I’m a sloppy person by nature, but I really love to be clean
and neat. I work hard at staying organized but sometimes my projects can
really get out of hand. One thing I can’t stand is my desk overly messy and
trying to find a note I made to myself, or trying to remembering if I did indeed pay a
certain bill. I started using notebooks to help me out several years ago. One notebook stays on my desk and
I jot down notes, phone conversation info I need to keep, my to do list,
anything I would ordinarily write down on a sticky note or scrap paper goes
into this note book. If I am on top of being organized, I will
write the date at the top of a new page to help me out when I need to look for
certain information. When I write something down that I know I will need again, I mark it with a colored sticky tab at the top to mark the place.
The second note book is strictly for anything related to
finances. Bills that are paid, deposits made, things ordered online; money transactions after they are made only go into this notebook. This one
includes the dates of the transactions, confirmation numbers and amounts of transcations. These two
note books save me a lot of headaches and time looking for information I need to keep but I can’t
remember where I put it. When the man of the house needs info, I
tell him it’s in the notebook. I try to get him to use the notebooks too, and
he does use the one for our finances, but he still writes some things on scrap
paper and then you know what happens!
I keep these note books when they are filled and have years of them. It’s kinda
fun to look at them from time to time and read all the notes about what was
going on in our lives then. Sometimes looking through the old ones I find a
note I jotted down for hubby to read when he returned home to find me gone.
Those were before texting days! Or a note I wrote to him when I was on the
phone and needed to tell him something but couldn’t because I was on the phone. A chore list for the kids, a note about an important family event. It's almost as good as a journal.
What do you do to keep your important info at the ready,
organized and your desk clean?
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I have to keep cleaning off my desk to keep it organized, because to-do piles keep accumulating. Important things go in labeled folders and I recommend getting a Dymo labeler for folder labels. Love it.
ReplyDeleteI have a notebook as well and I use the sticky notes to mark different sections. More and more, though, I use files on the computer.
ReplyDeleteI went to a Franklin Covey time management seminar once and they referred to post-it notes as floaters -- as they are likely to float away! I did use a Franklin for at least 15 years and have no doubts it has made me more organized Now I keep almost everything electronically on my computer. And yet my desk is a mess!
ReplyDeleteHmmm, I don't think I will ever be organized enough to GET organized! But I did relate to your "family history" experience recorded in past notebooks. I save old checkbook registries and discovered the same thing...checks written for volleyball shirts, granduation announcements, pediatrician office visits....they all bring back moments of life frozen in time in those little books!
ReplyDelete