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Shirt pockets

By
Bobby Parsons

I try to make sure that all my shirts have a pocket. Every morning when I get up to make coffee, I take a piece of paper from the pad on my kitchen bench and begin my ‘To-Do’ list for that day. The list may vary in length from day to day, but I always have one because there’s always something that needs to be done (I retired 25 years ago but I still like to keep busy). So every morning, as part of my routine, I’ll write out the list, fold it in half and put in my shirt pocket, so that it’s always right there when I need to refer to it during the day. I don’t put it down or leave it anywhere. That’s where it lives. Right there in my shirt pocket. It’s very important. And so at certain moments throughout the day, I’ll reach into my pocket and check my To-Do list. If I complete a task or whatever it is, I’ll pull out the list and cross it off. If I remember something else that needs to be done that day, I’ll add it to my list. And then I will always put it back in the top-left pocket. At the end of the day, I’ll check the list to see if there’s anything I’ve missed. If there’s something on there that needs to be carried over to the next day, I’ll go and re-write it on the notepad so it’s ready for me when I go into the kitchen in the morning, wearing a fresh shirt, to make a cup of coffee.

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