help it,) just don’t be such a hard-ass on kids
-Don’t get killed by a tornado
-Learn somebody’s name
-Go to church/es
-Ride a train
-Rent-a-car and go to at least 2 neighboring states (Kansas, Arkansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Tennessee, Illinois)
-Go to Teresa’s cabin in Slater, Missouri for 2-4 nights
-Journal with pen and paper

If you made it this far, thank you! I started to make the entire year’s list but then realized that I would be on the computer until 3 am and nobody, I mean NOBODY, would read it. So I’ll end here. It feels good to be focused for the next month and a half.

Until next time, keep writing and living the good life,
Robert Stark

Do you keep to-do lists? How detailed are they? Any tips? Let us know! And don’t forget to subscribe to the first edition of the “Stark Raving Mad” Newsletter! We have 13 paid subscribers so far! Just 1$ a month and the newsletter will be delivered directly to your inbox on the last day of the month. Thanks for all of your support!!!