Captain's Log & Manifests

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Continuing with my ship analogy, any good freighter needs a solid captain. I talked about scheduling tools and calendars in my last post, but there are more commitments in life than just time commitments. Most of the time, we have items that need attention when we have time, and we need to remember them so we can choose the most important ones.

I use my calendar as the bones of my day, but many times, other items creep up that need some sort of attention.

Captain’s Log

While I go about my day, I like to record things that happen. Sometimes they are thoughts I want to express, tasks I want to remember, or facts I need to process. I record these in a daily log - just a notebook with lines or graph ruling.

Every day, I print my agenda from Google Calendar. This shows me my commitments for the day. Sometimes I will schedule the all day items, but most of the time I record the time I spent on it, and update the calendar later. Anything that does not get done today gets moved to tomorrow when I close out my schedule at the end of the day.

Throughout the day, I record what I have done and any things I need to do. At the end of the day, I review my notes and make plans for things that didn’t get done. If something comes up that does not have a specific date, I will add it to my Master Task List. If it has a specific deadline, it goes on my calendar.

Master Task List

My notebook includes a section for lists. When my scheduled commitments for the day are done, I review the Master Task List and complete items from there (or at least work on them), adding to my calendar at the end of the day. This way, my Google Calendar acts as a planner and a journal, at the same time.

Once a week, I also review my Master Task List, to see if anything needs to be scheduled for the week. This gets added to my calendar to be fit in around my appointments.

My list section in my notebook also has other lists. Some key lists I include are:
  • Books to Read
  • Movies to See
  • Things to Buy
  • Project Inventory
  • Yearly Goals
To be honest, I struggle with projects (more on that later). These collections are helpful reminders for things I want to spend my time on.

I also like to keep logs of specific types of activities I complete:
  • Reading Log
  • Practice Log
  • Foreign Language Log
  • Learning Log
  • The ideas in this category are endless.
Because my needs here are so specific and change regularly, I prefer to use discbound notebooks. I have also found the size of a composition book to be my favorite, so I made my own covers and print my own pages.

So far, the key to keeping your Mother-Ship afloat is simple. Use a calendar religiously, and keep a notebook for lists and daily plans. Just take one day at a time. Keep up the great work!

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