If you know me, you know I’m a bit of a dingbat. My brain can be a sieve for things I have to remember or ideas I want to capture.
I’ve tried lots of systems over the years. A digital system definitely doesn’t work. Like a calander, for example, I need to be able to see the whole month to decide if I can make a commitment on a specific day. A single day’s viewing just doesn’t work with me.
I make a lot of lists, but I found I was carrying many items over as I rewrote lists. Some items have been on lists for a long time, but I’m not willing to say I’ll never use them. If you’re a writer or creative type, you’ll get this.
I want to share this year’s plan because it might bless you. It has already helped me and I’ve only been with it a few weeks.
I am done homeschooling but I wish I had thought of this then. Currently, I have personal/family stuff to track; courses and things I’m learning about the Internet, business and design; writing ideas for articles, blog posts and books; marketing ideas; other plans I need to save.
I bought the prettiest binder I could find. You could decorate yours to suit you.
Although I also carry a calendar, I put a printed one at the front of the binder so I could track things I plan to release or write on my website.
Each major area has a plastic divider with a pocket. Loose papers and things that need to be recorded are placed in the pocket. There is room between each divider for notebook paper – also colorful! – and the idea savers.
Shopping at an office supply store is – for me – as much fun as a candy store for a kid. I love pens and pencils and papers and everything! One day I went for a specific purchase and while browsing came across these plactic business card holders.
A light went off in my head!
I’ve seen some bloggers do something similar with Post-It notes, but I would be afraid they would fall off. So when I say the plastic business card holders, I thought – why not use these to track individual ideas! They won’t fall out, they can be moved around, and you can even color code them!
Here’s what my early ones look like:
I got these colorful flash cards – they are small – but you can also cut up regular index cards to fit in the pockets.
So there you have it! Each card carries an idea, notebook paper is for recording longer ideas, and pockets are for safekeeping scraps and other papers.
I’ll let you know how it’s going but I’m off to a great start!
