Stories of Things - The Calendars

I keep several calendars around the house in addition to my digital calendar. I have two year-at-a-glance wet-erase calendars (currently 2015-2016, adding 2017 this week) that show my conference schedule, my coaching sessions, workshop dates, phone calls and blog/article due dates. I suppose that all qualifies as "work stuff". I also use those wall calendars to red-X my tinychallenges, inspired by something I'd read once about Jerry Seinfeld's 'write a joke every day' strategy. You can read that post by James Clear -->here<--

I have a large desk calendar for keeping track of kid stuff in a way that they can interact with. The artwork and special notes you see in the photo were done by my six-year-old, Zia. I love the kids participation in the calendar updates, I think it's good for them to know where they can look to see what's happening in their world, and to contribute. Earlier in the year, Zia took the marker to several months throughout the year and told me the Fairy of Happiness had marked "Happy Days". And as much as I wish they loved school, there's beauty in seeing the enthusiastic visual expression for being on vacation. There's a lot to be learned from watching how kids think about planning.

While I'll make modest strides toward 'greener' ways of staying organized, these little interactions the kids have with the giant desk calendars are wonderful things that I would have a hard time letting go of anytime soon. It's fun and incredibly magical. 

Stories of Things - The ToDo Book

A bargain-bin blank journal that I've made my own, my ToDo book is nearing maximum capacity. As the flip of a New Year passes, I've started thinking about its replacement and glancing through all the history this lil guy holds of the past year-and-a-half of my life. I've tried every conceivable form of digital todo list, and I can't seem to keep up with them. My brain seems to understand writing things down the old-fashioned way.

Lists, ideas, focus, gaps in time, distraction, failure, accomplishment, discovery, memory, growth. It's really cool to see how and where my methods of organization have fallen short or succeeded in such a relatively short expanse of time. The most apparent thing is the reinforcement these books provide, of the importance of writing down your goals, and breaking them down. I like to use the last few pages to capture a retrospective of learnings and set up the goals, hopes, ideas and general ToDos that will carry me into my next year.

How to you keep track of your goals and tasks? Do you do it all in one place? Do you do it digitally or manually? Any tips or tricks you love?