Planning Ahead
Last year I missed out on doing a few things that I wanted to. I talked about going a couple of holiday events, ordering Christmas cards and even finding matching pajamas for our family to enjoy over the holiday season.
Unfortunately, none of the things listed above were a part of our Christmas experience this year.
This year my word is the year is “chase”. I decided that I wanted to chase or hunt down 52 different things this year.
I Interviewed an Expert
I decided to ask my sister-in-law what she does in regards to planning since she always seems to have things on the calendar and is very organized. She said she was surprised to be asked, replying that the only thing she feels like she does well is prioritizing the things that really matter.
What I Notice
But, I do notice that she regularly uses a planner and always writes things down when events come up. Rather than waiting until the last minute, she brings things like group gift purchases and event possibilities up well before they are going to take place.
I plan to take several tips from my sister-in-law and take control of my year.
I Looked For a Template
I decided to look for a template online to see if someone had created a format for organizing things. After not finding what I was looking for, I decided to create an outline on a Google Document and listed out each month with the things I wanted to do.
Schedule Things a Month Ahead
Rather than writing, “Order Christmas Cards” under December, it made more sense to list them under November since that is the month I need to take action on ordering them. Writing an order by date on the calendar will keep me organized with my bottom line. And, when it comes to getting the picture, I will either have the picture chosen by the beginning of November or realize that I am limited in my time frame to get a picture.
What the Document Showed Me
In addition to setting dates, laying things out ahead of time allowed me to see that I am running a race the first four months of the year and that our January is pretty packed.
Action Steps
- Continue writing on the google document.
- Make sure to list important things.
- Buy a planner and use it.
- Schedule things to be done about a month before they need to be.
Enjoying Every Mile 