In the beginning of 2016 I made a commitment. One I knew I
needed to make for years. I had to organize my life, neatly integrating kids,
work, husband, and home. An easy project, right? Not! J
You see, I’m a total workaholic. I don’t take breaks; I work
from six in the morning until bed around eleven, six days a week. The problem
is that I work so fast I make mistakes, things only end up half done, or I don’t
get to everything. I knew I needed to slow myself down and plan better.
When I started looking at ways to manage the different areas
of my life, I discovered a few new tools. I’ve been working with them the last
few months, so I thought I’d share them with you.
First off, I tackled the issue of food planning for a family
of five which includes three picky sons and husband. I wanted something I could
easily access that organized shopping lists. After searching the internet and
talking to friends, I found a new menu planner. It’s all online and it even has
a phone app.
The application I use is eMeals. You’re able to choose
between several menu plans such as budget or kid friendly, vegetarian, heart
healthy, and more. Each week I receive new recipes, which I can alter on my own
with a simple click of a button, and shopping lists that are broken down into
categories so they are easy to locate in the grocery store. It has definitely cut
my meal planning in half, and even inspired me to try new things. Better than
that, my kids are trying new meals.
The second organization tool I tried was Wunderlist. It’s a
phone application for lists. The thing that I like about this specific
application is that you can share it with others, which means my husband can
add things to the grocery list, my assistant can add to my work list, and I can
add to my to do list. You can break the lists down into categories, so we have a
Costco, grocery, work, things to do, major events, phone calls, bills, and
conference swag list. It’s been amazing to walk into stores and pull up the
list so I don’t have to run back out five minutes after I get home because I
forgot milk. ;)
The last application I’ve tried this year is Prayer Journal.
It’s also a phone application. Over the years, I’ve told people I’d pray for
them, but by the time I reached my prayer journal at home, I’d forget. This new
phone application is amazing. It allows you to instantly add any prayer
requests, as well as other useful information. It even allows you to write
answers to prayers. I’ve found it to be an amazing tool for organizing prayers.
The application I’d still love to find is a way to organize
my office. Oh my goodness, what a hot mess. Right now we are planning to knock
down a wall so that I can have more room. That way I might be able to reach my
desk instead of stumbling over office supplies. J
What kind of application or organization tools have you
found to be helpful?
*************
Ciara Knight is a USA Today and Amazon Bestselling author who writes 'A Little Edge and A Lot of Heart' that span the heat scales. Her popular sweet romance series, Sweetwater County (rated PG), is a small town romance full of family trials, friendly competition, and community love.
I'm excited to share my upcoming new release, In All My Years, available for pre-order now.
Kathleen Baker fled Riverbend, TN in the middle of the night to escape her mafia, drug running husband. She also left behind the man she loved. Now, Ten years later, Kathleen returns to Riverbend, the one place she’d ever felt at home. After a letter arrives, Kathleen realizes her husband is still alive. With her past now in the present, Kathleen’s future is in jeopardy.
Colum Harrow kicked his nephew out of his home so that he’d move on with his life and stop moping around the house over a lost love. Unfortunately, he was unable to follow his own advice, and has lived in isolation for years with the guilt he had failed to protect the woman he loved from an abusive husband. Now, she returns to his hometown to see the birth of her granddaughter, and he must face his failures and the woman who owns his heart.
I've tried being organized, but my good intentions usually end within a few weeks.
ReplyDeleteI hear you, Merrilee. My best friend is always going into my office organizing for me, and when she returns its a mess again.
DeleteGrowing up my mom wasn't organized at all so I went to the extreme with my home and family where organizing is concerned. The last few years it has been much harder to put in place while being the care giver for our foster daughter and my mother most recently, but for the most part I kept it together. My craft room looks a lot like the picture you have posted. I have a day planner/calendar that I use and I plan our meals around weekly ads and coupons which I have organized in a file box. I'm in the process of cleaning out cupboards and closets which I do several times a year in order to keep our stuff under control which can slow you down with your daily/weekly/monthly and yearly chore schedule. I haven't tried any of the phone applications yet, but I have heard people swear by them.
ReplyDeleteYou're my hero, Lori. I want to be you. :) I hope to finally get control of my office soon.
DeleteI use Cozi, synched to Fly Lady.net, but it doesn't work if you don't use.
ReplyDeleteI use Evernote the most, especially to keep track of books to read and review.
I'm fairly organized, and all the lists I've ever used are kept in my head. I'll need to check out the organizational apps you suggested.
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