Somewhere Else: What Is NOT In My Planner

I never leave my house without my purse (holds my emergency medications, so a purse is not optional for me), my glasses, and my planner. (Attention stalkers: if you recognize me in public by my cute purse and adorable matching planner, show me your planner so I know you are one of the good guys! :) )

As my Loyal Readers have figured out by now, I write almost everything down in one place. Currently, I use my trusty Franklin Covey 365 Flourish planner (slightly wider than a Filofax personal). I carry only purses big enough to fit my planner comfortably, so that I literally NEVER have to leave the house without my favorite (and cheap!) personal assistant.

But there are some things, though, that are not part of my planner. I keep them {drum roll, please}...somewhere else.

Gasp.

I know, I know. Don't worry, the list of things that I track elsewhere is short. Everything in my planner all the time keeps me (and you...just trust me, if you were near me, you would want me WITH my planner) sane. But, on rare occasions, some things are better left NOT in the planner.

I have thoughtfully compiled some of the things that do NOT go in my planner (or mostly do not...I am Exception Obsessed, because hey, MORE PLANNER for me).

*Launchpad: If something is in my launchpad area (currently empty other than my purse), it leaves the house with me. Period. No need to check the planner. (I also have a long-term launchpad for things that will leave the house later, like a present for an upcoming kid's birthday party.) My kids also have launchpads.

Exception: If something won't fit in my launchpad, I either put a sticky note in the launchpad area reminding me to bring it, put a physical reminder (like a fork to remind me to put my cold lunch from the fridge in the lunch box), or a note on my planner (if neither of those are feasible options).

*Goodwill Box: If something is going to Goodwill, it goes in the Goodwill lined trash can in my washer/dryer area. When the trash bag is full, I toss it in my car truck to deliver to Goodwill and reline the can. (You could also use a box.)

Exception: I add an errand on my weekly task list when I toss the bag in my trunk. "E Goodwill" means an errand to Goodwill.

*Contacts: I put contacts in Google on my smart phone.

Exception: I do list some emergency stuff, like the names and phone numbers of babysitters or people to call in emergencies, in the Notes/File section of my planner.

*Recipes: I keep recipes on-line by bookmarking those, in Google chrome so they are backed up in the cloud, since I mostly gather them from around the 'net.

Exception: I do keep a list of Favorite Meals in the Notes/File section of my planner for menu planning purposes. I also have an old, grungy, plastic folder in the kitchen for any recipes that are written by my family and passed down to me. Some of them are in my mom's handwriting.

*Freezer Inventory: I keep the freezer inventory right there on the fridge, where slackers other family members might actually use it.

Exception: If we run out of something, it goes on the grocery list in the weekly section of my planner.

*Coupons: I keep coupons and my weekly shopping list (using anything listed in my planner throughout the week plus sale papers) in a separate Fold 'n Go planner, with my reusable grocery bags.

*Routines and Checklists: Mostly, I learn routines or write them on posters for the kids for everything (examples include morning get out of the house routine for the kids and evening get ready for the next day routines) and use a dedicated tote bag with checklists of what to bring with me (say, for writing my novel at a coffee shop or for substitute teaching days).

Exception: I do make lists of routines or packing checklists for things I am still learning. Those become part of my Project pages. These are especially helpful to have in your planner during transition phases of your life. First day of school? New job? New baby? You need to write down your list to visualize it and make sure that you never leave the house without diapers or your favorite coffee mug.

*Chores: I have a checklist for chores, but mostly, I just try to do chores everyday. (Total honesty here - I am more about teaching and supervising chores than doing them.) My daily minimums are a load of dishes, a load of laundry (clean, folded, and saved), and a 15 minute clean-up of wherever is bothering me the most. We also all try, as a family, to erase the evidence of our mess by putting things away as we use them.

Exception: If something MUST be done by a certain time, it goes in the weekly section of my planner. For example, if I must wash khakis because my husband needs his khaki pants for work tomorrow, it goes on today's entry.

It does not escape my notice that I almost have more exceptions than rules. {sheepish grin} The point of this post, however, is that even if your planner or household notebook is your lifeline, there are things where a visual reminder or other information capture method makes more sense - and there is no reason to duplicate your reminders if you are sure of your systems.

Etcetera.

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Coming Soon: How I Tackled The Shoe Monster!

Coming Up in October at Loyal Reader request: Organizing for Nanowrimo