Gentle readers,
YOU, my friend, are right on time! For what? To join our discussion on how best to keep track of life events. How do you do it? (Sharon, I am talking to YOU). Do you use a planner? An agenda (is there a difference?). Maybe an (old-fashioned) paper calendar like my mom had hanging in the kitchen when I was growing up? (She used that calendar to keep track of my periods and our dental appointments) Do you have an app or use the calendar on your phone? Google calendar, maybe? Outlook? How do you keep track of little Mary’s dental appointment, your grocery list, your M-I-L’s birthday, that upcoming date for your presentation at work. Are you part elephant with some kind of bionic memory or do you have a fancy system for keeping your life neatly organized and scheduled? Inquiring minds want to know.
Today’s post is interactive and hopefully, a learning experience for all of us…most of all, ME! Because right now I am struggling to keep everything together over here. I am sure that just shocks the pee waddling out of you. I know. I put on a good facade. I am disorganized-organization personified. So, with your help and that from my research – they don’t call me a librarian for nothin’ – I hope to find a way to better stay on track. Preferably without Ritalin.
The picture above features some of my latest tools for keeping me on track. Keeping track of my life. None of them terribly successful. Let’s look at each one separately for just a moment.
When I first started blogging, I was participating in a “Rediscover Me” challenge offered by Alison Lumbatis at Get Your Pretty On. I loved this experience. It came at a time when I was truly lost after retiring from my job as an elementary school librarian. I really didn’t have a whole lot of life to keep track of, sadly. But Alison provided an approach that helped me set new goals for my life…personal growth, relationship, self-care and appearance, healthy living goals. I kept all of my challenge hand-outs and documents in the gray folder pictured above.
With Alison’s guidance participants completed goal focus forms that helped us identify areas in which we wanted to encourage change and self-improvement. By blogging about it, I held myself pretty accountable to my goals. And most of them have become habits. Please click here to read more about my experience with the “Rediscover Me” challenges.
About the time of the second installment of Alison’s challenge, I also purchased a blog planner. My Blog Plan blog planner. Clever name. I remember that I got a great deal on this little cutie because it was for 2014-2015 and I bought it in the fall of 2014. Yeah, I can be cheap. But I wasn’t working much then, other than an occasional sub job, so I prefer to think that I was thrifty.
I liked the My Blog Plan blog planner. It was organized well but at the time I wasn’t sure what to write in all the little categories and sections.
Each month there was a full page for product give-aways. What? Do I look rich? (Rhetorical question.) I did like the page at the end of the month where I could record my blog post numbers but when the numbers would be down, I would get depressed and eat…a lot…undoing my progress on a number of my goals from the “Rediscover Me” challenge. And then there are those pesky doctor’s appointments, and important dates to keep track of. I guess I could have written them on the appropriate date in My Blog Plan blog planner, even though I wasn’t going to blog about my dental cleaning. That would have helped me fill in all the white space where big time bloggers would have lots to plan for. Hindsight.
I began working part-time this past fall and all of a sudden, I was back to not having a whole lot of free time for reflective goal setting. While many of the goals I set during my rediscovery are coming second nature to me now, it has been awhile since I have whitened my teeth or dry-brushed my cellulite or had a said cellulite massaged. But I am definitely happier working part-time than I was being an retired old lady. So what if my teeth aren’t white. And all that cellulite just means there’s more of me to love. Right?
My daughters encouraged me to get an iPhone when my Android was stolen at school before I retired. It took awhile for me to figure out all of the bells and whistles but I am beginning to get the hang of this thing now, only two years later. I began using the “Reminders” app on the desktop of my phone to make to-do lists. I like a good, long to-do list and the feeling of accomplishment that comes when I can mark something off as completed. I don’t get quite the same kick out of deleting a reminder on my phone. And I have finally figured out the “Calendar” app, although I am not sure why I have three calendars showing up on my phone. Who else’s calendars are on there? I wish they would kindly remove them as I have enough trouble keeping track of my own.
Look, Sarah C., this is how I am keeping track of Sentence a Day…I even have an alert that rings to remind me to write it. I am all ‘growed-up’, huh? My phone works pretty well as a planner but typing on that danged thing makes me nuts and talking into it is worse. Truly. That witch Searcey (I renamed my Siri to Searcey after the evil conniving woman on “Game of Thrones”) cannot understand a word I say. You should see the gobbledy-goop I get when I speak a reminder or a message into my phone. And typing on that itty bitty keyboard is as bad. Half the time I can’t understand what my reminder is reminding me of. For example: “Cc wipes frames library mat bra bath and body outlet”. Cc=Charming Charlie, wipes=we need wipe refills for our potty at home, frames=buy 2 for family photos, library=? who knows…something with work?, mat=I couldn’t remember what this was when I was at the store for it, bra=need a new nude bra, bath and body=need more wallflower refills, outlet=NEED TO GO TO LOFT OUTLET, of course. I am still using my phone in desperate moments when I can’t find my planner(s).
Which brings me to my planner(s). First my frugal one. Action Day Goal Organizer. Available here, on Amazon. Got rave reviews. Four and a half stars. Room to record to-dos, goals, tasks to delegate (to whom?), projects to work on – I guess the ones you can’t delegate to that elusive other person.
So, I have all of this space in my Action Day Goal Organizer (the cheap one) but for some reason I write all of my reminders on Post-it notes and then stick them on random pages in the planner. I did write “early dismissal” on May 27 but otherwise, Post-its. And they don’t always stay stuck where I stick them. Gets messy. Maybe I could delegate that someone fill in my planner for me?
That brings me to my newest planner. After reading on how my friend Katie at Mishaps and Mayhem of a Solitary Life loves her Erin Condren life planner, I forked over the big bucks for one myself. Actually, because I waited until a third of the year was gone (fiddling with my blog planner, my phone, my goal organizer)…some things never change…I got it at a discounted and very reasonable price. Here are pictures of Katie’s planner being well used.
Once I received my planner, it took me approximately a month to open the package (I’m a busy lady). I have been using it about three weeks now and just discovered today that it has a lot of bling and frill at the back of the planner to use to spruce up the pages. Call them fancy Post-its. You can read more about Katie’s love affair with her Erin Condren life planner on her blog, here.
So, this week I have really made a concerted effort to use my planner more. I transferred all of my cryptic reminders and calendar dates from my phone, gathered up all of my Post-it notes and memos from my Action Day Goal Organizer and put it all in my Erin Condren life planner.
I thought if I broke out the colored ink pens I might be more likely to want to write in here. But even with the pink and purple pens, I wound up grabbing a black Bic. That old dog-new tricks business bites me in the butt every time. Look, though, there are check marks on my to-do list on the right, and I have actually something scribbled in about half the little squares for the month. Of course, the month is about half gone, too. By June, six months into the year and this Erin Condren life planner, I might have the hang of this thing.
Until that happens, here’s what I am packing in my purse in hopes of keeping me on track.
Good thing my purse is the size of a carry-on suitcase because I like to throw my lap-top in for good measure. That way I can add things to my Google calendar and Dropbox while I am out.
I had a good laugh yesterday. Had to administer the state assessment to a small group of third, fourth and fifth grade students in the library. As the children finished their tests, they were allowed to return to their room when the rest of their class had also completed the test. One third grade boy finished his test just a few minutes before the end of school and asked if he could help me in the library rather than go back to class. I was touched and tempted to hand him my planner which was sitting on the bookshelf where I had been working. We started processing some new library books and all of a sudden, out of the clear blue, Orlando asked “Is that an Erin Condren life planner?” For reals!!! My jaw dropped. I asked him to repeat what he had said. He pointed to my planner and asked again if it was an Erin Condren.
WHAT?
I laughed a giant, jiggly belly laugh and replied that it was. Yes, a very blank Erin Condren life planner. Then I asked how in the world he knew about Erin Condren life planners (I mean, this post was even written yet!). He said his mother has one and uses it all the time. Crazy. Orlando went on to say that on weekends she plays with her planner, decorating it with all kinds of stickers and designs and pretty things. Bling, Orlando, bling. What are the odds of that happening?
So, I give you Orlando. Sweet, sweet baby. Holding my Erin Condren life planner.
And how about that bit of wisdom on the cover of my Erin Condren life planner. “The best time for new beginnings is now.” Here’s to beginning to learn how to use my Erin Condren life planner…tomorrow.
So, I have read that good bloggers end their posts with a question for their reader(s). I am giving that a try. Experimenting with all kinds of craziness over here. This is my question for you.
How do you keep track of life? Please share your technique in a comment below.
I posed this question to my friends and fellow contributors at The Blended Blog and they were so kind to help a sister out. Please come back tomorrow to check out their suggestions for getting me on track. That is, IF I can remember to write down in my Erin Condren life planner that I need to write a post about that for tomorrow. Either way, come back!
Hugs and kisses,
Deena
bahahaha, awesome from the Scarcey to the reminders that you need. Love seeing your agendas!
Katie
Love this post!!! This might just be one of my all time favorites of yours! Love little Orlando! LOL Also love the EC cover you chose!! Perfect!! I’ve since blinged mine out some more…like Orlando’s mom I spend weekends with the stickers and fill it all in! HA!! I am keeping track of my May sentences in the notes section in the back! Oh and I also never leave home with out it! PS- Thanks for the shout out too!!
Whitney @ Whitney à la mode
I am such an organization and planner junkie! I blame it on my dad! He has been using a Franklin planner for as long as I can remember. He still lugs that thing around! I’ve heard great things about Erin Condren planners but I just splurged on a Day Designer that I’m excited to experiment with!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I come from a long-line of list makers. The apple truly doesn’t fall far from the tree, does it? Love that you are
following in your daddy’s footsteps.
Donna
Orlando is just a doll! I would have been nonplussed if a student had recognized my planner. I had good intentions of using a very nice planner purchased at the first of the year. Used it for a short while and then lost the habit. Not that I have lots to note being sixty-nine years old and retired. I like the size and shape of the one you are using. Mine is a long horizontal rectangle and takes up a lot of space when opened. Orlando will have his own fan club now!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
So, so glad to hear from YOU!! Thank you for commenting. Sounds like your planner was just kind of difficult size to make it portable. What position are you retired from? How do you fill your days? I am worried that I will be lost in the retirement blues once this long-term sub job winds down in June. Would love to have you help me work on a post about retiring gracefully – something I have not been good at!!! I will let Orlando know that he has some fans in the blog world. XO
Joy C.
Siri has no clue what I say on a good day, so you can imagine how much worse it gets on a stumbling, bumbling MS day. I think it is the most worthless feature on my phone. Well other than the phone part that I never use either! Good luck on your EC planner. I’m quite the list maker and LOVE paper and pen. There’s something satisfying about crossing off items on a to-do list that makes my heart swoon!
Sharon
Amen Joy!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Amen, Joy and Sharon!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
LOL, yay, Joy, I am not alone with my disgust at Siri. I think I am just using my planner as a book to house my lists!! So
far just about everything I have added to it has been in list form. The act of crossing things of a list is right up there
with chocolate. Thank you for coming by.
Sharon
Now that you have called me out 😍 I love my old school way of a daily to do list on paper. I like to mark through what I got accomplished for the day. For hair apts etc I do use my iPhone. I have never been one to use a planner or organizer but I still have a memory! If that goes, I will prob use my phone more. Apparently there’s an AP you can even scan your groceries when you run out so your list is instantly on your phone. Genius! As I’ve gotten older, my purses have gotten smaller and lighter and I wouldn’t want another thing to carry around like a planner. 😊
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I thought I remembered that you make lists on paper. I know you are a list maker. And you always have a list! We both do.
That grocery AP sounds fabulous if I could remember to scan things as I use them up. Will start looking around for it.
Paul
I have several fool proof organizers too… Outlook Express Calendar for all work related events, the old noodle for all baseball and Tankville issues, and my wife for everything else 🙂
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Awww, babies, thank you, for commenting. I am missing you his afternoon. I hope I will always be there to help you keep track
of when you need to take your Nexium and put away your laundry and anything else that doesn’t make the Outlook Express Calendar.
I love you!
Carrie @ Curly Crafty Mom
Oh, the whole story about Orlando cracks me up. And, how does his mom find time to decorate her planner with stickers and all the pretties? I write in mine with pencil and I erase and rewrite constantly… and, it isn’t pretty! I love the blog planner you are showing and how it has the social icon buttons, that would be great for me to circle to remember to share my blog posts each day on those social channels (I often forget one or two). I usually keep track of my blog in my Erin Condren planner and my real life (kids stuff, appointments) in my Google Calendar on my phone (or computer). This seems to work best for me, so I don’t have to carry the EC planner everywhere!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I am thinking pencil is a better choice for me with my planner, too. Doesn’t add the same color, but I hate crossing things off and making mistakes in pen.
That doesn’t look pretty either. And our worlds have to be about pretty whenever possible. I am going to continue using my phone for appointments, too, because it
can give me alerts that really serve me well. With my planner, I have to open and READ it to be alerted to what I should be doing.
Sarah @ Foxy's Domestic Side
What a sweet boy! I just love reading whatever you write and thanks for remembering to do your Sentence a Day! Speaking of which, I need to do mine for yesterday, hehe 🙂 Can’t wait to see tomorrows post, that’s if you remember to write it down in your ECP 🙂 Yep I’m cool like that using accroynms for things I don’t use. I’m a Frankin girl through and through, been using it for 20 years, won’t stop, can’t stop!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
You and Whitney are Franklin girls. I will take a good look at them before I decide what to use next year. It will be “next
year” before we know it. LOL, with your acronyms. Sentence a Day can be SAD. And I am proud to report I have SAD-ed every day!
Shaunacey
might have to remember to order one of these next year because EVERYONE raves about them!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Check out the Day Designer and Franklin planners, too. Sarah and Whitney are Franklin gals and have been for years. And
both of them are highly organized, waaaay outta my league.
Sheila DelCharco
I currently use my Google Calendar to organize my life but I’m moving to a paper planner for my blog. I just need to be able to see it all written out BY ITSELF so I know what I need to work on. Thanks for this post! I loved it! (And I see that you changed to left justification!)
~Sheila
~Sheila
Making the Most of Every Day
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Yup, bit the bullet with the left justification and I like it. I think when I tried it before I had trouble with my pictures but
I seem to have the hang of things now. I like having things in writing, too, my handwriting. For example, the notes for giving
the stupid state assessment to the kids. I had an entire book full of directions and preferred by handwritten notes.