(Preface: You know how some people have real problems in their life? Yeah. I’m totally not one of them, by the way. I just wanted to note that before I use the word “crisis” in an overly dramatic and hyperbolic matter repeatedly.)
I’m having an organizational crisis! MAYDAY! MAYDAY! I’ve reached a point in my life where I have so much going on…that I can’t figure out the best way to organzie to keep track of anything. Since I tend to be a bit of a office supply whore, whenever I get overwhelmed, I buy more organizational items. New calendars. Notecards. New pens. I try to find different methods of categorization and color-coding and labeling. Unfortunately, when many things come up at once, I end of over-dosing on organization. I’ve officially become so organized I have wrapped myself back around to chaos. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?
I now have so many piles and notebooks and labels and colors marking different things - that need to be done, that have been done, and will be done - that I no longer have any idea what I’m doing. I have become proof that you can actually over organize. So…today my mission is to SIMPLIFY. I am going to control the desire to run to Staples for another notebook and I’m going to keep it simple today. One pen. (Maybe.) One notepad. (Maybe.) And just a simple To Do list. With checkmarks. (Maybe.)
It’s a dark day for me. So many supplies that will go ignored. Calendars. Highlighters. Post-Its. They’ll be so lonely without me.
I hear you. I’ve mostly conquered my office supply addiction by moving to southern Italy, where it’s nearly impossible to find a good selection of post-its, good pens, and notebooks (they don’t even do lined paper here; it’s more graph paper-like). Yeah, I have some stuff shipped in, but I’m doing *much* better without a Staples nearby. Maybe this is a rather rash way to control the problem, but it’s working for me. Best of luck
Don’t get me started on the beauty that is my Palm. All I do is stay at home, I don’t even “work” and I still can’t function without it.
I have 2 calendars. One hangs on the wall, and one is my day planner. I write everything down on them, classes, volunteer days, appts. parties, and whatever else comes up. Then, to get my office supply hit I highlight each one with a different color. Like Girl Scout stuff is green, classes are yellow, doctors are orange, etc. My wall calendar also has a pocket that I put bills in as I get them. So when payday rolls around, all of my bills are in the same place. It’s simple, colorful, and I like looking at it and seeing that I actually do have a life. If you carry a day planner, look for one that has a memo space in the column, you can write your to do list there. It excludes the need for post-its.
One pen!
Don’t torture yourself. You will need at least two different types of pens, one mechanical pencil, a marker, and one highlighter.
I’m having heart palpitations just thinking about being limited to one pen.
Ya know, I try so hard to be organized.
And spend so much time trying to figure out HOW I organized.
i dunno why but this post reminded me of Monica from ‘FRIENDS’..!!!
good luck in the process of simplifying…u can do it zooty..!!!!
Now that I’m in charge of ordering the office supplies, I get to browse the catalogue…I got the coolest fountain pen last week, it’s purple!
Then you probobly shouldn’t go to that really neat website called see jane work dot com where jane has a whole slew of office supplies that are not only organizational but also cute. Supplies I didn’t know I needed until I stumbled upon that site myself…now I want them ALL!
I can’t live without my Franklin Covey planner, personally. I can make a new to-do list every day, keep addresses & phone numbers with me, take notes either by the day or file them under a tab by subject. . . .
http://shopping.franklincovey.com/shopping/catalog/category.jsp?id=cat1440004&crc=cat1440002
Just an idea.
I’m a google calenders whore. I can aggregate home and office calendars, and each family member has their own calendar (with their own color) that i can view or edit. Awesome.
Definitely more than one pen, maybe just “one pack” of pens with four pretty pens in it!?!
You need more than one pen. (I am addicted & an enabler, yes, I shall admit it.) At least one for each hand and maybe one for each foot, and you can probably put one in your mouth, and behind each ear …. so yeah, add that up and keep the pens handy!