A New Scheduler for Projects

Things are so busy at Welcome to Crest Avenue.  Yesterday I decided we needed a new way to keep track of our projects, so I devised a new daily scheduler.  In the past I have depended on 4 x 6 index cards to keep track of everything.  That system has worked quite well for me.  However, recently I have found myself adding yellow sticky notes to the index cards.  Then some ideas were on sticky notes and some were on index cards and some index cards had items lined through that were completed with another yellow sticky note over top of that.  UGH!!!  It was driving me crazy.  I cannot stand to lose control.  I cannot afford to lose control.

So, I spent a little time yesterday getting some organization to things.  You do not need some fancy, advanced software to do this.  It can be done in Microsoft Word using the "Tables" feature.  It took a couple of hours to get my tables set up and all the information moved.  And here is what we are using now.

We start out with the names of retailer's that we frequently use and list what we need from each.

Page two lays out a To-Do List, Short-Term Projects and Long-Term Projects.

Page three has our Business Model and Product Ideas.

And page four contains blog post ideas and notes about the book.

Why, you might ask, don't you keep track of all this on your iPhone or tablet.  I cannot.  I am not of that generation.  I do not feel that either of those devices is going to work to keep me efficient.  They can help with efficiency.  But they cannot, on their own, keep things running smoothly.  Don't get me wrong.  I am never without my iPhone.  I keep it with me at all times to keep track of ideas that come to mind when I am without pen and paper.  And I will soon join the ranks of those who own a tablet.  More on that later.  But lists and charts are the only way I can keep track of what I need to keep track of.  I have been making lists and charts as far back as I can remember.  These four sheets also give me ample space to jot down ideas which can then be added to the chart at a later date.

If you are feeling you need a little more organization to your life, spend a little time with your word processing program and put together a chart.  It doesn't have to be four pages long.  You may be able to get hold of your life with a one page document.  It will ease your mind to have everything on paper.  It is also a wonderful feeling to be able to physically line through items with a pen or pencil as you get them done.  Then you get a second chance to feel you are accomplishing your goals when you log on and delete the rows that you have marked through.