5 After 5, Ways to track/plan everything

How do you track or plan everything to keep up with your busy schedule?

I'm listing 5 ways I do it and can't wait to read yours!



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It's time for another round of 5 After 5!  In case you missed it, last week's list was 5 things in your morning routine and if you're new to this series, you can read more about it here - then catch up on all the old editions here.


Today I've got my list of 5 to share, as well as next week's topic for you to stew about over the upcoming days.


And this series is a link party, so be sure to scroll down and join in all the fun with us this week!




List 5 ways to track/plan everything


We kind of covered some of these things back on this week of 5 After 5, but it never hurts to revisit a topic again and see the changes. Plus, I just love lists, as you'll see:


1.  White Board

These are mainly times we'll be out of the house, like Gv's red "Blast" (church) & "BCP" (park story time) or all my green rink time on the weekend, but it's also helpful to remember things like G's orange "no students" or my reminder to pay the bills tomorrow...

We keep our Master Calendar on Cozi, but find it's helpful to have things in our faces a bit more during the week.

Everyone has their own color code - green for me, orange for G, red for Gv, blue for the family and purple for Grammy & Papa. We list the current week as well as the one ahead, just so we know what's coming up.

As you can see, we also kind of keep a running grocery list underneath, which can get really messy when it's time to head to the store. I'll also write down things that we've misplaced or other notes, like the current one in green on the right, that says, "screwdriver fell behind dryer."

2.  Weekly Checklist

I know. I have a problem. It's called check-off-the-list-itis.

I really like to check things off lists. So I have this little spreadsheet I print out each week with all my usual tasks and then I can add extra things to the bottom.

I start my day off by getting through as much of the list as I can before Gv wakes up and then...

3.  Daily List

It's not unusual for me to mark off all the things on one side, fill up the other and even get a whole new paper in the course of one day!

Whatever I haven't gotten done first thing, or whatever little things crop up during the day get written down on a little scrap of paper (so I can mark them off, of course!)

This usually includes cooking stuff -- either things I'm making later today or reminders to take things out of the freezer for later in the week.


4.  Master Lists

These usually start off really neat, then quickly get very, very messy...

I have a spiral notebook full of all our master lists. There's a page for me, one for G, one for things to take care of for Gv, another for the blog and one for house projects...

These are all the long-term projects that need to be done. I try to pull a couple things off these lists to add to the weekly list each week, but honestly, sometimes (like now), it takes months before I check back in with these lists.

It really helps cut down on my stress, though, to know that everything's written down somewhere so it's not forgotten, but also that I don't have these insanely long to-do lists staring me in the face each day!

5.  Calendar


Blog posts calendar

I keep a paper calendar on my desk for my blog posts and another in my skating binder to keep track of lessons.

Again, I like to mark things off...

I used to always print out cutesy calendars to use for things like this, but once we started using the one on the white board, I just want something fast and easy next to me.



For next week:


Favorite Classical Pieces


I already know I'm going to have a difficult time narrowing down my list, but at least I'll have plenty of great options to choose from.

I can't wait to see what you share!



That's right, every post will be read, pinned and tweeted!  

Every Saturday, just stop by one of our blogs to add your own list of five, then pop over and read as many other posts as you're able to each week - treat it like a true party and really mix it up and mingle with our fun little community!

The rules are simple:  just write your own list following the prompt each week (feel free to interpret it loosely - or in a unique way!), follow both of the hosts on the social media channel of your choice, and then get into the spirit of the party by grabbing your favorite beverage or snack and reading the lists of the other party-goers.



Your Hosts:

Lisa, at Syncopated MamaFacebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin'
Samantha, at Motivated DaysTwitter // Pinterest // Google+ 



What's your list?  I'd love to hear!  Either leave a comment below or email me at lisahealy (at) outlook (dot) com.

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