Getting organized for the new year
[1]I keep a ridiculous number of lists: movies I want to see, books I
want to read, groceries I need to buy, recipes I want to try, things
I have to do, letters I should write, gifts I wish to give, music I
want to have my son hear, my lofty someday goals. These lists are
handwritten --- I tried to keep them digitally but kept writing
things down on sticky notes and then sticking the notes to my iPhone.
A key component of being organized is knowing yourself, and I'm a
handwritten list maker.
At the start of every year, I get a new notebook [2] and copy the
lists from the old notebook into the new. I grab a big cup of coffee,
light a fire in the fireplace, and curl up under a warm blanket with
the notebook and a good pen. I recopy the lists for a few reasons:
* My notebook gets beaten up during the year and I'm ready for a new
notebook every 12 months.
* The copying process is a tradition I really enjoy.
* When going through the lists, I can change my preferences, reorder
my lists, and eliminate things I did/saw/tried that I forgot to
cross off over the course of the year.
* The old lists become recordings of my life over the past year.
Since I don't keep a diary, this is the closest thing I have.
Obviously, the lists also help keep me organized.
What traditions do you complete at the end of the year or start of the
new year that help to keep you organized? How do you enjoy these
traditions? Do you keep lists? Share your organizing traditions in the
comments.
*Like this site? Buy Erin Rooney Doland's _Unclutter Your Life in One
Week [3]_ from Amazon.com [4] today.*
Links:
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[1] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000STK2WO/unclutterer-20/
[2] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000STK2WO/unclutterer-20/
[3] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/143915046X/unclutterer-rss-20/
[4] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=unclutterer-20&path=subst/home/home.html
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