Get Organized: Tap the Power of Planners

Imagine a genie, a butler, a secret servant at your fingertips. Someone who remembers everything: when your kindergartner got his last round of immunizations, the name and number of that other Mom in the soccer carpool, what your second cousin named her latest baby. Someone who whispers into your ear, like the nomenclatores of ancient Rome, reminding you of who and what and where in every transaction of your life.

Every home manager needs this informational paragon, but no one has to scour deserted beaches for a jeweled bottle. This secret servant is called a planner--and every home manager worth her gym socks needs to have one.

What is a planner? It's a collection of information, portable and accessible. There are only two rules for planner use: use a single planner, and take it with you everywhere. No sticky notes, no stacks or scraps of paper, no notes on the back of the phone book. One planner, surgically attached to your body. Into it goes everything, every name, address, phone number, idea and list.

Form is not important. Some home managers use simple 3-ring notebooks with our free printable calendars and forms, others lay out big money for creamy leather binders and pretty pre-printed pages.

Tech-minded home managers tote a PDA in a shirt pocket: a small Personal Digital Assistant like a Palm PDA or a Pocket PC pocket computer. All of these are planners--and all will serve as a stabilizing rudder in the maelstrom of a home manager's life.

What's in a planner? Every home manager has different needs, but these are the basic components of a planner:

Calendars

Calendars are the backbone of a planner. Most crucial is the date book or appointment calendar. Whether a month, a week, or a day at a time, the date book component gets you where you're going, and on time, too. Note work schedules, children's activities, doctor appointments, class meetings, social events and the arrival of the dreaded workmen in the appointment calendar. One glance will tell you whether you can chaperone a field trip, or whether you'll be home waiting for the cable installer that day.

Birthday CalendarAnnual calendars record recurring information. Birthdays, anniversaries and holidays can be recorded once and remembered forever. Annual calendars prevent scheduling disasters. Church deacons won't schedule the annual meeting for Superbowl Sunday and Cub Scout den leaders won't hold the Blue-and-Gold Banquet during Ski Week if they create and carry an annual calendar.

Finally, planning calendars track projects and guide goals. An ambitious home redecorating plan becomes possible when broken down into weekly goals and noted on the planning calendar. Planning calendars prepare for vacation, carry out fall cleaning, and get ready for the holidays. It's a tool to track emphasis and direction at any one time.

Free Printable Calendars

To-Do Lists