I like to be organized. I have three planners. Yes, three. I even keep all of them up to date, make changes, and add events as needed. I’m not great with using my phone for such things: appointment reminders, birthdays, early dismissals from school, etc. But, with busy kids and a busy life, I need to be organized.
I make to-do lists like you wouldn’t believe. I love post-it notes. I also have a strong love for pens, pencils, notepads, sticky notes, you know–school supplies or office supplies. I’m also convinced that is why I am a teacher (the fun supplies).
I take time each evening and sometimes on the weekends to organize my planner(s). I want to keep dates and times and events in one place, so I make sure that I need to update them as needed. I even go as far to color code everyone in the family because when school starts, my mind has more than a million things running through.
Supplies. Supplies for planning and staying organized is key. I use a binder planner (which is adorable). It can be bulky, but it has all the things I need. There are dividers for the calendar section, password/information section, medical information, lesson plan section, and notes (for blogging, writing, etc.).
Pens and pencils are important to have. If I know that a date may change, I use pencil. If I know it is something that is solid, I use ink, and everyone is color coordinated to keep me on my toes and organized. When we get really busy with softball and after school activities and conferences, I bust out the highlighters to stay on track (and again, everyone has a color).
Because I have different activities, I stay organized by using a binder. When I am teaching, all of my school things are in a binder and they are organized by class and by semester. Sam’s medical information has a binder. For me, it is important to know all of the medications, the diagnoses, every bit of it, so it is organized somewhat neatly and will be put into a binder. In case of an emergency, I keep a small card of that same information (medications, doses, diagnoses) in my purse as well.
Does this seem a little ridiculous? Perhaps. Overboard with the color-coding? Maybe.
I have a to-do list every day. Every.Day. I like to check things off the list. My to-do list isn’t always chores, sometimes it involves reading for school, researching, or writing. Lord knows I’ve got an acronym list because when I’m at the VA there are tons of acronyms and sometimes words and phrases I don’t understand. Because I want to understand, I make the effort (remember, I don’t like being referred to as “that civilian”).
I also have a responsibility to my family. If something happened to Sam (god forbid) while we were traveling and I had to stammer and fumble with medical information, I would not be doing him any favors. Sam needs me and I need him. We work well as a team, so keeping track of all of this information in paper (or digital) format is a good thing.
Some of my friends ask “how do you remember everything?” or “How do you stay organized?” and I’ll be the first to tell you, it’s not easy, friends. I keep track of things because at times it is hard for Sam to remember them. Even something simple (you may think) like taking medicine…that gets a reminder in my phone and his.
I’m old school. My organization preference is paper. I like to write, I want to write things down (because it also helps me remember). It can be overwhelming looking at a to-do list, trying to care for your loved ones, remembering medication and dosage, but honestly, it helps us.
So, if you have trouble keeping your calendar up to date. If you struggle with remembering things to do, deadlines that are coming up, try being organized with a planner. You don’t have to go to a craft store like Hobby Lobby or Michael’s to buy a planner kit and get started. You can find a calendar at Target.
If you are a caregiver, I encourage you to understand more about the medical appointments and medication your loved one might have/take. It took a long time for me to figure out what was going on with Sam’s medication and therapy. I realized that sometimes he would forget to take medicine and sometimes have to take it later than he was suppose to—so I decided we’d get pill boxes and be organized. He might still need a reminder, but he is back on track.
I feel prepared when I am organized. I know how much time we can devote to projects or events. I know what the kids have going on, their school calendar, and soon I will have my work schedule. Organization has helped out our family, and maybe it can help out your family too.
Planner things! The yellow zipper pouch holds pens, pencils, extra lead and erasers, and a few flash drives that I use for school work/writing. The blue item is my traveler’s notebook that I use for writing and journaling. It has some motivational quotes and pictures on some of the journal notebooks. And the big yellow guy is my planner. That is full of all.the.things! I keep my calendar (only 3 months at a time), family information, medical information, and writing/journaling, school work, and just notes in there too. I might be “over-organized” but it helps me out so much!