--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are three kinds of people in this…" description: "\"There are three kinds of people in this world: 1) People who make lists, 2) People who don't make lists, and 3) People who carve tiny Nativity scenes o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/mary-roach-635_carve_there-are-three-kinds-of-people-in-this_1028734.png" --- # There are three kinds of people in this world: 1) People… ![“There are three kinds of people in this world: 1) People who make lists, 2) People who don't make lists, and 3) People who carve tiny Nativity scenes out of pecan hulls. I'm sorry, there isn't really a third category; it's just that a workable list needs a minimum of three items, I feel.” quote by Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/mary-roach-635_carve_there-are-three-kinds-of-people-in-this_1028734.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/mary-roach-635_carve_there-are-three-kinds-of-people-in-this_1028734.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/mary-roach-635_carve_there-are-three-kinds-of-people-in-this_1028734.png) > “There are three kinds of people in this world: 1) People who make lists, 2) People who don't make lists, and 3) People who carve tiny Nativity scenes out of pecan hulls. I'm sorry, there isn't really a third category; it's just that a workable list needs a minimum of three items, I feel.” [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People differ in how they organize tasks, but most need at least three items to feel a list is complete. **In simple terms:** Lists need a minimum of three items to feel complete. Key Takeaway Use three items when making a list. Themes organization humor psychology Mood lighthearted reflective Type humorous observational When to use this quote - planning work - grocery shopping - project management - daily routines Key Concepts cognitive bias list-making minimalism Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel three items are enough for a list? - How does list length affect your motivation? A Different Perspective Some may find three items arbitrary and restrictive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carve/) [Category](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/category/) [Christmas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christmas/) [Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel/) [I feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-feel/) [Items](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/items/) [Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just/) [Kinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kinds/) [Kinds People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kinds-people/) [List](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/list/) [List Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/list-needs-2337664/) [Lists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lists/) [Lists People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lists-people-2337663/) [Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make/) [Make Lists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-lists-1275885/) [Minimum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minimum/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/out/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/) [Scenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scenes/) [Sorry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorry/) [Third](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/third/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Tiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tiny/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Make lists. Write down the things that give you power. Write down the things that take your power away also. Make lists of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/make-lists-write-down-the-things-that-give-you-power-write-down-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I'm busier than I've ever been, but you can go through the lists of people who are bang up there one minute, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hemsworth/i-m-busier-than-i-ve-ever-been-but-you-can-go-through-the-lists-of/) [Chris Hemsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hemsworth/) > [“Sometimes our stop-doing list needs to be bigger than our to-do list.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-digh/sometimes-our-stop-doing-list-needs-to-be-bigger-than-our-to-do-list/) [Patti Digh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-digh/) > [I have one person on my list that needs to read this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-one-person-on-my-list-that-needs-to-read-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I make lists to keep my anxiety level down. If I write down 15 things to be done, I lose that vague, nagging sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/i-make-lists-to-keep-my-anxiety-level-down-if-i-write-down-15-things/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [I always make lists of things I need to get done. I like the sense of having completed one thing so I can move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mette-frederiksen/i-always-make-lists-of-things-i-need-to-get-done-i-like-the-sense-of/) [Mette Frederiksen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mette-frederiksen/) > [It takes me hours to get to sleep. I just lie there waiting, constantly thinking. I used to make lists, but it became addictive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ant-mcpartlin/it-takes-me-hours-to-get-to-sleep-i-just-lie-there-waiting-constantly/) [Ant McPartlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ant-mcpartlin/) > [Generally speaking, there's some quality of compulsion that attaches itself to the idea of the list. It's true that lists organise the daily chaos…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-kitamura/generally-speaking-there-s-some-quality-of-compulsion-that-attaches/) [Katie Kitamura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-kitamura/) > [“Let’s make lists of all the things that make us smile and tick them off, one at a time. The world will carry on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pleasefindthis/let-s-make-lists-of-all-the-things-that-make-us-smile-and-tick-them/) [pleasefindthis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pleasefindthis/) > [Mostly I make lists for projects. This can be daunting. Breaking something big into its constituent parts will help you organize your thoughts, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-savage/mostly-i-make-lists-for-projects-this-can-be-daunting-breaking/) [Adam Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-savage/) > [I read somewhere that people who make lists are more likely to achieve their ambitions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karla-crome/i-read-somewhere-that-people-who-make-lists-are-more-likely-to/) [Karla Crome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karla-crome/) > [“I bet you make lists. I bet you get up every freaking morning and write down everything you have to do for the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-robards/i-bet-you-make-lists-i-bet-you-get-up-every-freaking-morning-and/) [Karen Robards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-robards/) > [“I like to make lists. I also like to leave them on the kitchen table and guess what I need when I’m at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lani-lynn-vale/i-like-to-make-lists-i-also-like-to-leave-them-on-the-kitchen-table/) [Lani Lynn Vale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lani-lynn-vale/) > [People who want to appear clever rely on memory. People who want to get things done make lists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mcwilliams/people-who-want-to-appear-clever-rely-on-memory-people-who-want-to/) [Peter McWilliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mcwilliams/) > [It's important to run not on the fast track, but on your track. Pretend that you have only six months to live, and make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-davies/it-s-important-to-run-not-on-the-fast-track-but-on-your-track-pretend/) [Mike Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-davies/) ## More by Mary Roach > [“Rawson points out that although snakes can’t taste, they have a primitive sense of smell. They’ll extend their tongue to gather volatile molecules and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/rawson-points-out-that-although-snakes-can-t-taste-they-have-a/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“As the number of Inuit who hunt has dwindled, so has the consumption of organs (and other anatomy not available for purchase at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/as-the-number-of-inuit-who-hunt-has-dwindled-so-has-the-consumption/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [For the most part, if somebody approaches me and says, 'I'd like to interview you,' who am I to say no, when I spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/for-the-most-part-if-somebody-approaches-me-and-says-i-d-like-to/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [To me, death is dark, pain, grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/to-me-death-is-dark-pain-grief/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“If you look at survivable crashes, it’s rare that even half the emergency exits open,” says Shanahan. “Plus, there’s a lot of panic and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/if-you-look-at-survivable-crashes-it-s-rare-that-even-half-the/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“…he was doing a breath hydrogen test. If you know the amount of hydrogen someone is exhaling orally, it's a simple matter to extrapolate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/he-was-doing-a-breath-hydrogen-test-if-you-know-the-amount-of/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“Viagra isn't the only drug being prescribed off-label for women with arousal problems. Los Angeles urologist Jennifer Berman told me some doctors are prescribing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/viagra-isn-t-the-only-drug-being-prescribed-off-label-for-women-with/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [Sharing a room with a cadaver is only mildly different from being in a room alone. They are the same sort of company as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/sharing-a-room-with-a-cadaver-is-only-mildly-different-from-being-in/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [Every now and then, someone will tell me that one of my books has made them laugh out loud. I never believe them because:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/every-now-and-then-someone-will-tell-me-that-one-of-my-books-has-made/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“panel applicants at the initial screening were asked not only to describe the cat foods but also to rate them according to how much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/panel-applicants-at-the-initial-screening-were-asked-not-only-to/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“\* Kissing is a less aggressive form of bacterial transplant. Studies of three different gingivitis-causing bacteria have documented migration from spouse to spouse. Periodontically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/kissing-is-a-less-aggressive-form-of-bacterial-transplant-studies-of/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“Nirlungayuk reached a similar conclusion. I tracked him down, seventeen years later, and asked him what the outcome of his country-foods campaign had been.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/nirlungayuk-reached-a-similar-conclusion-i-tracked-him-down-seventeen/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [Astronauts are like these mythic legends, but really, they are just regular people, people who wear chinos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/astronauts-are-like-these-mythic-legends-but-really-they-are-just/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“Olive trees grow in the same climate and soil conditions as grapes. The olive oil people have been up in Napa Valley all along,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/olive-trees-grow-in-the-same-climate-and-soil-conditions-as-grapes/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“A patient on the way to surgery travels at twice the speed of a patient on the way to the morgue. Gurneys that ferry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/a-patient-on-the-way-to-surgery-travels-at-twice-the-speed-of-a/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) [Explore all 435 Mary Roach quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) ## More Carve quotes > [I went straight from high school to 'Gossip Girl,' and both were very structured, scheduled environments, so I never had freedom to explore and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-lively/i-went-straight-from-high-school-to-gossip-girl-and-both-were-very/) [Blake Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-lively/) > [“I could carve out of a banana a judge with more backbone than that,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-could-carve-out-of-a-banana-a-judge-with-more-backbone-than-that/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [Carve and polish it the way you like, error cannot be changed into a precious stone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ace-kid/carve-and-polish-it-the-way-you-like-error-cannot-be-changed-into-a/) [Ace Kid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ace-kid/) > [We get older, and we forget that we have to carve a little time out to feel good in your body, in your head,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/estelle/we-get-older-and-we-forget-that-we-have-to-carve-a-little-time-out-to/) [Estelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/estelle/) > [“The Choice You can carve out a life for yourself just as your bones have been carved from some larger bone your flesh peeled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-choice-you-can-carve-out-a-life-for-yourself-just-as-your-bones/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What I like to do is treat words as a craftsman does his wood or stone or what-have-you, to hew, carve, mold, coil, polish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/what-i-like-to-do-is-treat-words-as-a-craftsman-does-his-wood-or/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Campaign finance and ethics reform only works if it curtails all special interest groups equally and does not carve out any exceptions to benefit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kean-jr/campaign-finance-and-ethics-reform-only-works-if-it-curtails-all/) [Thomas Kean, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kean-jr/) > [“I am in a car with Mr. Assai at the wheel. He pauses to let a cow cross the road and then manages to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-a-seitz/i-am-in-a-car-with-mr-assai-at-the-wheel-he-pauses-to-let-a-cow-cross/) [Nicole A. Seitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-a-seitz/) > [“The hardest stone to cut and carve is within us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevan-v-nikolic/the-hardest-stone-to-cut-and-carve-is-within-us/) [Stevan V. Nikolic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevan-v-nikolic/) > [Most of us were probably less than immaculately honest as teenagers; it's practically encoded into adolescence that you savor your secrets, dress in disguise,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/most-of-us-were-probably-less-than-immaculately-honest-as-teenagers/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [With your hands carve out your own destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guru-nanak/with-your-hands-carve-out-your-own-destiny/) [Guru Nanak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guru-nanak/) > [It is not necessary to live, But to carve our names beyond that point, This is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriele-d-annunzio/it-is-not-necessary-to-live-but-to-carve-our-names-beyond-that-point/) [Gabriele d'Annunzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriele-d-annunzio/) > [Richard Leacock and I ran into a guy who knew how to carve up a camera, and we had him carve one up for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-drew/richard-leacock-and-i-ran-into-a-guy-who-knew-how-to-carve-up-a/) [Robert Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-drew/) > [Football can help carve a more diverse world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-seedorf/football-can-help-carve-a-more-diverse-world/) [Clarence Seedorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-seedorf/) > [Did you carve up any ice... with your weiner? -Chazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blades-of-glory/did-you-carve-up-any-ice-with-your-weiner-chazz/) [Blades Of Glory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blades-of-glory/) [Browse all 73 Carve quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carve/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are three kinds of people in this world: 1) People who make lists, 2) People who don't make lists, and 3) People who carve tiny Nativity scenes out of pecan hulls. 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