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LLMom
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| Posted: May 05 2010 at 6:49am | IP Logged
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I have all of these wonderful ideas for organzing. I have them all set up, but then I don't follow through. It is not an issue of laziness; I truly want to implement these things. But the end of the day comes and I notice that I have a stack of papers on my planner that I didn't stick in my handy little file, or I didn't even look at the planner to see what I needed to do. ANy ideas on making these things habits?
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Lisa
For veteran & former homeschool moms
homeschooling ideas
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Mimip
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| Posted: May 05 2010 at 7:13am | IP Logged
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The way I make something a habit I make myself consequences and rewards. I'll give you a perfect example. I am NOT a morning person. In fact I'm a big night owl but night owls don't have to teach and take care of their little ones at 7 am so I needed to train myself to wake up (and go to sleep) to fit our real life schedule. So I made myself a reward and consequence chart. If I got up and did prayers before 6:30, I would get on the computer in the morning, of not I had to wait until after lunch. It only took about 2 weeks of M-F wake ups at 6 am to get my body to make it a habit:)
Maybe for the planner you could set up pegs around when you need to look at it... maybe right before meals? Or when you finish your oldest math? Or maybe right after you brush your teeth in the morning? I find that you have to be intentional about it. Just like making a meal or brushing your teeth.
Hope that helps. I have struggled a lot in the past with this and these peg techniques really helped making a habit out of things:)
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In Christ,
Mimi
Wife of 16 years to Tom, Mom of DD'00, DD'02, '04(in heaven) DS'05, DS'08 and DS '12
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: May 05 2010 at 7:26am | IP Logged
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I agree with Mimi about pegging it to something else. I've learned to do that with any time I want to start a new habit. What is something you do everyday no matter what? I need to get into the habit of checking what's on the menu for dinner for not only tonight, but the next night too, to see if I need to defrost something. So, next to each entry on the menu I will put a sticky note that says "Check tomorrow for what to defrost".
Hopefully it will become a habit and I can get rid of the sticky notes.
As far as that stack of papers, maybe you're a piler and not a filer? I'm a piler and it took me a long time to accept that!  But it doesn't mean I have to have piles of stuff laying around. I have baskets set up in strategic places for various things. Instead of opening a file drawer and looking for the file in which to place something, I put it in the right basket. Retrieval does take more time, but no more than when I had to look through stacks of mail or whatever on my kitchen counter. I don't want to belabor the point, but I also want to add that I do have a file system, but it's not something I add to on a regular basis. I set it up at the beginning of the year and filed things that I knew I would need for each feast day or holiday (anything with an actual date). I do use that system, but like I said, it was a one time set up and I rarely add anything to it, but I do take things out of it.
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
Academy Of The Good Shepherd
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LLMom
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| Posted: May 05 2010 at 10:00am | IP Logged
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Thanks Becky and Mimi. I figured I probably ought to tack it onto my morning or evening routine (ala Flylady). Becky, can you explain how your baskets are set up and what size you use. I think I am a piler instead of a filer. Do you label your baskets? PLease share! Any other ideas appreciated.
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Lisa
For veteran & former homeschool moms
homeschooling ideas
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Angel
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| Posted: May 05 2010 at 10:08am | IP Logged
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About planners -- I have always had that problem with planners, too. In the past I would buy them and use them for a week and that was it! For me it was less about making the planner a habit than realizing that planners just weren't what I needed. I need to be able to see the importantt stuff or it will just get buried in a pile. I do much better with a wall calendar and lists that go on my refrigerator. I do keep our learning notes in a notebook/journal, but that is always out on top of the microwave, open to the page I need to write on.
If it's out of sight, it's definitely out of mind for me.
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Angela
Mom to 9, 7 boys and 2 girls
Three Plus Two
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: May 05 2010 at 12:53pm | IP Logged
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Hi Lisa,
I don't label my baskets, but that is a good idea.
To determine where to put them, I really just looked around to see where "piles" naturally happen around here. Flylady calls them "hot spots". (I'll give you some Amazon links so you can see what my baskets sort of look like. Mine aren't necessarily the exact basket in the pictures though.)
So, I have two in the kitchen on the counters. They look something like these One of them is for my husband's mail, and since he takes care of paying bills, he get's those too. If I'm cleaning up and I come across a book he is reading, I put that in his basket. The other day I came across a screwdriver that he was using to fix something in the basement. Into his basket it went. When he goes through his mail, he will find these other items as well and put them away, or take care of them. My basket is used for the same purpose. Mostly the mail that I don't "file in the trash" and other items I need to deal with. I try to keep my planner near my basket so if I put something in there that needs attention, I can write it as a "to do" in my planner, so I don't forget.
If it's really important, and needs my attention in the next day or two, that goes on the fridge, in a clip magnet.
I also have 3 baskets in my laundry room. Two on top of the dryer (where piles happen) and one in the closet. The one is the closet is for stray socks that don't have a mate. I take it out on Saturday night while my family is watching a movie and try to match them all then. The two on the dryer are for various things. One is small for things like pencils that I take out of my ds's pockets. The other is larger for small toys and items that belong in our basement toyroom that get brought, and left upstairs. These are similar to the baskets in the picture above, the largest and smallest sizes.
I have 2 baskets under my computer where I store the stuff I use to plan the school year. One, I use for my "file crate system". The other holds the teachers books, syllabi, and other things I need for school planning. These look more like this.
Thennnn, I have baskets for books! There's one in my bedroom, by my rocker that contains the books I am reading plus a few baby books for when I'm rocking a little one. There are two in our sunroom that hold books we use in the morning, and books we use at tea time. I have a basket by the couch in the living room that holds library books and other books the kids like to read. All of these are about the size of the ones above, except they are of various styles.
Some day I would love to have some of the beautiful Londonberger baskets, but I'm still saving for those! Mine are sort of an eclectic mixture. I'm thinking there are more around here that I'm so used to seeing I don't actually notice anymore. If I find one I'll update.
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
Academy Of The Good Shepherd
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: May 05 2010 at 1:05pm | IP Logged
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If you're a piler who would love to have nice neat files.. you can have a two tier system.. baskets for piles and then have a set time (first of each month for instance) that you take your basket and file away what needs filing.
And a bulletin board is also a wonderful thing for posting important papers, things that need immediate attention.. things that you NEED to not lose. 
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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MicheleQ
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| Posted: May 05 2010 at 8:32pm | IP Logged
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I am very "out of sight out of mind" too. It took me some time to get used to using my planner. I keep it open on my desk right next to my monitor where I can't miss it. I use a book stand (just ordered a new pretty one!) and use sticky notes all over it as well. I have a wall file folder right in front of me and a bulletin board.
But all that being the case I STILL struggle to stay organized and I think a lot of it just has to do with me being more right brained in my thinking. My husband is very left brained and it comes naturally to him. I have to work at it!
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Michele Quigley
wife to my prince charming and mom of 10 in Lancaster County, PA USA
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4Real Forums : Planning and Ordering our Days
Topic: forming an organization habit
