Organisation Is The Key!

The key to what, I don't know, but it definitely makes life easier.

For the last couple of days I've been planning a weekend away with Justin and my two best friends Matt and Katrina.
Matt, who has the most ridiculous social life, had no idea what he was meant to be doing this weekend. I then stupidly volunteered to make him a calendar to help him work out what he had planned. I thought about it constantly for over an hour, going over all of the different styles that could work. I decided to made one from scratch, with A2 poster paper.

* 2 months of the amazing new calendar I made for Matt*

I thoroughly enjoy being organised. My desk may look terrible, but everything has it's place, and my social life is no different. When I was entering things into my diary, I would use code and icons. For example, below you can see my entry for Spud Fest, there is a little music note at the top, which signals it's a gig. I also use a little party hat, to signal a party, an old school movie reel for a movie etc etc. It was working, until I became lazy and couldn't be bothered drawing everything in.

*Please excuse my terrible handwriting!*

 

 My books, in all three of my bookcases, are grouped according to genre, then alphabetically by author. If there is a series of books, then they're organised differently. I will store them in the order they were released. It infuriates me when they have 4 or 5 books in one size/style and then release one or two in a different size! It ruins the whole look of my bookcase!
It took me a while to get it right, and every now and then, I go through all three cases and redo them. Every time I buy new books, they are added to their own sections.

So, my advice for being organised?

1. Pick your poison: I tried having a diary that a kept with me at all times, but I found I kept leaving it everywhere that I wasn't! Now I use my phone calendar (Samsung Galaxy S3, S Planner) and my big wall calendar at home. Try a few different ways, and pick what suits you best.
2. Erase away: I write everything in pencil first. Having a version of your calendar that can be erased can be a life saver. No more throwing out bits of paper because you've written in pen and scribbled it out. I do it that way, because then I know when I'm definitely booked in (I've already bought tickets, sent my RSVP) and when I still need to confirm/decide. Pencil vs Pen.
3. Add it now: As soon as you know you need to do something, or have been invited somewhere, write it in your diary/calendar now! There's nothing worse than promising someone you'll be somewhere, then 2 months later getting an upset call or text because you forgot all about it!
4. Colours: Try colour coding. Work in blue, parties in red, family events in green etc. It gives you a good idea of what you've got planned, without having to look closely at the details. This works best on wall calendars because you can see multiple weeks/months at a time.
5. If you're using a planner/diary, block out the time you'll be busy. There's nothing worse that trying to get from a meeting at work, to lunch with friends, when you don't give yourself any travel time. If you know your work meeting will take an hour, block out that full hour. It will give you a better idea of how much spare time you really have.

So ladies and gents, I'm going to start planning my next trip away, now. I'm thinking September...


Jayde xx