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normal behaviour but it makes me happy.’
            ‘You see?’ I wanted to offer her a round of applause. ‘This is why I’ve come here tonight. Because you can do stuff like this. So come on, Alexa, what’s your secret? What’s the secret of being a proper grown-up?’
            Like any guru worth their money Alexa took a moment to consider her answer. ‘For me,’ she began, ‘the real secret is routine. For instance I always stick the kid’s lunch bags in the same places. And I always put them out before we go to bed and have everything organised the night before so that when I’m on auto-pilot in the morning I don’t have to think.’
            ‘Right,’ I said wondering how to apply this theory to the List. ‘Use routine.’
            Alexa grinned as though she’d read my mind. ‘I’m guessing that for your list the key thing will be making sure that you get into the routine of doing things every day.’ She took a sip of her coffee and looked guilty. ‘Since we’re talking lists, I will tell you something that I don’t tell many people because they’d laugh at me: I make To-Do Lists all the time and sometimes when I’m feeling particularly low I put things like “Take a shower” just to have the satisfaction of ticking it off. It’s my kick-start for the day.’
            ‘So you’re saying I should make sure not to do all the easy stuff straight away? Otherwise I’ll have used all of my kick starts?’
            ‘Exactly. When you’ve got as many things as you have, you’ve got to pace yourself. In fact I would break them up into the things that you’re excited about and the things that you’re not so excited about and then alternate them so there’s always something to look forward to. It’s like eating your pudding before your tea. If you do, there’s no incentive to eat your tea.’
            ‘Food metaphors – now you’re talking my language. Though I have to admit between the ages of nineteen and twenty-five before I met Claire I regularly ate my pudding before my tea.’
            ‘Not one for delayed gratification then?’
            ‘This is probably where I’ve fallen down these past few years.’
            ‘Well, you’re going to have to get that sorted pronto, my friend, because getting things done is all about delayed gratification. Put the work in now for a pay-off in the future.’
            Feeling like a soldier on the front line after a stirring motivational speech from my general I rose to my feet and just about stopped myself from giving her a salute.
            ‘Thanks, I feel really inspired.’
            Alexa nodded sagely. ‘That’s good but remember to pace yourself.’
            ‘What are you doing now? Sorting out your sock drawers or some such?’
            ‘No, it’s knitting club tonight.’
            I couldn’t help myself. I laughed. Alexa was no longer a general, she was back to being my wife’s super-organized, constantly baking, Oprah-loving best friend and figure of fun.
            ‘You’re going to knitting club?’ I scoffed. ‘Isn’t the first rule of knitting club not to talk about knitting club?’
            ‘Like I haven’t heard that a million times! It’s just me and some mom friends. I’m knitting a cardigan. We talk about all kinds of interesting things. You should try it some time.’
            ‘Yeah, right,’ I replied. ‘Me in a knitting club?’
     
    When I got home I checked my emails and found the following message:
     
    Dear Mike
    Thanks for your email, and I’d be very pleased to help you with this. It sounds a fascinating idea. Presumably you’re thinking in terms of a phone conversation? If so, when’s a good time for you to talk?
    Best wishes,
    Mark Forster
    The Time Freedom Coach
     
    I couldn’t believe it. Mark Forster, a man so skilled in Time Management that he referred to himself not as a Time Freedom Coach but The Time