I believe that we miss so much because we don’t write it down, and if we do write it down, we have no process for the information that we have written. I rarely miss a deadline, miss an appointment, forget about something, or fail to hit a goal because I do have a system.

The only time I miss something is because I chose to and that is huge. I have the freedom to miss something. I have the choice rather than missing something from being disorganized.

Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.

A.A. Milne

Things being out of order feels is like chaos to me.

So I like to make sure that what I do makes sense for me. Here is my process:

1. SCRATCH NOTES: I carry a small notebook with me everywhere I go. I write anything I need or want to remember from my day into it. It takes the place of scratch paper for me except all the notes are in one place and not all over the place on random papers or on the back of something that might end up in the trash. I don’t make it perfect or anything but I do give every item needed to be acted on a check box.

2. TASKS: Any needed action for to-do’s go on my google task list with and without dates. Things without dates are due NOW! I do them asap.

3. SAMSUNG NOTES: Any needed action to ponder or study like quotes, notes to remember, or things I want to ponder and write about go into my daily journal on my Samsung Notes app or my tablet. I have a Galaxy Tab S6 with a Samsung pencil. I use it for bible study, journaling, and writing. That’s it. I break up my journal entries like this –

• Daily Journal (1 month at a time) Here I write as little or much as I want in daily increments.
• Yearly Overview ( Example of title: 2021 Ah-ha’s! and Don’t Forgets!) In this yearly overview, I add anything that has made a major impression, changed me somehow, or that I absolutely do not want to forget. Also, this allows me to find those nuggets quickly without trying to shuffle though a years worth of writing. It helps me to track my spiritual progress, remember what God has said, know what I’ve been struggling with, and how I was able to overcome it. #growthmatters

Change is inevitable. Growth is intentional.

Glenda Cloud

4. AGENDA: In google keep I have an agenda list. I add every meeting, coffee date, lunch, and appointment to it. It is a running list of what I am doing and where I am going with dates that are in order. (example below)

Then with the widget function on my phone I add it to my home screen, so that, I can always see where I am suppose to be.

NOTE: With this set up above I can see my agenda every time I look at my phone and as i add any scratch notes to my to-do’s or to my journal – its acts as a “regular review” like a “check in” with this process.)

And the best part by far is I have been able to turn off most of my notifications. That’s right! You heard it. Curbing the onslaught of notifications saves me time. I don’t get sidetracked or distracted from progress because of all of the many notifications. I only have 4. Text messages, Work group and individual chat, Facebook messenger, and transactions on my Capitol One card. All the different app notifications or email notifications have been silenced. I set my phone to do not disturb mode at night with a favorites list of calls or texts allowed to come through.

Starve your distractions, feed your focus!

Anonymous

6. HOME BUDGETING: I do online banking and bill paying through my bank. We never use our Main acct. bank card to make purchases. We only use our Capitol One card that gives us points. I use another little notebook that never leaves my home office desk for bills. This is the breakdown of how I do my bills every pay period

(Paycheck from Hubby) + ( Paycheck from me)

= Pay period total income $

– Tithe

– Savings

– Half of the regular mortgage payment

_______________________

= Updated Balance

– Bills that are in the bill pile

= What is left after bills are paid

– $ spent on the Capital one card

= What’s left (we add every dollar here to the mortgage)

We have 13 more years to pay on our home. (HEAR THAT…13 more years) We have always paid a little over the balance. (couple hundred dollars here and there) We are also a pretty conservative couple – we don’t spend money extravagantly. We had a major financial scare several years ago when my hubby hurt his knee, when we got back on our feet, we made sure that we paid off any smaller debts we had and we put several months of savings aside.Then we went hard at the mortgage of our house. We have been dumping every $ at the end of each paycheck on our mortgage for 6 months. Once we knew the estimated amount each month that we are able to do. (about 3 month worth)

We are set to pay off this house FEBRUARY of 2022. We are beyond excited! #CelebrateWins

Celebrate every win, no matter how small.

Jack Canfield

I hope this inspires you to have a system. We can become productive, hit our goals, and celebrate when we do. What stops you from having one? Does it feel too restrictive? What wins do you have from the first 6 months of this year?

Thanks for Listening,

Starla