January 2013 Challenge {Time Management: Week 1}

It seems like a never ending battle between time and my never ending to-do list. I used to have an amazing memory and never needed a list or calendar to remember anything. Not so much anymore - and maybe it's just because life is busier now than it was previously.

Here are some essentials I need to manage my time. I am not saying that my household or life runs perfectly - it definitely does not. My personal essentials make life a little less hectic for me.

1. Weekly Calendar
I've tried tons of planners. I loved the BusyBodyBook, but they discontinued them this year. What I liked so much about it was the freedom to assign the columns to different areas of my life. I had the Erin Condren Life Planner for 2012. It was beautiful and I enjoyed the personalized cover and bright colors. I did not enjoy the way it was set up by time of day. Being a teacher and planning my {work} day in my school plan book, I didn't have things to write in the morning/day sections. I don't want to plan by time of day or by hour {like most other planners do}. I just want to write down what I need to do and if I have a specific time for it, I'll write it in myself.

I was going to make my own planner for 2013, but life just got the best of me last year, so I didn't have the time. {Maybe for 2014?} I bought a planner from Sam's Club a few months ago, which was similar to the BusyBodyBook, but it wasn't durable and was cheaply made - that's already made it's way out the door. Last week I finally just purchased a dotmine planner. I got it on sale and just wanted something basic. My inability to read the details left me surprised when it arrived in the mail and is the size of a regular sized notebook. Not really what I wanted, but I don't tend to take my planner with me, so it will be fine. {Pro - it gives me more space for writing!} Another thing - it had August 2012 - December 2012 in the front. I tore those out. I don't really understand why planners come 17 month. Every time I purchase a new one, I have 5 months I won't use in the front because I actually wait until December to purchase. Oh well. It was an easy fix!

I use my weekly calendar mostly for planning ahead. I don't keep planners at the end of the year to look back at, so I'm only every writing down things I absolutely need to remember in the future. The first things I penciled in were online professional development courses I signed up for that start in different months throughout the spring.

2. Monthly Calendar

I use a monthly calendar to write down due dates and payment amounts of bills. I also started {for this month} planning my blog posts ahead of time on a monthly calendar. Why I never thought to do this before, I don't know. Now I don't need to think each day about what I'll blog about. I can just look at the schedule. {While writing the schedule, it felt as if I was meal planning, really.}

The calendar I'm using for blog planning is just plain black and white and is vertical instead of horizontal. If you're interested in downloading, you can get it free here.

3. Google Calendar
Why use an electronic calendar when I already have a few forms of paper calendars? Collaboration. I share my Google Calendar with my husband. We both get email alerts, 7 days in advance, for birthdays and bills. That's about all that I use it for at this point. I'd love to eventually switch to electronic planning completely since I can access it from anywhere - my Surface, iPad, any computer, my smartphone, etc. {That can be a goal for this year? Maybe...}

4. Weekly Plan
This is new to me. I've used my daily plan document in the past, but I just don't need a page a day. Last week I purchased The 2013 Confident Mom Weekly Household Planner. {It's currently available this week only as part of the Bundle of the Week with 4 other eBooks for $7.40 for the bundle. Wish I would have waited! I didn't know it would go on sale!} I really like the whole purpose of it. But, being that I don't have any kids and I live in an apartment without many household "spaces", I've taken the basic setup of it and tweaked it for my needs. I also made it straight black and white since I'll be printing it every week. What I love about my weekly plan is all of those little things I never think to do each week {change the dish towel, clean the microwave, etc.} I can leave on the document and change the things that are a one time deal. I also created my plan in PowerPoint, so I can easily duplicate the page and make the changes I need without creating multiple documents for each week. This way, I can look back at the last time I completed certain tasks. This plan is genius because I've added simple things to do each day during the week that will help keep our place tidy. Taking the 5 minutes to wipe down the refrigerator every other week will definitely keep it from having to be it's own task during spring cleaning. =] {Due to copyright, I can't share my version of it since it's so similar.}

5. A {Practical} Routine
I generally have issues with "practical". I always expect too much, too soon - and that's why things don't work out. Goals, routines, etc. always tend to fall through the cracks with me. This year, with a practical routine, they won't. My whole "mantra" for this year is "let go". I want to let go of the past, what I can't control, and stress. Things have been really great for the last month, and I only see it getting better. I've already let go of things that I was trying to stuff on my plate in my every day life - which has made my routine more practical.

Today's challenge is to choose a time management tool - any that I've mentioned or anything else that works for you - and tweak it so it works for you {and your family}. Besides, what's the point in using any time management tool if it causes stress and wastes more time than it saves?