Rebecca, Well Planned Gal

I implement the following system: First, I start the week by writing out the entire list of tasks I hope to achieve that week. I put this list in the Monday slot. As I complete each item, I mark it off. If I don’t finish on Monday — and I never do — I move what I want to accomplish the next day to Tuesday. By having all of my goals on Monday, I can reference back throughout the week. During the week, each morning, I add everyday task items.

With my list created, I implement a prioritization system. I put a circle around the items that MUST be completed that day, then I write a number next to the item according to priority. Instead of reading down the list several times a day, I focus on #1 and, once I complete it, I mark it off then go on to #2. At the end of each day, the items I didn’t complete get moved to the next day, and in the morning I start again.

Whenever I schedule an appointment, meeting, or activity, I immediately add it to the specific day and time in my On the Go planner. This allows me to begin each week already aware of my commitments before I begin planning the details of my week.

I use part of the “Shopping List” column in my On the Go planner to itemize items I don’t want to forget, but I don’t need to focus on them that week. Sometimes these are quick reminders, project ideas, and infrequent tasks.

Mondays are hectic and Saturdays are sometimes my only day to spend with my husband, so I create my menu list and shopping list on Tuesday. My schedule is very flexible, so sometimes I do the shopping on Sunday — especially if my husband is working that day.

Teisha

At the end of the month, I go through and make sure all of the doctor’s appointments for the upcoming month are listed in red in my planner and on the calendar. Daily tasks like checking work e-mail are listed in black in the planner for each day. Weekly ones are written in blue. Tasks that happen less than weekly are written in red. For something that needs to be done, but doesn’t have a specific date/time, I write it on a sticky note and post it somewhere by my desk. For something I need in my planner that needs extra writing space for details, I write it on a sticky note and stick it on the appropriate week in my planner. Once a sticky-note task is done, I remove the note from my planner.

For meals/grocery, I attached a clipboard to one of the kitchen cabinets, and I keep our meal plan for the month clipped to it. This lets me refer to it easily, and if the kids want to know what’s for dinner, they can check the clipboard instead of pestering me. (In theory, anyway!) There’s a blank grocery list next to the meal plan so that anytime we run out or run low on something, it’s added to the shopping list. (I’m still working on training the kids to add things to the list when they use them up, but my oldest has gotten into the habit of it, and it does help!)

For cleaning, we have a monthly chart where every person’s task, including laundry, has been highlighted in “their” color. There are certain days of the week that each person is scheduled for laundry, for example, and on those days, they need to do laundry if there’s a full load in their clothes hamper. (This cuts down on last-minute, “But all my clothes need to be washed!”) Even my cleaning tasks are listed and highlighted on our chart as a reminder to me and a visual to the kids that even grown-ups have chores too!