There’s nothing like an impending baby arrival that can get a girl going on her lists. Not long ago, my lists were on various scrap papers lying around the house, and now, I have them all organized in various stages of repair on my laptop.

I am a woman with a mission: Get the house in Better Homes and Gardens photo-op condition before this baby makes his or her appearance. Because one should be able to bask in order for about ten minutes before the disorder begins.

The old story about a man moving rocks uphill day-after-day just to return them to the former pile hardly describes the life of a mother of babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and kids with science experiments and paint. (Paint?! What relative was out to get me at Christmas?) At least in the story with the rocks, the man just moves the rocks. In the mother’s story, the rocks fall off the wagon, explode, and don’t come in cups with spill-proof lids. I know this.

But lists keep the wagon moving, albeit imperfectly sometimes. Lists enable grocery shopping to occur never more than once a week. Tomorrow, my list will enable me to combine the post office trip with the midwife visit and swing by for my blood draw all in one-fell-swoop. If you are buckling and unbuckling babies at each stop, you know that errands aren’t a mother’s best friend. Neither are gas prices.

Consider making the following ritual part of your day.

Follow the 15:4 rule: Spending fifteen minutes thinking about what you are going to do before you start will save four hours of wasted time later on. Any individual who has thought through her workday, set priorities, and organized the day’s tasks is likely to accomplish far more than someone who moves randomly through the day. ~Stephanie Winston (HT: girl talk)

Some women like to regiment their day to the minute; I prefer to have a structure that every day follows. That way, each child “does the next thing” without my constant management, and we can still be flexible to each day’s particulars, particularly when God’s plans trump my own plans (Romans 12:1-2). Whatever method you employ, be deliberate.

Like a lot of things, lists can arguably fall under the category of “morally neutral.” Yet, just like the oft used example of technology, nothing comes without its caveats. That is, while something may not be good or evil in itself, it has the potential to instigate both good and evil depending on its use. Still put another way, most everything comes with strings attached. Making lists can cause frustration, dissatisfaction, or unrealistic expectations in a household. Likewise, it can be a tool for multi-tasking, using time wisely, and good management. Being a driven sort of person, I struggle with the former use.

Lists can be one way to obey Scripture’s admonition to redeem the time (Ephesians 5:16)—making the best use of our time because the days are evil. (We do this not just by making lists, but “presenting our bodies a living sacrifice” for His use. This means that we ask Him what His will for our day is, rather than making arbitrary plans and asking His approval, as if His blessing comes out of a vending machine.) And just in case you think I manage this perfectly, God humorously humbled the writer of this post just now: I paused to cook up my recipe of Curry Chicken for dinner tonight, and just when I went to add the curry, I found that it somehow wasn’t in the cabinet. Or on a list.