A Peek in a Planner - Video Highlights

I recently did a video (click here) reviewing some recent changes that I have made to make my planner my functional.

Highlights from the video:

*I keep temporary tabs in my planner for currently, but not usually, active pages.

*Grocery list includes a checklist of shopping/coupon prep.

*I double-hole punch pages so they can go in the right or left hand sides of my planner.

*I use a project index to make project pages easy to locate.

*I keep the YMCA workout schedule in my planner.

*I use one number to indicate a date, where the month and year are already obvious.

*My Christmas list is simple, with complicated notes kept separately in my planner. That way, I don't miss anyone because the visual is clean.

*Extra tabs are usually on the top of the planner, but work better on as side tabs in the Calendar section only.

*I keep a cheat list of daily events/appointments in my monthly spread.

*Must dos go in a different column than should dos.

*I use context codes (like home = H or computer = C) for tasks.

*A sticky note contains a list of things borrowed to or from me on my weekly spread.

*A daily page works for busy days only. No need to have one every single day.

*A recurring task (circled to indicate recurring) reminds me to do my daily chores.

*Once I make a daily page, I mark out the monthly and weekly entries for that date so that I never miss anything or double book.

*I highlight daily chores and monthly goals as they are done or met.

*My budget planner is a simple subtracting checkbook register-type entry.

*I staple extra weeks in my undated pages so that I never accidentally use them.

*Coming soon: Future Pages video!

Etcetera.

Planner Top Ten List: To Do in December

1. Have a planner meltdown. 

Decide, completely based on the business of the holiday season, that your planner is, all at once, too big to carry and too little to write in.

2. Change bags 104 times.

After all, you need your hands free to shop, but your backpack/crossbody/messenger bag is too heavy with your planner in it.

3. Buy planner supplies on a whim, every single time you shop.

I got these at Big Lots for $1 for 160 sheets. I punched them (double punched) myself.

4. Shove so many receipts into your planner, instead of your wallet with the nice pocket just for receipts, that your planner will not close.

#Overstuffed

5. Have at least one friend/family member ask you to keep track of a receipt because "you have a good filing system." 

Don't have the heart to tell them that, right at this minute, that filing system consists of 2/3s of your kitchen counter.

(That actually happened to me this week.)

6. Buy two gifts for one person because you forgot to write it down the first time. Only realize when said recipient opens the SECOND identical gift.

(Happened to me last year.)

7. Lose your Elf on a Shelf.

8. Find your Elf on a Shelf while unloading the Christmas tree in front of your kids.

9. Get told by many, many Facebook friends how awful Elf on the Shelf really is, as if you didn't already know from the second night you owned him...when he forgot to move because you fell asleep!

Also, yes he is naughty. No, I am not ashamed of that. Yes, I understand that I am scarring my children for life.

#HideFriendFromNewsfeed

10. Spill an eggnog latte on your planner when you place your shopping bags on the table.

(Has not happened to me, thank goodness...yet.)

Etcetera.

Planner Simplicity: The Single Digit

Saving time to do the things that you love is the point of planning ahead. A simple hack that saves both time and space is to only use part of a date or time when the rest of the page indicates the rest of the necessary information.

For example, instead of writing that you have a doctor's appointment at 10:15 a.m. on Thursday, December 18, 2014, you can write in the monthly calendar square (so that you already KNOW the date from the calendar) "10:15 Dr. Smith." The a.m. is not necessary as doctors generally don't schedule appointments at 10:15 p.m.

Here are some examples from my planner of shortcuts for writing dates and times.

*Drop the ":00" after an on-the-hour appointment and drop the "a.m." or "p.m." if the time obviously refers to one or the other.

*For a checklist of chores for the month, label the month once at the top, then just use the numbers 1 - 31 (or 30...or 29 for February to account for leap years).

*For temporary lists that are month-specific (like your Christmas gift list) or that repeat the same way every month (like a general bills due list of dates), use the numbers 1 - 31 (or 30...or 29 for February to account for leap years).

*When writing in a monthly budget page in your planner, only use one number to indicate the date.

In the example, December 1st and 2nd become 1 and 2.

*On yearly recurring event pages (listing birthdays, anniversaries, etc.), label the month once at the top, then just use the numbers 1 - 31 (or 30...or 29 for February to account for leap years).

*On Future pages that are already labeled with the year and month, write only numbers 1 - 31 (or as needed).

Of course, sometimes you really do need to know the exact date or time, as in my 2016 and beyond Future page. In those cases, write all the information that you need.

The point is to write as little as possible for saving time and space in your planner, but to write enough so that you are sure of the time and date. Sometimes, that means writing 11/30/14 at 12:45 p.m.; sometimes, that means writing 30...12:45.

Etcetera.

A Christmas List

Christmas planning goes in my Project section of my planner, since it is an active category this time of year. After Christmas, I'll file the pages with December's weekly spreads and use them to create a new project next year.

The Christmas project contains the following pages:

*Christmas Shopping List
*Bought - a simple running list of each person and gift as I buy it
*From Others - a list of what the kids are expecting from other people so that I don't buy the same things
*Ideas - for my kids, my husband, and other people (as three separate pages)

TIP: I keep my own list on Amazon. That way, my husband can just click and order!

I don't keep a decorations list because all decorations are in the same boxes.

NORTH POLE PRO TIP: Keep Elf on the Shelf with the Santa wrapping paper hidden separate from the decorations. And use only paper with a picture of Santa on it for Santa paper, and all other paper for Christmas wrapping in general.

I keep Elf on the Shelf ideas on Pinterest.

A note on your planner every November, reminding you where you hid the Elf, is quite useful. Guess what Giftie forgot to write in her planner? Awkward! Let the great Elf quest begin!

I also just write parties on the calendar so I don't forget about them and actual tasks on my weekly pages so that I can do them along with everything else.

Of course, all those things can go on your project pages, if you would like, but for me, they work much better within my normal system. My project pages are for the thinking and deciding part of planning and the logging of what is accomplished (like writing down which gifts have been purchased). If I need more Christmas wrapping paper, putting it on my regular shopping list assures that I will buy it. If I have a Christmas festival on Saturday, writing it on my monthly calendar makes sure that I don't double book Saturday. Putting any of this stuff on my project pages might mean it does not get accomplished.

But within the Christmas project, the Christmas Shopping List is the real key to making sure that I keep track of Christmas gifts. I used to write a scribbly list, full of notes about what I might get and what I did get and whether it was wrapped or delivered. It got messy and complicated.

I still note all those things, now, but most of it goes elsewhere within the Christmas project. My Christmas Shopping List is quite simple.

On the left column, the day of December when the gift must be given or delivered by is listed. I include December birthdays, parties which require a gift before Christmas, gifts exchanged on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day gifts. I simply write the digit that corresponds to the date, so December 24 is translated as 24.

The next column includes the recipients' names and a note if I am putting in with someone else to buy something.

Next are the bought and wrapped columns. They get a dot if the gift is partially purchased and a check once it is purchased. As I give away each gift, I will highlight the entry.

Keeping the list simple and using other pages for notes and reference means that I don't accidentally forget someone or buy two gifts for one person.

NORTH POLE PRO TIP: Make an unyielding rule that, even if you don't have time to record WHAT you bought at the store, you always check off that you bought something. Otherwise, chaos.

NORTH POLE BONUS TIP: On December 23, each child gets an ornament reminiscent of this year, wrapped under the tree. It lets the kids unwrap a gift early, and when they move out of the house, they can bring them with them to decorate their first tree. On December 24, they unwrap Christmas jammies to wear on Christmas Eve night, so their pictures are adorable in the morning.

Happy shopping!

Etcetera.

How to Fold Socks

Socks are evil.

Here's how to conquer them.

1. Pile them on the counter.

2. Sort them by toe design. Do NOT fold them yet.

3. Fold them.

4. Put them in a different pile for each family member.

5. Hide the piles on their kitchen chair for them to put away later.

TIP: Extra socks go in the "extra sock timeout" to be sorted by naughty kids the next time they misbehave!

I used to let the socks sit forever because matching two socks at a time drove me crazy. Now, I just make matched piles first, and problem solved!

Etcetera.

Turkey Day Cooking Tips: Space Management

I'm no chef, but I am a pretty decent cook. That said, my lack of chef training is really obvious on days like Thanksgiving, when I am cooking more than a meal dish and a side.

The kitchen explodes if I am not careful!

WARNING: Pictures in this post reflect reality. I did not clean the kitchen specifically for the photos, so please excuse the mess. Think of it as an attempt to make you feel better about your own kitchen disasters.

In order to cope, I make good use of timers and an advance plan of what to cook and when to cook it. That stuff definitely helps.

But the most effective tactic that I use is space management while cooking. Here's what I do.

* Recipes and Ingredients Station

I use my island, with my recipes, planner with cooking schedule, and laptop for e-recipes behind the ingredients. This keeps critical stuff away from spills and splashes, but within reading distance.

In addition, the ingredients for each food that I am cooking are grouped together in cooking order from left to right (because that's how Americans read, so that order makes sense to us).

As I get to each item, it's all ready for me to cook.

*Designated "In Progress" Area

For those things that are in the process of cooking, like my pies cooling in this picture or the lemon filling that I was actively stirring when I took the picture, I use the right side of the stove.

TIP: I'm left-handed, so the right is the inactive side for me. Feel free to switch it up if you are right-handed.

*Easy to Clean Spoon/Measuring Cup Rest

I use a thin chopping board as a place for utensils in use while cooking. It's easy to toss in the dishwasher, plus tiny spoon rests are never enough space for me. Also, I have a ton of these cheap cutting boards, so I can just toss and use a new one when company arrives.

TIP: Don't ever put utensils that touched raw meat or were used as a one-time tasting spoon on the rest area.

*Clean Constantly

Seriously, chefs clean as they go. Do the same. Toss the boxes as you open them. Trash the egg shells immediately. Wipe down the counters. (I did. I promise! It's just that I was still cooking.) Put the milk back into the fridge.

TIP: If you have kids or a willing partner, make cleaning as you go their job.

Etcetera.