Wanna hear something scary? I went through my entire day, oblivious to the fact that it was my turn to post a blog here. Normally, I’m plan it in advance, and I get it written early in the evening. Nope. It’s after 10:30pm, and I am now just sitting down to write this.
I spaced on a recent TDP meeting. Just…forgot.
The other scary thing is that I have a planner. It’s called Commit30, and I thought it would be fun to try. But please note that the last time someone asked me to use a planner (teacher in high school), I did all my planning in my head and then wrote it all up the day it was due.
Because I usually plan in my head, and for years, it has worked. I was younger then, and I had a better memory.
Now? It seems that I need something more. The planner is cool, but I still have trouble finding the time to write stuff. I still plan in my head mostly. And, oddly enough, I write it in, but I rarely ever look at it after that. Epic fail.
I’ve also experimented with using the app Trello. It’s cool because I can do a version of Holly Lisle’s planning: one list for To Do, one list for Doing, and one list for Done. And then I move stuff along as I go. I’ve been using it with great success for camping to do lists, and recently when I was so overwhelmed with work that I felt I needed a backup that’s not in my head.
And that works well enough. Except for stuff like this.
I like the idea of lists, and especially with due dates. I’ve contemplated starting one for my reviews (I’m on 4 review teams, yikes!), because I have an ever-growing pile of books to review, some on a deadline and some not. I don’t want to forget them. So, I should put them on a list.
In case anyone’s wondering, I wing it at work. I make careful notes, and follow them. Sometimes I’ll put important stuff on my calendar, like a doctor appointment or when a rep is in town. But for the most part, it’s in my head or on notes.
I never dreamed I’d be this disorganized. I’ve never been a disorganized person. But I believe it’s time to start organizing myself. I came very close to forgetting this post today. And then tomorrow I’d have a flurry of tweets asking me what happened — which is great, because it would have reminded me, but also? It’s just plain embarrassing.
Third scary thing? It’s not like I didn’t have the time. I found myself pulled in by BS crap on the internet again. (Bad idea). So, I had the time and forgot and felt like a failure.
I know I’m not. And that I’m human. But I’d love to find a way to stop this from happening.
Any ideas? Do you have any methods that work for you?
Because I need a new method like whoa.