Taming the Beast

Good morning, everyone! Whether you're a lion tamer or time tamer, we all need sustanence to make the morning start out right! We're about to face huge organizational issues where donuts just won't cut it! I've brought in an omelette bar with Chef Pierre at the helm.

Last week in Seekerville, Glynna Kaye talked about Living Intentionally. I drank in every word. The term squeakiest wheel gets the grease defines my life. I can’t even begin to recall a time when I wasn’t at someone else’s beck and call. By choice, my mind you. I’m a wife, mother, admin assistant and many other things by choice.

I am an active heroine in my own life : )

Still, anyone who multi-tasks (yes, Glynna, I believe 100% in the research on this insane phenomena) knows life tends to overlap, overbook and over commit which winds up in over exhaustion!!

There are so many ways to keep track of schedules, often times, those many ways are used all at once.

Let’s take my life for example : )

We begin in the home. Each Christmas, the family chooses the wall calendar which will hang faithfully in the kitchen with all the events, appointments and commitments scribbled all over it. Over the years we’ve proudly displayed 12 months of Tecomate Bucks, Old Outhouses of the West, Lighthouses, etc. This year our choice was Classic Ford cars. No matter the photo representation, the meat of the matter stands that if it isn’t written on the calendar, it won’t get done.

Now we move on to my day job office organization system. Here we employ a number of reminder formats. On my worksurface I have a monthly calendar desk pad. Comes in handy for jotting requested work that comes in over the phone. Took me a while to remember to write the person’s phone number down with the work request.

Then I have my journal calendar that goes everywhere I go in case I have to check conflicts or schedule 4-H events and barn time. This journal includes blank pages so I can take notes at meetings and not have to worry about losing important info.
Finally, if you look on the office partition behind me, you see a calendar featuring purebred horses, kind of like a pin up calendar for the equine set. This calendar comes compliments of our Horse Council and is filled with tiny post-in notes so I know what to include in the calendar of events for our 4-H newsletter. Lots of meetings change, so instead of whiting out all the info, I pull and repost a sticky note and pray nothing changes after the newsletter goes out : )

Step into my office at home and take a peek at my writing calendar(s). Let’s begin with the wall calendar to the left of my computer. All the Contest Update information Tina faithfully doles out each month is inked in place and I circle the contests I’d like to enter, a friend has entered, or one I’ve committed to judging. Tough to keep all the info straight, you know!

On the shelf over my monitor I have a flip card calendar that does nothing more than show me pretty pictures and keep me aware of the day’s date : )
My burgundy bound Day Runner calendar is a day-by-day affair. I keep track of writing hours, expenses, mileage – everything Danica Favorite-McDonald talked about in her post on keeping tax records. I hate it when I’m not real diligent about keeping these records. I mean really, how difficult is it to keep track of what you’ve done that day while the computer is turning off? Not hard at all, which is why I feel like such a ninny when I forget.

Oh, and don’t forget the calendar that goes with the story timelines! I have a timeline that shows me when each book is set within each specific series. I need to keep track of characters aging, pregnancies running their allotted nine months, national events, etc. Robin Lee Hatcher once gave a workshop about keeping your story line organized. She talked about being aware of passing time and season changes. Pretty embarrassing when your editor asks how many nights in a row can your H/H walk beneath the light of a full moon : )

Whew, that was a walk down memory lane, LOL! The sad think is, like Glynna mentioned, there are only so many hours in a day and so many days in a week. Know your limits; understand what’s important. I can’t say I’ve mastered my scheduled, but it sure makes it easy to say no, and have the jam-packed schedule to back it up : )

Your turn! Share! How do you manage your lives? What tricks have you stumbled across to make juggling all the components easier?

Include your email address and you will be placed in a drawing for The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People 2010 Year-In-A-Box Calendar.

You can never be too early to get a jump on the New Year!

Blessings to all!-audra