Password galore

Over the years, I’ve collected so many passwords for various internet accounts that its now impossible to keep track of them manually. Nearly everywhere I go on the net these days the site owners require some kind of registration and with that comes another password to remember. Its gotten to the point that my password file, a neatly tabulated MS Word document, has grown to more than 250 rows. Yes, many of the usernames and passwords are common but since my name is so common, I have to keep adding suffixes to find a valid username. That in itself takes a while to figure out even if I manage to remember the password. And I like things neat and ordered. It must have rubbed off of my wife since she is the exact opposite. I guess I am trying to over-compensate.
I am also a list freak, I need to have lists to do something if I ever expect things to get done. My PIM must be the busiest software in the world. Usually I just use a small diary I keep in my pocket for all the small lists I come across day to day. But then I transfer the important data to my desktop PIM so I can remember or remind myself when something needs to be done again like bills and birthdays. Even my cell-phone runs near the limits of its to-do-list. If its not written down, it doesn’t exist for me.
Many people would consider that an obsessive-compulsive-disorder. Its ok, I do to. But since it doesn’t seem to be interfering in my life too deeply, I let it slide. At least it gets my work done and I can keep track of what I did even two years ago on such and such date. The one complaint I have is that it does take time and effort to maintain it. A time, I’m sure I could find better uses for. I once tried one of those pen shaped Dictaphones which digitally record your voice making it so much easier to note things down. The stint lasted less than a week since there was no way to access any particular information. I had to listen to the whole silly recording then figure out what I was looking for. It didn’t end there because there was no way to cross out an entry when the work was done. So I ended up, within that week only, making more entries at the end of the recording to remind myself that a particular job was done.
If there are Guinness records for inefficient ways to do common things most people take for granted, I’d be in the running for the world records. I’m really that good. To be precise, I am technophobic and I guess that’s why I’m always looking for that easy way out most normal people would not even consider. Its no wonder new technology seldom agrees with me.
For whatever the technology is worth, I still think that a pocket diary and a pencil works the best. It’s the fastest and the easiest to manage. Just cross out whatever work is done and move on to the next entry. But try explaining that to me when I’m trying to figure out when the next telephone bill is due.
Now, if I can only convince myself of that and stop wasting my time with trying to digitize my whole life.