Today is the Day

I thought I'd share how I am getting more things done lately!

This is a little notebook I found at Dollar General.  Its great for my never ending to do lists.  Every time I think of something, no matter how important or unimportant it is, I jot it down in this book.

When I start a new page, I circle the month and the next seven days underneath it.  I keep marking off and adding on until the page is full and then start a new one by carrying forward the items not finished.  I always have several ongoing things on there, such as working on a certain quilt, working on Christmas gifts, etc.  When one of these on going items is done, its so satisfying to mark it off and NOT carry it forward!

Some time during each work day, I will check my list and decide which things I want to get done that night after work and the next morning before work.   The picture below is an actual example from one day last week.  Sometimes the items only take a minute.  Other times they may be a little more involved.  But they never take too long.

AM and PM notes

Some more examples from recent AM and PM notes:

Spend 5 minutes putting things away in bedroom
Spend 10 minutes organizing and cleaning in sewing room
Get items together for donating to thrift shop
Pin baste quilt 30 minutes
Order birthday gift for Eli
Send Sympathy Card
Send Get Well/Thinking of you card.
Sew binding on pumpkin runner

There is even an item on my to do list with ideas to post about on this blog!  Maybe I can be more regular about posting as a result of the AM and PM sticky notes.

The idea is that the to do list will never get done if I don't break it down into manageable tasks.  No matter how small the jobs are, they really do make a difference.  I have been getting much more done and it makes me feel like I am really accomplishing things.

I do the same thing for Saturdays and Sundays, but I can  accomplish more items since there is usually more time available.  So my AM note may contain things like doing laundry, cleaning, cooking and hopefully I can get more things done that I enjoy, such as quilting and sewing.  

One final tip:  Do you have a hard time remembering to take vitamins or other medications?  Put a reminder sticky note on your bathroom mirror.   Every time I brush my teeth, I see the note and go right straight into the kitchen where my pill organizer is and take the vitamins.

Do you have a tip for getting things done?

Have a great week!