My favorite thing about having a section in my phone for holidays, is the help of remembering what needs to happen, or what I would like to happen, even if and when unexpected things creep into life. This year, Thanksgiving is so late in November; last year, we had a whole week after before December. Having those reoccurring reminders that pop up about food to shop for, special advent calendars you like to purchase, or when to start getting Christmas cards out, is all helpful and necessary to not feeling like everything is an immediate fire or that you have to run to the store for each individual thing.
What kinds of things might go on your occurring holiday list?
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
The Ease of Planning for a Trip
As I prepare for a trip away for a few days, I love that I can check my task list and go over my calendar and make sure I am leaving all the pertinent information home for my family and taking care of commitments I made before I leave.
A quick check through the next few days of my tasks lets me know what needs to be taken care of before I head out. One of these is the mailing of a birthday card to a family member. They are going to get this card a little early this year, but they will still get their card and know I am thinking about them and wanted to remember them.
Preparing for vacation with your task list means you don't leave the house wondering what it is that you forgot and what might go wrong while you're away. Taking the time to set up a task list and comb through it on a regular basis means you get to the things that are important to you - even when you have a change of the every day and leave town.
Happy Travels!
A quick check through the next few days of my tasks lets me know what needs to be taken care of before I head out. One of these is the mailing of a birthday card to a family member. They are going to get this card a little early this year, but they will still get their card and know I am thinking about them and wanted to remember them.
Preparing for vacation with your task list means you don't leave the house wondering what it is that you forgot and what might go wrong while you're away. Taking the time to set up a task list and comb through it on a regular basis means you get to the things that are important to you - even when you have a change of the every day and leave town.
Happy Travels!
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Reoccurring Tasks
My favorite part about electronic task lists is that the remembering is done for you. When you create a reoccurring task, the part of your brain that used to try to remember those things is taken care of for you and you can use your brain for remembering other things.
One of the things I appreciate having a reminder for is taking vitamins when I'm on vacation. Normally, this can be a habit thing and it's no big deal, but when I am out of my element or not home at my regular times, it's nice to have a reminder on hand.
When you use reoccurring tasks to help guide your brain to what you want to have happen and free up your brain from trying to remember all the things, you keep on top of your goals and plans and feel no stress trying to keep all the balls in the air of your life.
One of the things I appreciate having a reminder for is taking vitamins when I'm on vacation. Normally, this can be a habit thing and it's no big deal, but when I am out of my element or not home at my regular times, it's nice to have a reminder on hand.
When you use reoccurring tasks to help guide your brain to what you want to have happen and free up your brain from trying to remember all the things, you keep on top of your goals and plans and feel no stress trying to keep all the balls in the air of your life.
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Looking Ahead
Looking ahead in your schedule and your to-do list can help with an especially busy, unusual day.
Recently I signed up to attend an all day field trip with my daughter. It happened to land on a usually busy day for me, but looking ahead and checking my schedule for the day I would be gone allowed me to do a few things the day before and know exactly what still needed to be done in the evening on the busy day or save it for the following day.
It doesn’t really matter what you have scheduled, or when, it’s all about allowing yourself to prioritize and figure out when you can best attend to those things. Having a written list means you can look forward and remember what you committed to do without over committing or forgetting what you committed to.
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Traveling
One thing we have been doing recently, is traveling. In the past year we have had so many awesome family trips! We have driven and flown, cruised and stayed near home. All of it has been wonderful....and, sometimes, a lot!
We all seem to be on the same page when it comes to traveling now. In fact, when the kids got home from a visit with their grandparents about 30 minutes before my husband and I pulled in from our trip away, we walked into a clean home where the kids had already put all the dirty clothes in the laundry room and all the suitcases away. But this has come after so much consistency and not giving in when they do not feel like helping. They knew they would have to help clean up, so they just got it done and it was awesome!
The prep before each trip is about the same. I let them know - verbally or written down - just how many clothes I need to approve and what types of things they need to pack. Organizing and packing and getting out the door is no joke. It is a lot and it is okay to be overwhelmed. I have a word document that is our basic packing list that I print out every time and just add to or subtract from, based on what we are packing for. This seems to help me remember, gather my thoughts and eases that "what am I forgetting" feeling. I also have this list in my phone, just in case I need to get packing without printing out the list for everyone.
Traveling and vacationing is so wonderful! But, it definitely requires a lot of forethought and focus, especially when traveling with children. What are your tips and tricks for staving off frustration or angst in the preparation part of getting out the door?
We all seem to be on the same page when it comes to traveling now. In fact, when the kids got home from a visit with their grandparents about 30 minutes before my husband and I pulled in from our trip away, we walked into a clean home where the kids had already put all the dirty clothes in the laundry room and all the suitcases away. But this has come after so much consistency and not giving in when they do not feel like helping. They knew they would have to help clean up, so they just got it done and it was awesome!
The prep before each trip is about the same. I let them know - verbally or written down - just how many clothes I need to approve and what types of things they need to pack. Organizing and packing and getting out the door is no joke. It is a lot and it is okay to be overwhelmed. I have a word document that is our basic packing list that I print out every time and just add to or subtract from, based on what we are packing for. This seems to help me remember, gather my thoughts and eases that "what am I forgetting" feeling. I also have this list in my phone, just in case I need to get packing without printing out the list for everyone.
Traveling and vacationing is so wonderful! But, it definitely requires a lot of forethought and focus, especially when traveling with children. What are your tips and tricks for staving off frustration or angst in the preparation part of getting out the door?
Monday, September 30, 2019
A New Way to Look at Things
I recently accepted a volunteer position at my church. It is a lot of work and a bit overwhelming. But some things that recently helped me and helped launch me off into a great starting point include:
1) I made a new tab in my organizing app specifically for this part of my life. This gave me a place for ideas and lists, as well as allowed me to assign dates to specific tasks or meeting dates.
2) I set a time of day to look at these things and deal with some of those things on my list. Having a set time of day to look at and focus on this position has been helpful in turning on and off my brain, instead of letting everything pool into each other all the time.
3) I often talk with others in my church and ask for ideas and feedback. This doesn't mean that I will be taking all or any of the advice, but it allows me time to connect with others and have new ideas and potentially have new ideas jump off from these talks and my own thoughts.
Admittedly, this has been very overwhelming and there is not a lot of guidance. I get to figure out what this means to me and how I can make it mean something to those I hope I can help make a difference to, I can always change things up, move things around, and be okay that I am figuring things out, even months later.
How do you figure out and work with new or overwhelming parts of life?
1) I made a new tab in my organizing app specifically for this part of my life. This gave me a place for ideas and lists, as well as allowed me to assign dates to specific tasks or meeting dates.
2) I set a time of day to look at these things and deal with some of those things on my list. Having a set time of day to look at and focus on this position has been helpful in turning on and off my brain, instead of letting everything pool into each other all the time.
3) I often talk with others in my church and ask for ideas and feedback. This doesn't mean that I will be taking all or any of the advice, but it allows me time to connect with others and have new ideas and potentially have new ideas jump off from these talks and my own thoughts.
Admittedly, this has been very overwhelming and there is not a lot of guidance. I get to figure out what this means to me and how I can make it mean something to those I hope I can help make a difference to, I can always change things up, move things around, and be okay that I am figuring things out, even months later.
How do you figure out and work with new or overwhelming parts of life?
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Life Is Happening
I have been overwhelmed with life. You know, like, I got a huge, giant, overwhelming church volunteer assignment; all my kids started school, which means I am still in between having a driver and everyone has lots going on; and I have had so many trips and last minute out-of-town moments this year and they're not over; and I still never know when I'll have my husband around to help or when he'll be out of town.
I'm not complaining. Just recognizing, to myself, that things have been nuts. I feel like I have been able to tell myself the whys and the whats and be able to look at what is going on and be okay. I have been upping my times for meditation and making sure I get lots of sleep to cope with all the busy. I really do love this time of life with my kids - it's probably my favorite, so far - but it is busy and it is taxing.
I'm going to try and still give helpful tips and tricks, while looking at the every day that I'm running into and working around. I still use my trusty app and alarms and calendar. I do not know how people go beyond the survival part of life and move onto goals without having a place to write down all the things and keep things on track. I am grateful for all the tools and tricks and looking forward to sharing some of what I have been up to and how I've been taking on this latest stage of life.
I'm not complaining. Just recognizing, to myself, that things have been nuts. I feel like I have been able to tell myself the whys and the whats and be able to look at what is going on and be okay. I have been upping my times for meditation and making sure I get lots of sleep to cope with all the busy. I really do love this time of life with my kids - it's probably my favorite, so far - but it is busy and it is taxing.
I'm going to try and still give helpful tips and tricks, while looking at the every day that I'm running into and working around. I still use my trusty app and alarms and calendar. I do not know how people go beyond the survival part of life and move onto goals without having a place to write down all the things and keep things on track. I am grateful for all the tools and tricks and looking forward to sharing some of what I have been up to and how I've been taking on this latest stage of life.
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