Remembering Franklin

If you entered the business world in the 90s, there is little doubt that you own one or even several Franklin planners.  Remember the day you graduated to the "Monarch" size with the built in holder in the front for you PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)?  Yeah, me too...proud moment.

However, if you are still living within the world of symbols (alphabetic, arrow, dots, and checks) to organize your days, I implore you to close the Franklin...go ahead...I'll wait...and join us in 2014.

Don't be afraid.  While the transition from your current system can be overwhelming, I promise after the initial effort of setting it up, it will simplify your scheduling in 3 ways.

1) Mess Free Revisions.  No more erasing, scribbling, or squeezing in the last 3 items on one line at the bottom.  A digital schedule will allow you to revise with ease.

2) Less Time.  With an online scheduler, baseball practice every Monday and Wednesday can be added in one update versus writing an entry for each.

2) Multiple Formats.  Almost all schedulers today are available in multiple formats; web, mobile and for those who must, printed.

While there are a lot of options available, the right one for you may depend on your family dynamics.  We use Cozi (www.cozi.com) and absolutely love it.  We all use the same account, but each family member has an individual color.  Unlike google calendars, you don't need a separate calendar for each person.  It's one calendar, and you choose for each event who the participants are.  Then, you can view everyone or just one person.

It allows me to print a weekly or monthly schedule out.  This is essential for me as some of my kids are still small enough not to have an electronic device to see the schedule on.  For the older kids, and my husband, it's nice for us to be able to share calendars.  This allows my sons to enter their work schedule or sports schedules, and my husband and I can see at a glance what is available if we are making plans with friends.

While all schedulers I tried have their own pros and cons, try a few and you will find one that works best for you.

Happy Scheduling!

When Do You Think?

A few years ago I was having a conversation with my manager.  He asked for my ideas on an upcoming project.  It was important enough for him to be asking about, but wasn't an immediate priority so it kept being pushed to the bottom of the list.  I responded, "I need to find time to think about that."  His response back was truly life shifting for me.  He said, "You'll never find the time, you have to schedule it."  He was suggesting that I literally block time off on my calendar to 'think'.  At first, the idea seemed odd and somehow indulgent.  I was wondering, "How will taking even more precious time out of a busy schedule help?"  Skeptical, I decided to give it a try.  It felt weird to enter "Think" into my calendar as an appointment.  However, when I implemented this practice into my life, the benefits were immediate.  I used the time to organize the rest of the day or week, make lists, reflect on something that had happened, think through a project/event, daydream about an upcoming vacation, replay a conversation that didn't go as I intended, and sometimes just breathe and clear my mind.  Regardless of what I used the time for, I came away feeling less stressed and more in control.  Taking time to think helped me use the rest of my time efficiently and get even more done.


Want to give it a try, but you don't know where to steal the time from?  I recommend making a list of the major things you spend time on; work, school, carpool, sports, sleep, whatever it is for you.  Then, do the math and chart it into a pie graph. Yes, okay, this sounds painful, but just sketch it on a napkin so you have a visual.  I would bet you will be surprised in at least one area.  For me, I realized I was spending an inordinate amount of time waiting in the car (picking up and dropping off kids).  So, I decided those were the times I would use initially.  Sometimes 15 minutes a day, sometimes an hour.  This exercise helped me identify opportunities for 'thinks', but even more importantly, it was an excellent way to make sure I was spending my most valuable resource (time) in a way that matches my priorities.


It's simple, right?  Don't over engineer this, just get started!

Organize the Chaos, Simplify Your Life

Life is busy!  How many times have you asked a friend "How are you?" and the answer is "I'm just so busy".  Or you compare schedules with that same friend and you end up penciling something in for next quarter?  Think about it.  Do you know of anyone who isn't busy?  If you do, I bet you feel a little sorry for them.  Most of us wouldn't change our busy lives even if it's on the top of our "what makes life hard" list. In most cases we are doing what we want to do...experiencing and living life...soaking up as much of it as we can.  Life is so full of exciting, interesting things and we want it all.  In fact, being busy is almost a badge of honor these days. 

As a mother of 5 with a full time job and a graduate program I'm finishing up, I am not in a position to preach about slowing down.  In fact, with all of that going on, my organization skills have been seriously tested the last year or so.  That has required me to sharpen my current skills and look for new ways to contain the chaos.  My goal is to share how organizing my space, time, and thoughts has helped me gain control and increase efficiency in my life...and how you can too.  I'll also take you along on the journey as I discover new ideas, techniques and products and determine how they can help (or not help in some cases) in the quest for simplification.

Whether you are a fellow organization enthusiast, or your organized side has been well hidden for a long time, I hope that you will find this blog useful.  I've started a list of topics, (of course); however, leave a comment if there is a topic you'd like to discuss and I will address it.  Not sure? Check back next week and I'll help you figure out where your 'time sucks' are.

Welcome to Organized Chaos; Simplified Life.   

Shellie