My mother is the Queen of Lists. She makes a list for everything. It is impossible to escape. Whenever I visit home, invariably there is a list waiting for me of things she wants me to do, such as paint the house or get a real job.

Sometimes, when she’s feeling clever, she’ll write the list in paragraph form to try to fool you, sort of like a word problem on the math portion of the SAT, but it all boils down to the same thing: Things To Do.

As annoying as a list can be when generated by another person, they can actually come in handy. Yes, it pains me to admit my mother is right about something, but a list can be quite useful in organizing yourself to get stuff done, and there’s an extra motivational feeling of accomplishment whenever you complete a task and get to cross it off your list.

So for New Years, instead of making just one ridiculous resolution that you can bitterly laugh about come February, instead, I suggest making yourself a list.