An Inside Look At My Planner / Log System
Mostly Organized Dispatch
How do you remember the good stuff?
I know humans are wired to remember negative events, because, you know, survival; but I find my brain to be waaayy too good at that at times.
So I’ve developed a little strategy to make sure I look back on life and can see the progress, remember the fun outings, and reminisce on the good times.
And that’s a good thing, because June was rough!
It started with a cold that wouldn’t go away, accompanied by poor sleep and splitting headaches. Once that was on its way out, I had some vertigo and food poisoning or some stomach bug a few days later. Let’s just say, I’ve been looking forward to some sunshine and vacation time!
I’m good now, but if I relied on my memory alone to figure out how the month went, I would probably give it a 2 out of 5.
But the thing is, good things did happen: I attended an sport award gala with my husband, and it was inspiring to hear the recipients' stories (and I got to dress up, which rarely happens); we added a bunch of plants to our yard, and now it looks pretty again; I went for coffee and a walk with a friend; I watched Bridgerton season 4, Heated Rivalry, read some great books, and went to 2 symphony concerts; I had rewarding organizing days and my vacation started.
If I hadn’t written this down somewhere, I’m not sure I would have remembered it all.
It’s all part of a group of logs, check-ins and reviews I do for myself, and at this time of year, I do a Mid-Year Life Audit (you can download it here; it’s free) to see where I’m at and reset. I might have had intentions at the beginning of the year that didn't pan out or that no longer inspire me. It’s time to let those go, so I can make space for what feels right.
This might feel like a lot, but it’s all integrated into my general planning and is quite easy to do. There are some details about my setup below, but let me know if you’re interested in knowing more (maybe a blog post is in order).
In the meantime, I hope you’re having a great summer so far,
Caroline
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Tips From A Pro Organizer
🔆 TIP | Decluttering Tip From A Professional Organizer: Decluttering Plans
My Mid-Year and End-of-Year reviews are very complementary, and you can do them at any time. If the beginning and end of the school year feel like January 1st and December 31st, for example, go for it.
Basically, I look at what I planned vs. what happened and reset my intentions in order to declutter the plans, projects, ideas, and beliefs that are no longer serving me:
📌 HABIT | Small Habit To Help You Get Organized: Keeping a Log
I’ve never been a very artistic or introspective journaler, but I like to document things briefly to help jog my memory later.
What I do looks more like keeping a ship’s log than journaling ⛵️. It looks like this:
Had a productive day at work. Was able to go on a nice sunny lunch walk with Penny. Prepared a bunch of veggies for myself. After being sick last weekend, eating anything heavy like meat is grossing me out. I only have one episode left of Heated Rivalry. It’s so good!
These are some of the things I track:
Daily:
Things of note: a log of what happened during the day;
Health log: anything out of the ordinary, so I can see patterns - lots of writing in June for this one;
Photo of the day if I have one.
Weekly (this is where the magic happens 🎉):
Love List or wins where I account for the good things that happened during that week;
Challenges or Lessons Learned list so I can still rant about things that are annoying, while trying to see the silver lining.
🧩 MINDSET | Clear Your Mind And Get a New Perspective: Looking Back
Once a month and at the turn of the season, I put it all together, zoom out for a better overview, and reset again if needed.
My favourite memory of the month;
Goals that are going well;
Progress I’m celebrating, even if small;
Things to let go of.
I hope this inspires you to have fun with your planning!
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