Well Planned Life

While I don’t make a point to discuss work here, I will occasionally discuss work indirectly, insofar as it may pertain to organizing and the like. A couple of weeks ago I attended a countywide meeting for work.   The purpose of this meeting was to discuss various programs each library had done.   One woman talked about a series of programs her library had done, and in particular discussed how all publicity for these programs were designed alike to show that it was a series and not independent programs.   During her discussion, she mentioned how OCD she and her team members are, that they all needed to have a cohesive look where the flyers were concerned, etc.   (But as any good designer/marketer will tell you, this is how it should be.)   I was excited because I can totally relate. As we all know, I am OCD in many ways.   And while some of my coworkers might be considered OCD, they cannot be classified as such in the same way that I am.   The...

One of the reasons I feel overwhelmed and out of time on the weekends is because I don’t get much done at home during the week.   After working all day, driving an hour (total) commute, cooking dinner, cleaning up, etc., there’s not much time for anything else, which means that all of those things that don’t get done during the week have to be crammed in to the weekend.   And of course there are plenty of things that get added to my weekend list: errands, cleaning, church, blog writing, relaxing, prepping for the upcoming week, and anything I might want to do with friends or family.   It’s a lot to manage in a two-day time frame, especially because, inevitably, I never get to it all. Some things have to happen, while other things are just items that I would like to do.   More often than not, I end up rescheduling something or other.   Typically, one of those somethings is cleaning.   I end up doing a half-assed quick-clean job or neglecting it altoge...

Happy 2015 and welcome back to regular blog posts!   I can’t believe how fast 2014 came and went.   Now, the holidays are over and put away, and we’re starting another new year.   I also can’t believe I’m starting my 6 th year of blogging .   It’s been a great ride, and I hope it continues for many more years to come. So what’s happening in the world of Well Planned Life?   A lot, but even still, not much has changed. My system is pretty much the same as it was throughout 2014 and still running smoothly.   If you remember, I did a complete overhaul of my system , added new and updated current notebooks and binders to help keep my life (in all aspects) on track, and sorted out how all 5 books would work together to keep me organized.   It is a lot to keep up with; I will say that.   But working with all of these books has helped me keep track of my tasks and appointments, as well as my emotional and mental wellbeing.   (My physical...

We are at the fifth and final week of celebrating my 5-year blogging anniversary ! This past spring we visited family.   My sister-in-law had bought a Chocolate A5 Classic (previously known as the Cross) from Filofax but decided that she didn’t want it.   So she passed it along to me in the hope that I would find a good home for it.   Currently, I don’t have a need for an A5.   So I asked if she would mind if I raffle it off as part of my 5-year giveaway. You can see the features of the binder below: A full set of blank tabs. A5 notepaper. An A5 Today ruler. Perfectly aligned rings. One sheet of four open-top pockets. A pocket for a note pad at the back. This binder is in near-perfect condition and has not been used. This is a very generous offer from my sister-in-law, so I do ask one thing of all who enter the give-away: Please do not enter the contest just to turn around and sell the plan...

We are at week four of celebrating my 5-year blogging anniversary ! I don’t decorate my planner pages.   While I like the look of some decorated pages, I find it too distracting to use myself.   However, I am all about the color-coding so that topics for all of my entries jump out at me, even before I read what I have written down. Currently my color-coding system is: Red – work schedule and notes Aqua – personal appointments Purple – food tracking   Light Green – exercise tracking Dark Green – due dates Orange – random general notes, including blog information Brown – weather tracking and unimportant notations (like the New York Giants ) Pink – important notations such as medicine and birthdays/anniversaries General blue is used for all personal tasks and writing; general black is used for all work tasks and writing. This system allows me a quick visual of what area(s) need attention on a certain day. My pen(s) of choice for my ...

We are at week three of celebrating my 5-year blogging anniversary ! Another favorite product of mine is Post-its by 3M .   (You can see some of my collection here .)   I especially love the different designs they have come out with in recent years.   I have yet to see all of them, but I’m working on collecting as many as I can just because it’s fun.   I have, however, managed to get up a small collection for one lucky winner! Here we have mushrooms, acorns, and hedgehogs.   I also found this little daily/weekly sticky pad (made by Studio 18, not Post-it brand), which doesn’t seem to have its own website.   But you can see a range of their products at Amazon .   What you see is one sheet per week, broken down into daily sections.   These notes would be great for daily/weekly to dos, kids’ chores, meal planning, or any other idea you can think of.   And Post-its make great stocking stuffers if you’re looking for ideas there. ...

We are in the middle of celebrating my 5-year blogging anniversary ! The give-away for week 2 is Washi tape from Michaels . To Enter : Be sure to leave a comment below, as that’s the only way to enter the give-away.  Entries are open to everyone, worldwide.  Only one entry per person; any additional entries will be deleted.  (I do approve comments, and sometimes it takes me a while to get to them.  Don’t be alarmed if your comment doesn’t show up immediately.) Deadline:   All comments must be received before Friday, December 5 at 11:59 p.m. (United States, Eastern time). Winning:   Winner will be chosen at random using Random.org on Saturday, December 6 .   I will announce the winner at the bottom of the comments below this post; be sure to subscribe to the comments so you are notified. To Claim:   The winner must claim his/her prize by Monday, December 8 at 9 p.m. (United States, Eastern time) by emailing me at wellplan...