30 Reasons Why I Love Lists of 30

Random Observation/Comment #668: Lists of 30 viewed in Mindmaps might just take off.

Why this List?

If you know me, you know I love writing lists (and specifically lists of 30) on fairly random topics. I’ve written a principles guide on how I write these lists, but never thought about why I love them so much. Why does one love anything? What is love? These lists won’t hurt me. This is so meta.

1. They’re challenging to write
2. They make me think divergently and laterally
3. They spark more questions about different topics
4. They help me get into deep thought
5. They make me feel productive
6. They require creativity
7. They give me a focus for the day – an underlying theme for which things surround
8. They usually cover multiple angles and perspectives
9. They tend to capture my thought process
10. They tend to cover topics that I’ve been thinking about related to life problems or observations
11. They are structured enough to let me focus on different topics
12. They cut out the fluffy language
13. They tell a story in their own way
14. They can be treated as discrete contributions that don’t tie to anything
15. They can be treated as groups of streams of consciousness looking at the positive and negative perspectives
16. They are fun to write
17. They are fun to reread
18. They lead me into a journey of “man, I’m never going to get to 30” into “wow, I need to merge a few to fit in some other ideas”
19. They embody a journey of personal discovery
20. The reflection ones make me appreciate things more
21. They help sort and group thoughts
22. They always teach me something while I’m writing them
23. They always lead me to additional learning
24. They’re not always serious or take themselves seriously
25. They helped me write a book
26. They helped me with on-going memoirs and life commentary
27. They’re a lot easier than writing paragraphs with proper paragraph structure
28. They’re calming, yet puzzling as a perfect routine task for distressing
29. They would forgive me for repeating or writing a filler item like this one
30. They can be beautiful to visualize (yay mindmaps!)

~See Lemons See Lists of 30 Through Rose Tinted Glasses