I'm not 100%, but I'm thinking that my Friday edition of this blog will most likely be a "how to" or tip section for the items I wrote about earlier in the week. So for now, we are going with that! This week, I introduced the blog and then talked to you about organization. Obviously, there are many types of organization so I'm narrowing it down to your calendar for the moment.
Did you get a calendar picked out? If not, you still have a couple of days to get that done to hold true to our pinky promise!
Follow Karen Browning's board Calendars on Pinterest.
I hope I don't throw a huge wrench in your works, but I'm going to talk about another tool that I use with my calendar- "the list." I found "the list" on Pinterest from Hoosier Homemade and started using her clipboard and "the list" idea. The printable of "the list" can be found at Clean Mama just be sure to scroll down the page quite a bit. She's got a lot of great other printables there for you as well!
Combining Hoosier Homemade's clipboard idea with Clean Mama's "the list" helps me to see the big picture for each day.
If you are wondering what my 3 categories are, they are work, family, and church. Depending on what day it is and what I'm focusing on that day, is what goes in the large box. My daughter goes to preschool 3 days a week, so those days I usually have a work or church/ministry focus. Her off days, I try to have a family focus where I'm doing more housework and am more readily available to her. The big 3 at the top are the 3 things I must get done that day. When I plan my week out like this first, it is much easier to plan my time in on my calendar. I look at the items to do, estimate the time it will take me, and put those items onto my daily calendar according to the time and duration I have planned for them. I like the clipboards because I can take the one with me I am working on and write down ideas or other items while I'm working on other things.
In case you wanted to know, yes, I do use a monthly calendar as well. I usually just write deadlines or appointments on it. This calendar is where my husband can see it so he knows where I will be and if he has any appointments. We also use an electronic calendar (Cozi) to put appointments on. This app syncs between our 2 cell phones and gives us reminders. You are probably thinking, "when do you have time to do all of that???" Remember, I told you that I usually forget where I'm supposed to be? The Cozi is my priority for family stuff and then the paper monthly calendar gets updated usually weekly. I usually don't forget my cell phone, so that is the first place I put anything. Yes, it is my electronic brain!
Now if you don't like the combo of planning your list first and then plugging them into your calendar, you can try a technique called calendar blocking. Calendar blocking is a simple way to start and usually uses a month focus first and then down to a day focus. This is a technique that I teach to my team members in my business and one that is a great place to get used to calendaring.
To begin, grab the month you are going to work with and a couple of highlighters, markers, or crayons (that's right- use what's handy!). You don't have to have different colors, but if you are a visual person, this might be your preference. I'm going to speak to the multi-color approach. Choose 2-3 colors and designate what you will use them for (ie., pink- business, yellow- office day, blue- family, etc.). Be sure to mark your family days being sure that you have church times, date nights, and kids' events marked. I usually always mark the first and last days of the month in yellow for office as I know I will have monthly duties those days. Now if you have a home based business like I do, pick the days that you are available to work (in my case party outside the home) and mark those with pink. Now look over your calendar and make sure you have all of the important days marked. This will be your basis for planning your daily and weekly calendar.
Move your monthly calendar to the side, where you can still see it and grab either the weekly or daily one you will be using. I'm going to speak to the daily calendar, but if you prefer a weekly, you can adapt these tools to it. Now get your days for that first week in front of you and look at what you will have planned that week. I prefer to mark the top of the page that I'm using as to what focus it will be (work, family, or church/ministry) from "the list" planning I did. This just keeps me focused on what I need to be on each day. Now I make sure and plan that day's time around the event(s) that need to occur that day. Again it is an estimation of the time required to finish that task and move on.
A family focused day might look like this: 6:30-7 bath, dressed; 7-7:30 breakfast and devotional; 7:30-8 free Facebook (not for business); 8-8:30 get Miss D up and ready; 8:30-9 breakfast for Miss D and dishes; 9-9:15 start laundry; 9:15-9:45 supervise learning activity; 9:45-10:00 laundry; 10:00-10:30 pick up house while Miss D plays; 10:30-11:00 Facebook or Pinterest for business, (10:45 snack for Miss D), 11:00-11:30 household finances/correspondence; 11:30-11:45 laundry; 11:45-12:15 fix lunch for Miss D and then dishes; 12:15-12:45 fix supper (I use the crockpot a lot) and dishes; 12:45-2:45 Miss D's nap and my free time or writing time. You get the idea! I try to limit my business on these days and really try to focus on getting housework done and any homework or learning activities that Miss D may have. We usually have some time in the evening that we play together as a family.
Now before you think I have it all together, I don't! I know what I'm supposed to do, but that follow through is the hard part! That is what I will be working on and sharing with you in the next few weeks. I hope that these 2 approaches to calendaring gave you an idea of where to start. I welcome questions, comments, and suggestions in the comment section below. Until next week, <3 ya all!
Here's another place to find some of the forms I like:
Follow Karen Browning's board Binder Organization Systems on Pinterest.
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