Catching Up

After a full week of the whole family being locked in the house due to the snow and ice, I am really enjoying the quiet this morning!

I haven’t made as much progress as I would have liked on my Abundant Project. Yet… even though the house needs some extra attention, I am not going to say I’ve fallen behind. God is willing to meet each and every one of us right where we are in life. With that in mind, I am waking up this morning, every morning, meeting the day and the project right where it is. Every day starts, it does not catch up. Time for me to do the same each time I wake.

Having said that, the extra family time has kept me from writing here the things I’ve been working on and keeping the diary I had hoped.

I have just put on a pot of coffee. Care to pull up a chair and we can catch up with one another as friends should?

The Home Planner and Goal Tracking

The things in this picture are the tools I have set up so far to keep me moving forward.

The Three Ring Binder – On the bottom is the Home Planner notebook I’m rebuilding and we’ve been talking about. It is three inches deep, mostly full of blank notebook paper, clear page protectors and the things I’ve been writing about so far this year that have been added intentionally as I saw a need.

The Spiral Notebooks – The first spiral notebook will be used as my Master To Do List. I’m going to use the AutoFocus practice (described in the link) because it really seems to work for me. The second spiral is going to be where I mind dump.  My mind turns faster then the second hand of a clock. Usually it is a few things tumbling over and over. Things I want to remember, things I need to do, things I need to pick up at the store, things I’m trying to work out… To put my full attention where I want it, I have to clear my head. The easiest way is to write those things down. Once they are on paper, my mind can let go of them. I become clear headed and able to concentrate on the task at hand. Give it a try and let me know if it works for you!

I have always kept smaller notebooks with pens in the spiral all over the house, in my purse and in my car. When I’ve gathered those little sheets up, most of what was on them ended up on my master to do list.  Using the Autofocus system, for most people, that really isn’t a problem. I’m not sure yet it will be/was for me. I am just so prone to distraction. I can easily keep myself busy with a million different things that need to be done or can be done fairly quickly, but in the bigger picture don’t help me make real progress. Since this year I am working to be more intentional and purposeful, I want to start out keeping the busy tasks in the mind dump spiral and the things that will really make a difference on the master to do list.  We’ll see if it makes a difference.

The Planner Refills -  These are special monthly calendars. I got mine under refills from MomAgenda (aff.). Like MomAgenda, several of the new made-for-Mom calendars have the initial date block or daily agenda for ‘Mom’ followed by separate places to track other member of the family. Aside from each calendar brand’s other unique features, the daily blocks on the monthly layout usually function something similar to this:

Each refill slips in either the front or back pocket inside the cover of my big planner notebook. The first refill, I am using as our main calendar. Everyone in the house can see at a glance what is planned for the month.

The second refill I am using as as my menu planner and to track my progress on my project goals. I use the main block to write in what I intend to cook for dinner. (I do not plan breakfasts and lunches. I just keep standard staples on hand or utilize dinner leftovers.) Each of the other blocks I have designated to one of my goal categories to write in what I did on any given day. The tasks come from my master to do list. By writing down what was done, seeing throughout the month a category with empty blocks should prompt me to pay more attention in that area. Seeing many days with all empty blocks should help me return my attention back to working on my goals instead of the busy work.

If you don’t want to purchase another calendar, you could set up a spreadsheet (remember openoffice) that would work similarly or a check mark system on your main calendar.

At the first of January each year, most stores (online and brick-n-mortar) mark their calendars down. Barnes and Noble in particular had a great mark down of 50 to 75% from their December prices.

So… I added to my perpetual calendar for January that early in the month is a good time to purchase new calendars. I also added linens. And checking the clearance sections to fill up a hidden container I keep of small toys for upcoming birthday parties, special treats, and stocking stuffers for the following year. What other things are you adding to your January perpetual calendar?

How are you tracking your goals? Making any progress? Tell me all about it while I pour you another cup.

P.S. Laurel Plum Online, the site.

As I was reading over this years pages to see where I left off writing.  There are a lot of things on the website I need to change. When I came back, a lot of old links  no longer worked or worse are now pointing to things I’d rather not see much less share. The navigation I’d planned for a professional site no longer fits with my new intentions. I’d like to overhaul the whole site. It’s going to take some time to go through every little detail of everything already here. I’m starting a list to work on as time allows, but the real life project will be a higher priority for a while. When you’re thumbing around, I would really appreciate it if you’d let me know if you run across anything that needs fixing. There should be a ‘Contact Me’ button in the side bar of every page.

As for starting right where I am, I’m going to add some new pages as we go. The first is a new page labeled Home Planner. Right now, it is just a blank page. But I’ll summarize all of the things we’ve been working on and work out some examples and printables each of you can download. I’ll keep you posted when I’ve gotten what we’ve talked about so far on the page.

I have an idea of other specific pages I’d like to add, but as always, would love to hear your ideas.