I need a good way to organize my life!! I don't mean my stuff (although that is always a mess too hehe) but more my day to day life now that things are getting very hectic. I just opened a preschool from my home which will go from 3 days a week to 5 starting next week. This runs from 9-12:30 so I drop my kids off at school at 7:30, run my pre-k and then go pick them up at 2. I also work at night 2-3 nights a week and have a 6 and a 7 year old in 2 different sports, plus my 3 year old who doesn't have any extracurriculars yet. My husband helps with the sports when he can but many practices are at 4:30 pm and he does not get home from work until 5:30. When you add in birthdays, family events etc it gets hectic real quick! I feel like I am always on the brink of forgetting to do something, forgetting to go somewhere etc. How to other busy mamas keep things straight? Do you use an old fashioned calendar? Your phone? Outlook? I feel like I need SOMETHING to keep me on track. Thanks!
The best way to at least start this is t get a big wall calendar. One which has squares of at least 3 inches by 3 inches. Write down everything. in our house we start at the beginning of the month and write down what we know to be regular stuff. then each week we get together on sunday night to go over it and add in whatever needs to be added in.
I've found that having "organized stuff" is a MUST if you want an organized life.
If you can't find your shoes or mascara and can't get out the door on time, it's pointless to even make the appointment you're going to be late for.
I have things with bells and whistles that will allegedly "organize" me, but I find more often than not:
If it's NOT on my calendar, it's NOT happening. I write everything down on O. calendar. You may need to carry a small calendar with you and transfer your entries to your home calendar or just use the portable, but in general, that works best for me.
Good luck!
For all the other stuff: www.flylady.net
And throw away 10 things every day. (Or more!)
One central paper calendar, copy everything from it into a smaller calendar for in your purse.
I need a nap just reading that. This is what I've learned about organizing... Delegate what you can. Prioritize the rest. Only touch a piece of paper once.
To keep on track
I carry around a dayplanner that zips up. It has a calendar that's big enough to write appointments in and has plenty of pockets to hold all the random business cards and things people hand me or I need to keep on hand. I also use it as a wallet. It has a place for all your plastic cards and cash. I think it was like $12. It is small enough to take everywhere and big enough to keep me all pulled together. All the running you do, you will need something mobile.
