Thursday 31 January 2013

Organisation ....

 On a day to day basis.

I think we would all agree our lives run far more smoothly when we are organised. When we have planned ahead and prepared. I know for me if I am not organised our commitments come tumbling down around our ears like a card tower in a puff of wind. When the building work on our house starts I know it will be organisation that keeps me sane.

If you are a regular visitor to my blog you will know I like to plan ! I write a two week menu plan and shopping list from these twice a month to keep my budget to a minimum. So it is probably no surprise to you that I also apply this sort of structure to other areas of our lives.

It works for me.

Our children do a lot . They have football, tennis, music lessons and swimming clubs to fit in. Cricket as well in the summer ( weather permitting). These then create the inevitable matches at the weekend. They have homework to complete and all the other appointments of course to fit in like haircuts, dentist, doctors checkups, physio appointments, play dates, seeing grandparents and so on. 

So I approach it with military precision.

Long term, Mid term and Short term planning.... and of course it must be pretty!

I did attempt to just use my phone and ipad, but I am a writer at heart and I always seem to resort back to writing so here is how I plan.

Long Term :

I use the monthly Calendar App on my Ipad and at the beginning of each month I put in all the dates I know. I can see this at a glance and I usually carry this around with me to clubs and the like.

Mid Term:

I then have a weekly planner pad that I write and scribble all over. You tear a sheet off each week. This cost me £2.99 and isn't dated so can be used in any year. I refer to this every morning - it is stuck above my desk.


Short Term:

I then have a diary and notebooks that I carry around ALL the time with me . These are for lists and notes and dates that crop up as we go through the day. I write ideas down as they occur to me as they disappear from my thoughts as quickly as they come nowadays! The large purple notebook was a gift from a special friend and I use it to write my blog ideas in.


At the end of each day I will quickly update the weekly planner if needed.

This may seem over the top, but it works for me. I think a weekly planner and a notebook for lists and notes would be a good starting point if you are starting your organisation from scratch.

There are various free planners available online ranging from weekly planners to chore planners to menu planners. Here is a link to start your search!!


 I do find that Wilkinsons here in the Uk have a good range of reasonable notebooks.

How do you organise your week?


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8 comments:

  1. I organise my blog posts but that's about it! x

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  2. I wish I had that kind of discipline!
    I do track my appointments in a book AND on my iPhone, but menu planning never happens.
    I love keeping notes and journals and pretty little notebooks, but I always get off track with that too!

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  3. Good morning Claire,
    Can I ask you which planner you use on your iPad? I am in the process of choosing an app and can't make up my mind. Yours looks quite straight forward.
    Thanks for replying,
    Nessie

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    Replies
    1. H Nessie ! It is just the apple calendar app that came with my package when I got the ipad. I expect you could get it from the apple app store. Happy organising! X

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  4. I really must get myself my annual planner. I have one every year but I never seem to get it till February. And I desperately need it because I have just been rung up to say I missed the cat's appointment at the vet and last week I missed my dentist appointment. I live life as it comes literally.

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  5. Very impressive Claire.

    May I ask where you bought the Weekly planner from? It's just what I need.

    Thanks, Clare

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    1. I got this one from a small local gift shop. I've had a look online, but can't find a copy of it anywhere ! Next time I'm in town I'll check where they get them from! X

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  6. I love the weekly planner Claire - everything is crammed onto our calendar here! Will have to have a look out for something similar round here! I'm nowhere near as organised as you are but I do write many lists - constantly - I love lists! xx

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