When I'm on my game, I'm pretty organized. I'm good with calendars and lists - basically the less I have to keep in my head, the better I function! This keeps me plugging along in a happy, generally on-top-of-things state until something goes insane, and then I let go of...many things, and first on the list is usually my lists. But here's the thing: I find that when I start from a place of being organized and on top of things, then when disaster strikes (pregnancy-induced insomnia, revolution in the streets, the specter and reality of Russian invasion, cancer in the family OR SOME DELIGHTFUL COMBINATION THEREOF) I don't fall as far, I don't crash as hard, I don't actually run out of clean underwear and it's a lot easier to claw my way back to a functional existence!
Home organization binders and whatnot seem to be all the rage on teh homey intarwebz these days, and I find a lot of the printables out there to be extremely helpful. So over the next few posts, I'm going to share with you some of the printables that are currently helping me wrap my mind back around my life. Today we're starting with three of my favorite printables-I-didn't-come-up-with (that are, of course, free - disposable income or no, we're still cheap bastards around here when we can get away with it)!
Russia still looms large to the east, but life in Kyiv is, if anything, back to better-than-normal. And we're trying to get back to normal too. Hopefully these will help you out as well, whether you're trying to scale Mt. Holy Crap along with me, or just trying to plug along at a sustainable pace.
 |
| The Daily Docket |
First on my list of lists-that-keep-my-life-together is definitely the Daily Docket, from the The Art of Simple. This is your basic daily planner sheet, and it happens to work an absolute charm for me with no tweaks or alterations (and I can be pretty picky when it comes to these things)! In particular, I appreciate that the daily schedule and to-do-list are melded into one list. This keeps me from cramming in more to-dos than I'll have time to accomplish in a day packed with meetings or whatever, and helps me to visualize when I'll be able to get certain things done. You can download a couple of iterations of the docket at the link just below the photo above, including a pocket-sized version, and also browse the other great printables by The Art of Simple.
 |
| Goal-Setting Planner |
Next up is a neat set of goal-planning worksheets by Dani Schnakenberg Studios. There's a lot I'd like to accomplish in the foreseeable future, and I have a knack for launching forward on something guns blazing either to then run out of steam or...direction, I guess. Or realize that this OTHER thing I'd been neglecting needs urgent attention and then drop the first ball entirely. This is a good tool to help you collect your thoughts, plan a roadmap and keep yourself focused. Find the printable at the link below the photo.
 |
| 2014 Blog Planner |
Aaaaaand of course one of my goals is to build up this here blog into something cool and, um...reliable. So I've started using what I believe is the awesomest blog planner ev4r. Seriously, I looked at a LOT of blog planners, and while there are a BUNCH of very functional and attractive ones out there, this one won my heart and has been working great. This one comes in three styles from the eminently talented A Well Crafted Party. You can find all three at the link below the photo. You do have to sign up for her newsletter to get access to the free downloads, but it's not spammy at all. You won't regret it!
So there you have it. I hope you find these as helpful as I hope I find them myself. :-D Ok, I'm already finding them to be extremely helpful. May we all find some peace and quiet by getting things down on paper where we can safely forget about them for a bit, without dropping any balls.
Thank you so much for your kind words and great post! I do hope the printables help with organization and am always looking for tips for making them better!
ReplyDelete