Saturday 3 January 2009

Area 4: Becoming more Organised

At work I am super-organised. My desk-top diary is full of lists and tick charts which are all colour coded using my trusty highlighter pens. Everything that lives on, in or around my desk has a dedicated home and I regularly throw away items that are of no use, avoiding the build up of clutter.

My personal life is surprisingly a totally different story! I always have a whole bunch of things that I 'should' or 'need' to do - whether that be home chores, church organisation (I am a leader on two teams which keeps me fairly busy), or general life stuff really. Some things are big tasks like my wedding album (16 months down the line and the photos are still in a box with an album nearby never fulfilling its purpose!). Or small tasks, like sending a text to my team reminding them of an up-coming event.

I run around, always leaving things til the last minute, or letting them build up until everything just seems massive. I get stressed really easily and it's probably because I have a lot to do within a short space of time.

So, I have bought myself a diary:



I've decided that if I can work towards organising my personal life in the same way I organise my work life then I'll be a huge step further towards super-organised! I will fill it with 'Things to do' lists, and will highlight each item as I do it until the whole pae is neon pink. (I love it at work when a whole page of my diary turns pink!). Also noted will be important dates, like when my credit card payment is due, what I spend my money on and what my budget allows me for that day.

This is what today looks like:

Hmmm, still a fair amount to do then?!

Goals:

- Anything that can be done immediately, do immediately! You can send texts and answer messages anywhere, why don't you?!
- Write everything, even the smallest things, into the list so you don't forget.
- If something doesn't get done, just transfer it to another day's list - it doesn't have to be the next day, do it when it's convenient and when you have time.
- Don't burn out! It's ok to leave less urgent things 'til tomorrow if you're tired. Curl up with a book instead.

Budgeting Update

So it's a slippery slope isn't it? Today I met a friend for coffee, which turned into lunch and then bought a magazine... spending a total of £16 that's not in the budget. Still not in the danger zone but this needs to stop. Once I go back to work On Monday it'll be easier as my social life will have to cease!

2 comments:

  1. Hi Sweetie,
    Oh I love reading your blog! When you talked about your budgeting update, it reminded me of scene out of one of the Shopaholic books! lol
    Great idea about keeping the diary and the "to do" lists!
    I was just catching up on your post from yesterday. I have read "Destined To Reign". In fact I have started reading the book for the 2nd time. :) I watch Joseph Prince on TV about once or twice a week. I love his preaching/teaching. Awesome!

    Thank you for your emails, it is great to hear from you and hopefully we will catch each other online sometime. Take care, tell Jon hello.

    Lots of Love
    xxxx

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  2. I love the Shopaholic books!! (They're are in the non-classical section of my bookcase, Jane Austen still rocks though... more on that later!!)

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