write the list. then divide it into three: things one will finish this week, things one will finish later, things one will not finish. dab one drop of the solution onto the third list and burn that page when the drop has dried. do not consult the ledger again until the next week. the burden is not in the list but in the carrying of it.
ingredients
- one full list, written by hand
- a small flame
- three columns: now, later, never
- permission given in writing to oneself
- the smell of burnt paper, brief
the unfinished thing one is most afraid to put on the third list is usually the one that belongs there.
see the errata, the catalogue, the library; and the footnotes where unfinished thoughts keep house.