Ship-Shape Scheduling

The key to keeping my Mother-Ship afloat, is scheduling. Appointments, tasks, work, play - it all needs a place on the calendar. Two tools and some key habits make that happen.

Tool 1: Google Calendar

I know there are lots of great calendar apps out there (Outlook and iCalendar come to mind), but I am an Android girl, and Google Calendar is my go-to. I have tried other calendar apps. but not of them are as simple and easy to use as the Google Calendar app. Use whatever tool you are comfortable with, but use it.

I have several Google accounts for various purposes, and I am careful about where I put things. My personal account also has several calendars for sharing. But I do not share my personal calendar.

• Personal Calendar (me, only)
• Kids Stuff (family & kids activities, shared with them)
• Menu (also shared with the family)
• Blog calendars (one for each blog)
• Work calendars

Each calendar has its own color, and each kid has their own color. There are a lot of great articles and videos on using Google Calendar, as well as other digital calendar apps, so look around, commit to one, and use it.

Tool 2: Notebook

For lack of a better name, I call this book my planner, but it is a bigger picture of my life than the day-to-day calendar. This is mostly daily Bullet Journaling, task lists, and project notes. I have tried every digital task list out there, but they don't work for me. I tend to ignore them more than I do them. I will probably try again, because I do get over-burdened in copying tasks, but I will always have some sort of paper notebook as part of my system.

I have used bound journals, like Moleskines, in the past and love, love, LOVE them. What I found, though, was that when I got to the end of a book, I spent so much time copying stuff that was unfinished, that I lost days of productivity just setting up my new notebook. I also felt guilty about the expense, so I have over 20 composition books I have used over the years, as well. However, same problem.

My solution to this is the ARC notebook, from Staples. There are several discbound products on the market now - Office Depot, Wal-Mart and Amazon all carry a discbound notebook system. I bought the one from Staples first, and that's what I use now.

I have also tried various forms of day-timers, as well, for planning my day. But really, the written element of the notebook is for daily thoughts, journal entries, and long-term planning. Just getting my thoughts out on paper.

Habit 1: Merging the Two

So, how do I use both tools to stay productive and keep the Ship Afloat? Each day, I sit down with one of my devices (I prefer my Chromebook or laptop because it's so much easier, but my phone works, too) and schedule the tasks I have assigned to today. They range from reminders to practice my viola, water the plants, get an oil change, paying bills, etc. Sometimes, when my list is overwhelming, I will only schedule a few things at a time. Other times, I'll schedule the whole day.

Once that's done, I either get moving, or I check my Master Task List for anything that needs attention now, and schedule those things. I might decide to tackle a Master List item tomorrow, so I put it on the calendar for tomorrow. I'll talk more about the Master Task List next time.

After that, I get moving. While I'm doing stuff, I try to be very careful not to let things interrupt my schedule. I only schedule small blocks of time so that things (or kids) don't have to wait too long before I can address their needs. If something comes to mind while I'm working on the task at hand, I write it down in my notebook and move on. I review those notes when I'm scheduling the next day.

Habit 2: Recurring Tasks

I have also recently gotten into the habit of scheduling recurring tasks on the calendar. I think we would all agree that the floor doesn't NEED to be mopped on a certain day of the week, but I find that if I put it on my Master Task List, it may be months before I get to it again. I would rather not wait that long, so I schedule it again for a certain time from when I did it last, and then have it repeat. I mark these items with an "@" on my calendar so I know I can reschedule it, or skip it, because it will be coming back around. Again, this will make more sense when I explain my Master Task List, but it is a great time-saver and stress-buster to know that these things are accounted for.

And that's pretty much it! Sometimes, I have more tasks than hours in the day, and I do reschedule those. I just put the original date in the title of the appointment so I can tackle the oldest things first.

This whole process is not always easy. There are many times that I am just not enough person to go around and my anxiety and depression rear their ugly heads. Just last week I texted a friend looking for support because I couldn't bring myself to even look at my notebook, much less open the calendar app on my phone. But I usually get back around to it, and knowing that I have a system I can reboot from where I left off gives me peace of mind when I need a break.

It takes daily prayer and forgiveness (sometimes hourly) to get through it. But I find that I can focus and forgive better when I trust my system. And that trust comes with daily practice.

I will share more about my journey with Depression in another post, but these steps and tools should be helpful, regardless. Feel free to email me or leave comments if this was helpful or if you have questions.