Get Organized (Part Four): Home Cleaning & Organizing Weekly Planner

Well so far my weekly planners have included tools to help organize business, spiritual, and health & fitness pursuits.  The last most-obvious planning tool would be for conquering clutter and messes in the home.

I used to be a big supporter of the 'don't sweat the small stuff' ideology when it came to clutter--if I could locate something in a reasonable amount of time it was "organized" and in the grand scheme of things, a made bed or matched socks didn't rank high enough to be bothered with.

I find now as the sheer amount of potential mess and clutter in my life increases (two kids, a home business) the more taking care of all those little things really does matter.  It makes me feel more peaceful and in control when  my home looks clean and uncluttered.  It makes spaces feel larger, and it invites tackling new projects because starting something new doesn't require cleaning up and moving a bunch of things out of the way.  It also helps spare precious moments from being used looking for things. In general, there's a tangible positive energy when things are in order.  Not to mention I don't have to fear the short notice drop in by a friend or family member.

But even though we, as a family, have grown leaps and bounds as far as breaking bad clutter habits and keeping things relatively tidy in recent months, with all the mental multi-tasking that I have to do, it's easy to overlook things I wanted to do at the start of the week but forgot about. Having a centralized place to jot down all those ideas (think New Years resolution to get organized broken up into mini-goals, like "develop a better organizational system for the business receipts than "the box") keeps me focused and accountable.  Once I see it on paper, the urge to get it done so it can be literally and emotionally "crossed off" is great.

So with this in mind, my weekly planner has sections for things that need organized, cleaned, or purchased (no more stray scratch paper grocery lists that get misplaced, or that must-have menu item forgotten) as well as a spot for priority errands, AND a spot to check off all the things that should get done pretty much every day.

One bit of advice that I put to use with wonderful results is that it's easier to keep clean than to get clean.  A daily set of basics to keep the household clean and tidy makes for that always-spruced-up feeling that is so wonderful.  I wash dishes and laundry daily, vacuum high traffic areas such as the living room and under the dining room table pretty much daily as needed (these are the first areas you see walking in, so having the rugs clear of crumbs and other toddler fodder really makes a difference), and do a cursory wipe down of the kitchen and bathroom surfaces.  A quick easy wipe-down daily is a lot easier than waiting for grime to build and having to use elbow grease to tackle it.  Making the bed will help you stay out of it and make the bedroom look nice and peaceful for bedtime.  Avi is expected to clean up her toys daily.  We intentionally have a smaller kitchen trash can so that it needs emptied almost daily (reduces smells, germs, and the likelihood the dog will get into it), and right before bed we pick up all the little things and put them in their homes (remote controls, magazines, etc).

But even though I do these things daily, it's nice to be able to check them off of a list, because then I can see that I have, indeed, been productive, especially if I can't make it to larger tasks on a given day. It can be a great confidence boost to see those things get checked off!

Download the Weekly Home Cleaning & Organizing Planner here.

Don't forget to check out the other parts of this series--all with free weekly planners:  small business, spiritual, and  health & fitness!

Get Organized (Part Three): Health & Fitness Planning

Most of us have New Years resolutions that involve some sort of fitness goals.  I just had a baby this Thanksgiving, so I can definitely relate (2 C-sections = no ab muscles! Ow!).  You probably (or should) know by now there aren't any quick fixes, and the best advice is still: Eat Well, Move More.

I'm going to focus my fitness efforts on manageable, incremental goals. Nobody does well with a goal statement like: I'm going to weigh as much as I did in 12th grade! It's grandiose and so far in the distance it's doomed to fail.  But little goals like "I'm going to do at least 30-minutes of fitness-related physical activity 4 days a week" for the first month is totally doable.

It takes 30 days to break a bad habit (or so they say) so claiming you're going to "not eat any junk food ever" is probably not going to work for you but "every time I want junk food I'm going to drink a glass of water first" is a pretty simple starting point that will help reduce snack calorie intake.

There are resources ad nauseam about what to do to improve your eating habits and how/when/where to workout, so I'm not going to delve into all that here.  But the most common advice that I've had some success with includes:

Drink more water (both because your body needs it, and because science suggests our thirst mechanism is so weak now that we often mistake thirst for nonspecific hunger, so drinking water will reduce your snack cravings)

Write it down (writing down what you eat puts you face to face with your bad decisions later, so it holds you accountable)

Move More (it's frigid cold in Ohio winters, so taking a walk in the park is not always doable, especially with a newborn.  Even if it's low-impact indoor activity-- yoga, stability ball, calisthenics, etc. something is better than nothing even if you can't go to the gym or get as good a workout as you'd like, so don't use that as an excuse to skip physical activity altogether).

So my weekly planner incorporates those tidbits of healthy habit building.  There is a spot to tally your water intake and vitamins (girls, you need more calcium than you think, and B-vitamins help with those winter blahs!),  to write what you ate for meals and snacks (or use it as a menu planner), and to record your physical activity.  There's also a spot to write your weekly goal as a reminder, and to make notes that might be useful as you conquer bad habits (like "I always want a cookie after I have to yell at my daughter!").

Just try to keep in mind that how you feel is more important than the numbers (especially if you're developing muscle--it weighs more, think 'how do my jeans fit? instead) and to forgive yourself transgressions (better to have a slice of cheesecake or whatever your downfall than to deprive yourself until you go on a massive brownie bender later), and whatever happens, just get back on track!

Best of luck with your health and fitness goals this year!

Download the FREE PDF for the Weekly Health & Fitness Planner here.

And if you have other areas in your life that could use an organizational spruce-up, check out my free downloadable (and customizable) Weekly Spiritual Planner and my Small Business Planner.

Get Organized (Part Two): Spiritual Planning

It may sound counterintuitive but spiritual planning may be a useful tool to purposefully plan time in one's hectic week for faithful considerations.  One of my goals this year is to develop my knowledge and understanding of the rich history and traditions within my faith, and even though I have a Reform Jewish affiliation which doesn't adhere to Orthodox rituals, I would like to be more aware of what other types of Jews do and believe.  I would also like to be able to read a little Hebrew by the end of the year--which includes learning a new alphabet that is not in English letters but symbols and learn to read right to left, among other challenges.

I've discovered a plethora of online sources to further Jewish learning, from live streaming services and classes via OneShul.org, a decentralized, non-specific Jewish affiliation, layperson led resource, to an immense quantity of audio lectures from Chabad.org, free Podcasts to help learn Hebrew on iTunes library and more.  Specifically writing down which resources I want to check out can help make the difference between just knowing they are there and hoping to "get around" to them and actually utilizing these resources.

I included a place for notes or reflections and a general statement of a monthly goal on my planning worksheet--not so I can tick off my "progress" as in seeing how many classes I can finish, etc., but so that I actually pause to think about what I want to learn and why, and reflect on how it may be incorporated (or not) into my life.  Over time I'll be able to view my previous notes and see how these have changed or recall something particular that stood out for me.

You can download the Word document template for free at the end of this post.  It can be altered to reflect your faith or denomination and its schedule.  Use it not as a "to do" list but as permission to schedule time for your spiritual growth this year.

Download Monthly Spiritual Planner.

See Get Organized (Part One): Business Planning for more free worksheets you can use to organize your small business or professional goals this year.

Get Organized (Part One): Business Planning Weekly

The new year is a time for resolutions, and every magazine I've read lately is replete with tips, hints, and other advice on how to achieve those lofty New Years goals, despite the daunting statistical evidence that suggests many will give up by the end of our first month, and almost all of us will within 6 months.


The part of "resolution" that gets people hung up is not the goal setting but the lacking in root of the word: resolute, which means "admirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering."  


But it's difficult to be these things without a clearly defined target that can inspire that purpose and determination.  I know that I have a general idea where I want business things to go, and some idea how to get there, but all the little things that pop into my head on a regular basis--good ideas, inspirations, etc. tend to get lost in the daily grind.  I find myself looking back on "To-Do" lists that were either so cumbersome they were doomed to fail before they got started or too vague to be more than a suggestion.  


As I juggle two kids and a household to maintain, I find more and more that I need to see clear and concrete goals and the steps required to complete them on paper.  These don't need to be large goals, in fact, the larger, the more vague, so this year I'm going to try a new approach by just focusing the majority of my attention on one week at a time.  With an eye towards the longer term, breaking down goals into weekly portions can provide accessible and attainable steps towards the greater picture with the rewards of seeing specific progress as I check off all the things I did that I wanted to do.  It's flexible enough I don't risk feeling like a failure if "Item #5" didn't get done on Wednesday, per se, as long as it got done that week, but it's finite enough that there is a sense of urgency to get things done within the time frame specified.

There are tons of things I wish to accomplish this year, spanning quintessential life categories such as business, spiritual, and personal. It would be difficult to remember every thing that I think would enrich my life in these categories.  And since I'm constantly finding new sources of inspiration, the lists would be long and fluid.  I don't wish to think of these as a finite list of things that need to be "done" since we are always growing and changing, but I do want to keep better track of the ideas for growth and my progress.  I could come up with numerous ways to improve my life, household, or business, but if I never actually get to any of them, the inspirations are lost. 


So to simplify, I'm going to do a better job of chronicling on paper what I wish to accomplish in a given week or month on separate sheets.  I can make manageable weekly goals, and over time I'll be able to see what I have (or haven't) accomplished.  I'll be able to see which items regularly don't get done on time, and I can either evaluate them (maybe they're just not important enough) or determine that I need to change my routine and re-prioritize so that I do have time to get it done.

  


To start this endeavor, I created a Business Overview Planner, which generally outlines what I hope to accomplish this year for growing Sine Metu Designs, and then specifically what needs to happen on a monthly, weekly and daily basis to accomplish those things.  Then I created a Weekly Business Planning sheet where I can notate what needs to be done each week with a place for my weekly goals, daily checklist, to define a weekly project, write ideas for my weekly blog posts, etc. 


Obviously these are geared towards an artisan small business, but you could adapt them easily for whatever business you run or just your personal professional objectives to help you attain or advance a career.  


Download them FREE here:


Business Overview Planner
Weekly Business Planning Sheet


These are available as Word documents so you can generate your own text and tweak as needed.  Once the Google Docs site opens click "Download Original."  Do NOT try to print from the preview because the formatting has been skewed by Google Docs.  The formatting is fine if you click Download Original (upper right) and select open when your computer prompts you.  Then you can save to your hard drive.  


Let me know in the comments if there are any problems and I can email them to you!

Don't Miss All the Newness of the New Year

This morning, after a challenging night of fussy baby consoling and few hours of uninterrupted sleep, I begrudgingly fumbled around to get dressed and bundled up to take my increasingly anxious dog outside.  He could barely contain himself as I made several half-starts at the door-- oops, forgot to grab a bag, now where did the leash go? I better grab a real coat not just this flimsy hooded wrap, etc.  But as we finally got out the door he bounced around wagging and sniffing excitedly while my eyes struggled to adjust to the cold, bleak brightness.  How could my furry friend be so giddy to frolic around at this wee morning hour (besides the obvious opportunities to urinate on about a dozen different 'special' spots invisible to me) while I shivered and lamented the season's utter greyness?  To him, the first morning walk signals a new day--a comforting, reliable beginning of a daily routine that will be shortly followed by a refilled food bowl, refreshened water bowl, and at least a third of whatever I make myself for breakfast (he hopes it's a cheese omelette with turkey sausage, he told me so).  I can practically hear him chanting "Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy!" from his body language, overjoyed that these things have been put into motion as soon as I start groaning about getting up to take him out.

Garrett, my always-happy mutt

Even to a dog, the freshness of a new day is recognized.  How often do we get out of bed and feel that way about a new day?  After all, days keep coming, and more often than not, there is nothing all that spectacular about the next one.  And yet, we're primed to be excited about all things new.  As I stood in the courtyard of our new apartment community, a quirky vintage French Quarter themed establishment, the giant multi-tiered fountain with its ornate French styling looked gloomy rather than inviting, as it stands empty against the grey sky--dead leaves lie where bubbling water will run in several months.  The courtyard itself, missing the humming of activity since the adjacent movie theatre is now on its limited winter hours, and the restaurant and night club are perfectly silent this cold morning. Not one sound of children running around despite it being a clear weekend day, nor dogs barking as people walk past their windows--just the sound of Garrett sniffing, and my own breath puffing a billow of fog in the chilly air.

Today it's 33-degrees here in Columbus, Ohio, and I thought for a moment on how 33 will feel so much warmer later, in the depths of winter, after a big snow has left a blanket of sparking white everywhere, when the wind stops and the sun hangs low--when I step out I will undoubtedly remark about how warm 32-degrees feels.  But today, on the back of a string of days in the upper 40's and into the 50's, 33-degrees with a chilled wind in the air, surrounded by a grey bleakness, it feels absolutely inhospitable.

 I couldn't help but anticipate the surge of energy the new year will bring to this atmosphere--when life in general will seem renewed with fresh ideas, goals, and "newness" even as the greyness of winter persists.  This got me thinking-- how powerful is our concept of time and our associations with designations of 'newness' that in the middle of winter, with nary an environmental clue to anything different (a stark contrast to the sense of newness that comes with the emergence of Spring, and the symbolic triumph of  bright green seedlings sprouting through frost-hardened soil) we can attach a feeling of freshness just because our calendar year will switch to a new numeric value.

We've taken an entirely man-made concept of time (our own calendar having been constructed not too terribly long ago in the grand scale of human history) and attached deeper meanings to the passage of one day which marks the end of one year into another. And yet, once the festivities conclude, many of us view (however briefly) the New Year as a time for self-improvement.  Perhaps it's the feeling of a fresh start, a clean slate, when we can forgive ourself for the failings of last years' resolutions, and which motivates us to try again.

 It would be a shame to waste all this positive energy on just New Years though.

Since we can see that there is really no significant difference between the last day of 2011 and the first day of 2012 except that which we choose to bestow, we can harness that power of the mind to create 'special' times throughout the year as well--imbuing this new year with many new Fresh Starts filled with that same productive energy.  We already have many cues in place to remind us of all the Newness spread throughout the year, and if we pay attention, we can find more.

The calendar year may start in January and conclude in December, but if you have children or are still a student yourself, you are on another calendar which begins sometime at the tail end of summer and concludes just at the end of spring--the school year.  A new school year can mark exciting transitions in academic, social and personal growth, and we make it special with a fresh lot of school supplies, some new clothes, and perhaps even a new organizational system and some new goals, or new year resolutions, if you will.

Then there are other calendars in which that you may participate.  If you are, or have friends who are, of a non-Christian faith, such as myself, there is undoubtedly a different calendar involved.  Since I'm Jewish, our spiritual New Year (Rosh Hashanah) falls at a predictable date on the Hebrew calendar (which is a lunar-based calendar) but on different days each year on the Gregorian calendar (usually sometime in September).

Rosh Hashanah symbols: the shofar horn,
which is blown to signal the new year, and
pomegranates, for luck and prosperity.

You might know someone who celebrates the Chinese New Year (usually between late January and late February-based on a lunar cycle) or the Hindu New Year (usually in April-when the Sun enters a special position).  In fact in many other places in the non-English world, calendars and holidays are tied to lunar phases, and equinoctes and solstices, or on indigenous ancient calendars, or just when spring arrives.  The more you learn how the concept of time is strictly a product of where you were born and the cultural or religious 'tribe' to which you belong, the more January 1st seems rather arbitrary.

On the Jewish calendar, each new month is special.  We even have a special name for the transition from one month to the next, Rosh Chodesh; it's like a mini-holiday at sundown of the last day of the month, which means a new moon is arriving, and has significance in a variety of biblical passages.  And if you consider the oft-cited suggestion that new habits take 30 days to form, a special recognition of each new month can mean many new opportunities to improve yourself throughout the year.

The lunar phases

 Indeed, one tidbit of the Hebrew lexicon that I find so inspiring, is that the word that approximates sin, chet, is derived from an old archery term which roughly means 'to miss the mark.'    As there is no condemnation to any firey pits of hell in the Jewish tradition, the overall concept of sin is that people are typically good, and "sin" is the product of our 'missing the mark'--bound to happen with imperfect beings.  And every time we 'miss the mark' (any time when we were not as good as we could have been) we are afforded a new attempt to hit that target.

So celebrate the Newness of the New Year, come up with all those lofty resolutions.  Clean your house, organize your life.  But as the year drags on, don't forget to observe all the other signs of Newness that pop up throughout the year.  Each one can have the same positive energy--the permission to forgive ourselves for missing the mark, the courage to pick up and shoot again;  That fresh start, the blank slate--a new shot at hitting that target.

Open source, copyright-free images courtesy of Dream Time