That title can be taken as "organizing our time" or "time to organize." Either way is good:-)
I have used the Franklin Covey organizers for years. They have made a big difference in my life. I call mine "My Memory Chip" because it is what allows me to get things done. Without it I never remember anything I am supposed to do. You know the feeling; you sit down at the computer knowing you have dozens of things you need to accomplish. But the minute your bottom touches the chair everything in your head bounces out the top. You can't remember a single thing you need to do, so you end up spending two hours on Pintrest.
My life is like that in every area. I walk into the kitchen and forget why, stroll to the bedroom and swear I was getting something but have no idea what. Simply forget to clean the shower for two years....
Have I ever mentioned that ADD runs pretty strong in my family?
Anyway, the organizer has been a lifesaver because now all I have to do is open it up to the right page and look at what I need to do. Since my organizer is also my purse, I always have it with me. This way:
I have had to force myself to form the habit of actually LOOKING AT the thing every morning, but that allows me to focus, center myself, and really plan my day instead of just letting whatever happen, so it's a good thing.
The only problem I have found is the repetition involved. Things that don't get done have to be moved to the next day. Cleaning chores have to be manually written in on each month's calendar. Menus have to be rewritten every month even though they are basically the same.
I usually highlight each type of event in a different color so my brain can immediately focus in on the right type of information. Separate calendars would be easier for that, but I get too confused/overwhelmed when I have more than one calendar to look at.
A couple of weeks ago I got about to March in setting up all the birthdays, cleaning schedules, gardening chores, etc when I decided there had to be a better way.
The Church has had its calendar on Google for several years now (which I am responsible for maintaining anyway) so this seemed the natural place to go. I have discovered:
Each week is easier too. Just look it over at the beginning and tweak anything that has changed, and make my shopping list from the pre-set menu.
Each month is easier because, instead of having to fill out and decide about each meal from my master list, I put every meal in as a "monthly repeat" and now just have to move a few things around to accommodate holidays, vacation, and the odd days (you know, some months have 4 Sundays and some have 5. That has to be figured into the menus).
Each year will be easier because all I will have to do is drag and drop the things that repeat, but not on the same day (i.e. "Australia" as the theme for the third Sunday's potluck of every January).
And I can turn all but the one calendar I am working on off while I'm working on it, yet instantly have them all on to see how things correlate if I want.
The calendars I now have are:
My cell phone is with Verizon, so a little investigating tells me I could set up the phone-book in my phone to replace the one in my organizer which would be easier to update when someone moves, have more space to add information (I think I can even add fields not already listed), and my phone automatically backs up all new info on the Verizon website so if I loose the phone I won't loose my data! I certainly can't say that about my organizer!
Add a password protected Word document saved in Dropbox and a new wallet and, Hey! I might could actually buy a real purse. I just need one with a pocket for my tablet (which my organizer does have) and my phone (which it doesn't). And I won't have to worry about loosing my whole life it I lose it because everything is backed up.
Since my brain comprehends print better than electronics, I don't know if this will work, but I am sure giving it a try:-)
I have used the Franklin Covey organizers for years. They have made a big difference in my life. I call mine "My Memory Chip" because it is what allows me to get things done. Without it I never remember anything I am supposed to do. You know the feeling; you sit down at the computer knowing you have dozens of things you need to accomplish. But the minute your bottom touches the chair everything in your head bounces out the top. You can't remember a single thing you need to do, so you end up spending two hours on Pintrest.
My life is like that in every area. I walk into the kitchen and forget why, stroll to the bedroom and swear I was getting something but have no idea what. Simply forget to clean the shower for two years....
Have I ever mentioned that ADD runs pretty strong in my family?
Anyway, the organizer has been a lifesaver because now all I have to do is open it up to the right page and look at what I need to do. Since my organizer is also my purse, I always have it with me. This way:
- I CAN'T lose it! It contains my drivers license, all my bank cards, etc. So, unlike a plain notebook, I MUST KEEP TRACK OF IT!
- When I think of something I need to do ("Oh, yeah, I need to make a cake for Sunday.") It doesn't matter if I'm at home, my parent's house, church, or some back road that isn't really even a road and would be better suited for horse-travel than cars! I just write it down on the appropriate day's list:-)
The only problem I have found is the repetition involved. Things that don't get done have to be moved to the next day. Cleaning chores have to be manually written in on each month's calendar. Menus have to be rewritten every month even though they are basically the same.
I usually highlight each type of event in a different color so my brain can immediately focus in on the right type of information. Separate calendars would be easier for that, but I get too confused/overwhelmed when I have more than one calendar to look at.
A couple of weeks ago I got about to March in setting up all the birthdays, cleaning schedules, gardening chores, etc when I decided there had to be a better way.
The Church has had its calendar on Google for several years now (which I am responsible for maintaining anyway) so this seemed the natural place to go. I have discovered:
- You can set up many different calendars and have as many or few as you want showing at a time. Each calendar's information can be set to display in a different color, achieving the same thing as the highlighter markers combined with having different calendars for each type of chore/event. The best of both worlds and whichever you need at the moment!
- Your account comes with a task list. This will organize things to do by date if you want and you check each item off when you complete it. If you don't finish it today, no problem. It can be dragged-and-dropped to tomorrow's list.
- The calendars are available to any internet connected device. This means that if I had a smart phone I could access it anywhere. As it is, If I carry my tablet (and remember to charge it:-P) and have wifi (increasingly that's everywhere) I still have access.
- If I decide I need to, I can print some or all of the calendars to stick in my organizer, all pre-colorcoded!
Each week is easier too. Just look it over at the beginning and tweak anything that has changed, and make my shopping list from the pre-set menu.
Each month is easier because, instead of having to fill out and decide about each meal from my master list, I put every meal in as a "monthly repeat" and now just have to move a few things around to accommodate holidays, vacation, and the odd days (you know, some months have 4 Sundays and some have 5. That has to be figured into the menus).
Each year will be easier because all I will have to do is drag and drop the things that repeat, but not on the same day (i.e. "Australia" as the theme for the third Sunday's potluck of every January).
And I can turn all but the one calendar I am working on off while I'm working on it, yet instantly have them all on to see how things correlate if I want.
The calendars I now have are:
- Church (services, events, birthdays, etc.)
- Menu (3 meals a day for each day of the month, many just set on a monthly repeat)
- Chores (This includes weekly, monthly, and yearly chores as well as things like doctor appointments and one-time only chores like "write a new Bible study page for the church site.")
- Farm (garden and animal chores)
- Blog Posts (a list of each post's title so I can plan and not fall behind like I did this week)
- and Schedule (this I use mostly to plan what a "normal" week or school day should look like.)
My cell phone is with Verizon, so a little investigating tells me I could set up the phone-book in my phone to replace the one in my organizer which would be easier to update when someone moves, have more space to add information (I think I can even add fields not already listed), and my phone automatically backs up all new info on the Verizon website so if I loose the phone I won't loose my data! I certainly can't say that about my organizer!
Add a password protected Word document saved in Dropbox and a new wallet and, Hey! I might could actually buy a real purse. I just need one with a pocket for my tablet (which my organizer does have) and my phone (which it doesn't). And I won't have to worry about loosing my whole life it I lose it because everything is backed up.
Since my brain comprehends print better than electronics, I don't know if this will work, but I am sure giving it a try:-)
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