Incoming Paperwork: Processing With A Planner And A Highlighter

Most pieces of paper are simple to process.

Wedding invitation? Note the date and address, mark the RSVP card and put it in the mail, and toss the invitation. Bill? Write the check and put it in the mail. Note mailing date on your planner. Junk mail? Toss. Graded papers? Sign and return to school.

But, sometimes, a more complex paper enters your home or office. Today, my complex paper was the instructions for the upcoming Krewe of Kindergarten Mardi Gras parade.

What makes me call it complex? Well, it's basically an entire project, summed up in one page of instructions. Make a float. Dress in costume. Buy or gather up throws. Deliver the float. Pick up the float. Supervise the parade. Sign out the kids. (Indeed, I do see the irony in the fact that the kindergarten parade is a complex project.)

When multiple steps, including dates, times, and tasks, are included in a written document, there are two goals. One goal is to get the information into your planner in a way that is workable for you. The other goal is to complete all tasks and appointments without missing any. These two goals are obviously closely related.

The way that I tackle such a project is three-fold.

First, I highlight any tasks, dates/times, and FYI information that are important. In this example, I used a yellow Frixion Colors marker (which isn't, technically, a highlighter, but a highlight color).

Notice that I put boxes around schedule stuff (goes on my monthly calendar) and underline details or tasks. (If you are a color-sensitive person, use one color for schedule, one for tasks, and one for FYI.)

Second, I copy scheduled stuff onto my monthly pages and tasks (including a DUE date for the project) on my weekly pages.

See the little check marks in the above picture? I check off each item as it is copied into my planner so that I don't accidentally miss anything.

The scheduled events go here, in my monthly pages.

Tasks that must be done on a certain date go in the weekly pages, along with a DUE date for the project, written far enough in advance of the actual date to ensure that all tasks in the project will get done. 

If you have not read about how I handle due dates, it's worth reading here.

All other tasks, the catch-all stuff that just needs to be done sometime before the deadline, go on the project page.

The third step, then, is to make a project page. (This step may not be necessary, depending on the complexity of the information. The highlighting trick works even for less complex, multiple bits of information. In those cases, just copy all schedule information and tasks into the appropriate parts of your planner.)

At this point, you have the option to discard the paper (if you have copied absolutely all the information that you might need into your planner), put it in your planner to carry around with a discard date written on it, or put it in your pending folder/file/box with a discard date written on it.

I put it in my pending box, since I don't need to carry it around with me as most tasks must be done at home, anyway. My pending and in-boxes are simply a divided magazine holder.

I hope this helps you the next time you need to process a more complex piece of paperwork.

Now, I'm off to find some Mardi Gras beads! Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Etcetera.

Know Thyself: Scheduling In A Planner With Little Numbers

You already know my philosophy about scheduling appointments - all appointments go on the monthly (or weekly) pages while all tasks and due dates go on the weekly (or daily) pages.

I do this so that I don't double book. If someone calls me to substitute teach, I can instantly say yes or no by glancing at one page.

If I have an appointment that may or may not happen, I "pencil" it in by writing a question mark after it.

Tasks go in my weekly pages.

But what about paid work that is not on a set schedule? In theory, that should go on my task pages. In fact, my novel writing and blogging do go on my weekly pages or my task list.

What about work that must be done on a tight deadline (say, within the week) and measures in hours, not tasks? For example, if I promise to do 10 to 15 hours of paid consulting work in a week, so it must be done between Monday and Friday, but there are no set hours. Is that a task? Do I put it on my schedule?

Here's the trickiest part of being a planner, I think. A planner must know herself. (Or himself, as male planners are out there, ladies.)

Knowing thyself is how you decide to decorate or not decorate. Knowing thyself is how you determine whether you will use a pencil or a permanent marker. It's how you figure out what to write down and what you do all the time, anyway, even if you never make a single planner notation about it. (I always make the coffee. You'll never see it in my planner, but I will always remember.) (Except for sometimes, when I forget, but only because I did not have my coffee. How do you expect me to make coffee if I haven't had my coffee?!?)

I know that, if I don't schedule work, it won't get done. Oh, sure, if a certain task needs doing (for example, filling out an HR form or researching a particular legal issue), I will do it by the deadline. But as far as working for 10 to 15 hours, if I don't schedule it, forget it. I'll be trying to fit it all in on Friday, every time. My life is busy and will get in the way of working if work hours are not made a priority on my monthly calendar.

At the same time, I am doing the kind of work that I do - consulting/part-time lawyering, substitute teaching, blogging, and writing a novel - because it gives me the freedom and flexibility to pick up the kids from school and be a full-time parent to them. I refuse to give that up.

I've come up with a compromise. You've seen, recently, my new work planner. I will schedule certain hours in there.

On my personal planner (which gets all scheduling and hard deadline DUE dates, no matter what other planner I use, so that nothing falls through the crack of having a second planner), I will write little numbers on the monthly calendar. Nothing distracting, and they will allow flexibility in scheduling, but they will send a clear message that I have to work that day, for a certain number of hours, in my face where I cannot ignore it.

I'm thinking, generally, a 5/4/3/2/1 schedule, where I try to get in 5 hours on Monday, 4 on Tuesday, and so on. 

When I need to switch things up, say to substitute on a Monday all day, I can do 1 on Monday, 5 on Tuesday, and so on. Or, if I am subbing half a day, 2 or 3 hours on Monday.

An advantage of this plan is that, by working extra or on weeks without enough work to keep me occupied for 15 hours, I can take the end of the week off. Who doesn't want Fridays off as a reward for working hard all week?

I know this post seems like an answer to an issue that might be very specific to my life. But you have something like this in your life. You are working on some goal, somewhere, that you want to achieve.

Maybe it's working out. A set schedule doesn't work (because you get an injury or something comes up and you can't run tomorrow or you are too busy with a work project on a particular day), but you want to meet a weekly goal. Try little numbers on your scheduling page.

Perhaps you want to spend a certain number of hours per day writing. A tiny number notation on your schedule, so you make sure to fit it in, makes a simple task into a PRIORITY.

Use the little number sparingly, of course, but use it where it works for you. Know thyself when you plan. That is how you succeed, stress-free (kind of) and happy. Oh, and plan Fridays off when you can.

Etcetera.

Filing 101

Filing.

Filing is practically a naughty word, right?

Let me help you not hate it so much by sharing my top ten ideas for making your filing system work for your home or office.

(Okay, if pressured, say with threats of someone taking away my coffee or making me miss the newest episode of The Big Bang Theory, I'd have to admit that I might have once said a naughty word while filing. Once. Or, twenty-five times in one day. Oops. But I am reformed! Reformed, I tell you.) (Seriously. I've been reformed about filing for about six months now. WHY DOESN'T ANYONE BELIEVE ME?!?)

1. Put your filing in a convenient place. The most convenient place is not always a file cabinet.

In my case, I don't have room by my desk for a bulky file cabinet. Instead, I use an insulated bag that I bought from Thirty-One. (I do not sell Thirty-One products.) (An insulated bag is not necessary. Your files do not need to stay cold. ;) It just happens to be a good size. And it zips up.)

There are two big advantages to a bag. First, it zips up and stores neatly next to my desk. Second, it is portable, if I must do my filing elsewhere or evacuate in an emergency.

2. Keep an index of files in your planner. Use the index to decide where you will file each piece of paper, instead of arbitrarily making up new file names all the time.

I keep mine in the Notes section of my planner.

3. Put a discard date on the file folder for things that do not need to be retained forever.

4. When filing, always put the newest paper in the front of the file. After all, it's the item you are most likely to go searching for again.

5. When filing, go through any file you touch and discard any out of date material.

This will keep your files from getting too thick.

6.Use a consistent system for naming your files.

Because I once worked in an accounting office, I tend to start with vendor names. For example, my bank files get called "Bank of America" or my investment files get called "Vanguard."

Next, I have a file for each person in the family, with things like their birth certificates in there. I do have a separate file where I keep awards and honors that are resume' worthy, but that is only because our personal files got too thick.

For things like the car, where I have a file with the name of the vehicle ("Honda CRV").

The truth is that I mostly use file names that mean something to me. It works, but only because I have an index in my planner to look at when I do my filing.

7. File things as they enter the house or office.

Seriously, this is NOT the time to procrastinate.

8. Put spare, blank files in the back of the file tote. 

That way, you always have some available if a new file will be made.

9. For true archiving, put the archived files elsewhere, but note where on your file list.

For example, my old tax folders go elsewhere. I have to keep them for ten years, but I don't have room for them in my active files. (See the note at the bottom of the picture below.)

10. Do NOT bother with pretty labels.

Otherwise, you will just procrastinate because you don't have time to make a label. Just use a sharpie or an ink pen.

Etcetera.

Marathoning The Task List In Your Planner

My sister runs marathons. In most ways, I just assume she is crazy. Impressive, mind you, but crazy. But I definitely admire her planning, dedication, and drive to complete the races.

I share a lot of my sister's characteristics; I just channel my strengths into things that don't require so much oxygen. 

For example, if my task list gets too long, I plan a marathon session to get it cleared off.

This week, that meant three hours set aside to get all those nagging tasks done.

Once they were complete, I went ahead and made a new, shorter task list.

Maybe this sounds crazy. Maybe you think that you don't have half a day to do unimportant tasks. And often I try to fit in one quick, unimportant task in a day. But that's just not enough a lot of the time.

Plus, if you have followed my suggestions about keeping your task lists reasonable and organized, the only things on your lists are things that need to be done, maybe not today, but sometime. And, if you are really busy, nothing lightens your load like getting a bunch of tasks scratched out.

So go ahead and block out an afternoon...and shorten your task list. It will take hours, but you will feel so much better after you cross the finish line.

Etcetera.

An Organized Desk

I got tons of things on my task list done on Friday. I counted. Ten things got done! Ten. That's got to be a record, right? 

Okay, it took almost three hours. But after having the kids and the husband home for three snow days, this day home alone was just begging to be productive. It's also been begging for a Hart of Dixie marathon, so that happened, too.

It also helped that my new desk is finally all set up just the way that I like it. I've shown pictures of my new desk recently, but I wanted to share some tips for setting up an at-home work area now that I am fully moved into the space.

TIP: Have a dedicated location for doing your work. It will help you to focus.

I mostly work from home, so I need a central location for all of my stuff. It's amazing how much you get done when you have a dedicated place to work, whether it's household management (like paying bills or calling the insurance company), work (for me, writing my novel or doing legal work), or play (I am going to beat my friend in Germany at Facebook Scrabble someday, even if he does have a perfect SAT score, darn it).

TIP: Keep your bags in an accessible location.

You'll notice that I keep my purse and work bag (for substitute teaching) hanging from my desk. Hiding behind my laptop is a black bag. I have a cold, so I am carrying tissues, water, medicines, cough drops, and the thermometer everywhere I go in the house. It's the first time I've had a cold and not left a trail of mess in my wake.

TIP: If you get sick, make a bag of self-care items and carry it with you.

On the top shelf, I keep a container with paper clips and binder clips, a contraption that has buttons that I press when I lose my keys that makes them beep, my hole punches for my planners, and a picture of my husband.

TIP: It's okay to personalize your desk (say with pictures), but don't go overboard. The space is for working, after all.

On the next shelf, I kept a small container for things that come home and leave with me, like my watch and my keys, a small container for magnetic bookmarks and my to do list stamp, and an ink pen cup.

TIP: Have a home for your keys.

See the wire basket? That's the most brilliant part of my desk set-up. The basket is for things that need to go to other rooms. If I stand up, I empty the basket. I didn't have the desk set-up this way at first, but do you realize how many things end up on a desk that don't belong there? Medicines, nail polish, remote controls.

TIP: Have a dedicated space for things that belong elsewhere, so you can return them to your homes all at once.

The working shelf holds my planners and my laptop, along with a water bottle and my coupon folder.

Notice how my desk allows me to also work at the kitchen table, if I need extra space. It's also in a remote corner of the kitchen, so that I can work quietly, see the television in the living room, or oversee dinner cooking while I work. And the desk closes right up, to hide my mess.

TIP: Don't place your desk in an area so remote that you will never use it. 

My printer and trash can are also right near the desk. And you can't see it, but I have a space on the bottom shelf to hold receipts and paper, plus a magazine rack to use as an in-box/file container.

Now, to get some writing done.

Etcetera.

DIY: Page Markers For Your Planner

As promised in yesterday's post, today I will show you the simple steps to making a page marker with the plastic or heavy cardboard cover that is removed from a spiral bound notebook.

Once you've removed the cover, you can either trace an existing page marker (if you have one) or fold the cover, matching the edges up so you make a perfect fold, to the desired size.

Cut along the fold.

Hole punch your page marker.

TIP: I like to hole punch slightly above where you would normally hole punch. This helps the marker to stick up a little at the top of the planner, creating a top tab.

Once you hole punch, use a pair of scissors to create slits from the left edge to each hole. This allows you to move the marker from month to month. And since it is made of plastic, it should hold up pretty well.

I also like to trim the corners so I never get paper cuts. It also looks nicer.

Very simple DYI.

TIP: Write Today, This Month, or This Week on the tab.

BONUS TIP: Or, if there is something you need to remember, like a quote or a daily routine, write the reminder right there on the page marker. This is also a great place to add beautiful, hand-drawn art to your planner.

Etcetera.