Let's Talk Organization & Daily Routines!

I'm looking into bullet journally today too -- it's big on Twitter right now, and the zero cost outlay is very attractive, so so I'm giving it a wee go.

It's fun so far, but I could see myself going back to my usual to-do list method soon, just for the ease of apps.

EMaree said:

I'm looking into bullet journally today too -- it's big on Twitter right now, and the zero cost outlay is very attractive, so so I'm giving it a wee go.

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This is the first I've seen that. At first, I thought it's not too different from my current to-do list method, but it seems pretty complicated. I don't think I'd stick with it.

I use the phone for event and meeting reminders, but I keep a physical to-do list that I mark similarly: check means done, arrow means moved to a future to-do list, cross out if cancelled. First thing after my morning coffee, I go through my list from the day before, migrate any tasks that still need doing and prep for the day.

I can keep up with that on a daily basis, especially now that it's part of my routine. I was using it just for work, but when I started my new job two months ago, the home routine was disrupted, so now I use one list for both, and mark home/work/writing tasks with different symbols on the right side of the page.

i tend to use a combination of sticky notes, my calendar, and an app on my ipod when it comes to reminders and such.

Quick update: I totally failed at keeping up with bullet journaling, to-do list apps are definitely more my speed. I found the whole timeboxing nature of bullet journaling too much hassle.

One thing I really like about to-do lists is the flexibility -- I'm using TickTick just now, on PC and phone, and it's a very quick click to move today's items to tomorrow if I'm feeling overwhelmed. I can write 'GP appointment tomorrow evening' and it will automatically file itself into place. I can also hide non-urgent items from the agenda to peruse at my leisure. Wunderlist is great too.

Lavern08 said:

YES to all of the above - OCD is my middle name.

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A little OCD never hurt anyone. Feng Shui is my middle name. In my silly world, if my surroundings aren't in order, I feel anxious and scattered. I'm a true creature of habit and routine. I mostly write early in the morning (coffee that sits and gets cold and PJ's), sometimes get carried away and write through out the day. Always take breaks, walk around, water my flowers and breath. I'm in awe of people that can jot away in various locations, on a phone, tablet, etc. How wonderful and interesting your minds must be.

I do make notes on people I observe, quotations and interesting words. If I'm out and about, that would probably be a written note, stuck down in my purse. At home, laptop notepad saves notes. When I go to grocery store, hubby says "where's your list?" HATE them, need to go up and down the aisles and pick-up what I see that I need. Keep in mind, I'm an old, stubborn gal.

My first thought on the bullet journal - had to google that term - is it's similar to the paper Franklin Day Planners I used back in the 80s? 90s? before the electronic versions came out.

https://franklinplanner.fcorgp.com/store/buy/Planners/cat2120006/

I carried my FDP around everywhere and it helped me immensely. Each December I bought the next year's pack and sometimes changed up sizes or styles. I bought a few different covers. I still have a couple in my desk drawer.

I switched to the electronic PDA in the 90s, and now all lives in my iPhone.

What I miss, though, is the written record of my life. I've been sorting through my 16,000+ photos on my laptop and wishing I had a written record of why I took some of them, what was important that day.

"A picture is worth a thousand words." Maybe, but I'd like to have the words to go with those photos. I guess that's why Creative Memories style scrapbooking was big for awhile - photos plus descriptions. I did that for a few weeks back in the day, but it's too time consuming.

I wish I'd kept a written daily journal for those decades past. I have some but was never consistent. The bullet journals would at least be an outline of what was going on all those days.

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

I have a to do on paper near my place at the dining table. (We only have one.) At the top of the list are thing to be done that day, then a line break, then things to be done in the near future or if there's time. I always put writing tasks on the list in a special section at the bottom.

I don't plan meals in the usual sense, but I know from long experience how much we eat, and gauge shopping accordingly. I have specific things I do on specific days of the week. (Actually, I used to be more flexible, but since Mr. Siri retired, he often has the use of our single car, so we plan around each other.)

In the morning after grooming and getting dressed, I read/recite two or more Sikh banis (kinda like psalms), do some yoga, do a 31 minute meditation, take my hukam (literally "command"--a random reading from Sikh scriptures) before getting breakfast.

In the evening, I do other similar readings and/or meditation (currently readings) and take another hukam before taking a bath and going to bed.

I do most of my writing in the evening after dinner. That way I'm not thinking about the chores to be done.

Also, Mr. Siri and I sit down and discuss our day after dinner before I write. This is a time to discuss future plans, air grievances, mention those neat little things that happened during the day. Sometimes I brainstorm writing stuff with him. Which is super useful.

As you may note, all of the above is super low tech.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

I do to-do lists on stick notes or notepads. If I attempt anything else, its too structured and my mind doesn't like to be structured.

Now, I wish I could be organized, with everything color coded, and neatly arranged. I admire that. But I've tried it and its not my style.

I plan out meals in advance. I am honestly puzzled as to how else that would work. Do people just go to the store and buy whatever?

I use Todoist for my general tasks. I like that it's cloud-based, so I can access via my phone or the web. But I don't track too much stuff there. For the most part, I don't have too much trouble remembering what I need to get done. At work I write out a to-do list because it helps me focus and crossing things out is the only satisfying thing I do all day long.

noranne said:

I plan out meals in advance. I am honestly puzzled as to how else that would work. Do people just go to the store and buy whatever?

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I know, right?

I cut out coupons, make a grocery list based on my plan for the next 2 weeks, and 99% of the time, I buy only what's on my list.

(Yes, a pint of Haagen-Dazs is always on my list)

Just a notepad and a random pen is all the gadgetry I need. Nothing super nice, or else I get perfectionist and fancy about organizing my organizing and don't end up getting stuff done. Stores like Office Depot, or organizational gadgets of pretty much any type are delightful and wonderful, but I don't find they actually enhance my productivity. For my sanity, I keep my life and environment as uncluttered as possible and therefore don't truly need much in the way of organization tools, anyway.

For my morning routine, I get dressed, etc. (hanging around in pajamas or bedhead drives me up the wall), then sit and browse social media until breakfast (I like to start out my day feeling connected to the world at large while not having to actually expend energy doing so, heh). Then I make plans for the day (sometimes on paper, sometimes not) and execute them. (Or not.) Appointments go on the (physical, paper, on the fridge) calendar as they are made. I rarely look at the calendar, but social anxiety makes it unlikely that I'll forget about them or need them written down elsewhere.

I don't meal plan, because I don't use recipes or create fancy meals. I have staple carbs, staple meats, staple spices, and staple vegetables and fruit. We typically buy most things in bulk, but get fresh veggies and fruit about once a week. So we rotate through things each night, fixing it according to what sounds good. Potatoes? Pasta? Rice? Beans? What meat goes best with that/sounds good tonight? What sort of flavor profile do I feel like? Spicy? Savory? Sweet? How much vegetables can I sneak it before it just gets yucky? (My kids eat vegetables fine. I am the one who has to be babied.)

My husband likes to plan for the next day in the evening, but that part of my brain is officially shut off by that point. Evenings are my time to do me-things, after the kids are in bed, which is usually writing, reading, or watching a show, or some combination thereof. I enjoy being entertained by and/or inspired by other people's creative efforts. I wait until I am almost too sleepy to go to bed, or else I will be stuck tossing and turning and developing random itches and being irritated that the blankets aren't right anymore and resenting the fact that I'm not sleeping already.

I have a love/hate relationship with structure and schedules. I like devising them because I am a naturally organized person, but then I get all rebellious and "don't tell me what I can and can't do right now!" if I try to use them. For my kids' sake, we have specific mealtimes and a more or less specific bedtime for them, but other than that, I try to remain as flexible as possible. (School has not been a factor, yet.)

EMaree said:

Quick update: I totally failed at keeping up with bullet journaling, to-do list apps are definitely more my speed. I found the whole timeboxing nature of bullet journaling too much hassle.

One thing I really like about to-do lists is the flexibility -- I'm using TickTick just now, on PC and phone, and it's a very quick click to move today's items to tomorrow if I'm feeling overwhelmed. I can write 'GP appointment tomorrow evening' and it will automatically file itself into place. I can also hide non-urgent items from the agenda to peruse at my leisure. Wunderlist is great too.

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I love TickTick! Have it on my laptop, phone and iPad. So easy to use.

I feel like I should try bullet journaling. I had already started doing things like that in my work notes... tasks got different bullets for being different things or having different priorities, and I would move the unfinished tasks to the next day... I read some about it but I didn't see the word "timeboxing." What is that?

I'll look at TickTick, but I'm not good at typing things on my phone, so I'm afraid that would get too tedious to use.

I have to keep my routine flexible because my life is not consistent. I can write at various times of the day (usually after work), most days of the week, and go on page count (manual typewriter). I try for four pages, but my arm is still recovering from surgery (just now at the point where I can type with both hands) so my output is more like two pages. I usually wind up the clock on my desk and get a full bottle of water, so I have no reason to pause midway. It works most of the time.

I think I've always been against anything that's specialized and can't be multi-used when it comes to functional computer software. (Games definitely rate different. ) So for a long time, I did the hand written to do list. I'd tried creating them in Word/WordPerfect, but couldn't figure out a way to make them flexible enough to make me happy.

My girlfriend then introduced me to this note taking software called OneNote, from Micro$oft (unfortunately), that had the flexibility of the hand written with the neatness of the computer screen. Plus it's loaded to both computer and tablet, so changes to one are reflected on the other. I've been using it at home and work for ... a few months now, and it does wonders.

I've had a bullet journal for a year and a half now and I love it! Most days are just a to do list, but I love having the flexibility to turn to the next page and write whatever notes or thoughts I want. It's been pretty easy to keep track of everything through the index, though I do wish my notebook had a few more bookmarks. For appointments I write in my bullet journal then set up an alarm reminder in my phone's calendar.

I'm glad to see you're liking the system too. My advice to anyone trying it out would be to keep it simple. A lot of people customize their bullet journals with fancy calendars and labels, but it doesn't need to be pretty to be effective.