Happy New Years! 2017 Â has arrived adding a new digit to the calendar. After all the excitement has ended after that one fabulous night of celebrating, those daunting questions and endless conversations with the topic of the month “what is your new years resolution” will begin to leave you wondering what can you fix or change in your life. The reality is that to create that change you’re desiring you really don’t need to wait until New Year’s Day to make adjustments in your life or tweak those little things you may not feel gratified with, you can easily make those changes each day, each morning is a new opportunity for that change. The biggest challenge of creating that list is holding yourself accountable and successfully accomplishing every task. The excitement of change can fuel your focus to tackle each item on your list but as the days countdown and our lives daily routine begin to interfere with your focus you may notice that your list isn’t being taken care of and somehow all those resolutions and life improvements you once desired just disappeared into a distant memory.
Here are 5 tips to keep you organized and on task in 2017!
1. Write your goals and resolutions down: Grab a journal, your favorite notebook, or a simple piece of paper and write down your list. Make your goals and resolutions black and white, this will allow you to create a concrete list. Your day to day activities and busy schedules can overshadow your focus. Once I create my list I place my list by my desk, this allows me to glance at it each day and keep me reminded of what my goals are.
2. Create lists: With the era of smartphones and applications you can easily create lists that will keep you organized and on task. Create lists to help keep all the tasks organized that need to be completed such as family to do’s, snacks for the multiple sports teams, grocery shopping lists, or household chore lists. I create a list for each member of my family and write the things that need to be completed for each of them in the next six months such as physicals, dental cleaning, and eye exams. I personally use the application Wunderlist.
3. Use a calendar to create schedules and deadlines:Â The simple task of using a physical planner or the calendar on your smartphone to create a personal calendar, a business calendar, and even a family calendar will allow you to stay on task and remain organized. If you are trying to manage multiple calendars you can easily overbook yourself and create a conflict or simply forget. I personally create a calendar for myself and one for my family, this allows me to plan my family days, vacation days, and must do’s weeks in advance and manage our schedules smoothly. I even block time off just to have quiet time to reenergize myself or have date night with my spouse that can easily be overlooked.
4. Create a family information board: If you have a large family like mine (we are the modern Brady family of 7 not including the dog and fish) then you can imagine how hard it is to try to pass information to each member of your family without repeating yourself over and over again. I found the perfect multi-use cork board and chalkboard that has allowed me to create a designated area where I placed a calendar that the whole family can glance and post their important invites or information that we can all see and even leave a note or request. Create this space in a high traffic area where the whole family is guaranteed to see it.
5. Create a financial budget and a list on a money management program or application: Having control over your finances will allow you to stay focused. With having a large family and each member having their own expenses using a money management program has allowed me to create itemized lists for each family member that will allow me to keep expenses categorized and up to date. I personally use the Mint application to manage my household finances.
