The seminar presenter pulled out a wide-mouth gallon jar and placed it next to a pile of fist-sized rocks. After filling the jar to the top with rocks, he asked, "Is the jar full?"
The group replied, "Yes."
He then got some gravel from under the table and added it to the jar. The speaker jiggled the jar until the gravel filled the spaces between the rocks. Again, he asked, "Is the jar full?"
This time, the group replied, "Probably not."
The speaker then added some sand and asked, "Is the jar full?"
"No!" shouted the group.
Finally, the speaker filled the jar to the brim with water and asked the group the point of this illustration.
Someone replied that you could always fit more things into your life if "you really work at it."
"No," countered the speaker. The point is, if you don't put the big rocks in first, " . . . would you ever have gotten any of them in?"
As you start the new year, think of the "big rocks" in your life as the things you can do to make this a healthier and happier year for yourself and others.
I just ordered what they call an Integrated Day Planner with Monthly Goals, organizer, etc.
I like it because it helps organize your 'To-Do' list into
1) Top Priority (Urgent and Important)
2) High Value (Important, but Not Urgent)
3) Errands (Both Urgent and Not Important)
In addition to your schedule, in 30-minute increments, it has your daily goals AND the steps included to complete those goals. In other words, it helps you remember to BREAK DOWN those large projects into SMALLER SEGMENTS so they aren't so overwhelming. I don't know about all of you, but when I'm presented with an overwhelming task, sometimes I choose to do nothing at all. I have found that if I can just BITE OFF a chunk or 'step' toward that project, sometimes I'm reved up and ready to do the next step.
This particular planner/organizer also has what they call Daily Continuous Improvement Questions and an End of Day Progress Evaluation. I haven't used those yet, but they might be helpful.
It isn't necessary to have a formal planner and organizer such as this, but this one does use classic solutions to time management. It helps those of us who tend to be disorganized to have more structure in our day. Some of you are naturally organized and do all these things in your head, without having to write them down. I envy you that ability. These suggestions are for the rest of us. Go with what works for you as you put order into your life so you can accomplish the goals that are important to you.
In case anyone wants to look at this product, here's the link. Otherwise, ask me in March if it's working for me. :)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007SBLVNO/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00
ALSO, if any of you have a planner/organizer that is working for you, please talk about how it has helped you.
Thanks Linda! Like you, I am FAR from a natural organizer and it's something I need to keep on top of constantly...I envy people who have that ability also. I may have to try this organizer...although one thing I've found is that many day planners and organizers seem aimed at people who are already efficient and detail-oriented.
One tip I read years ago, that has helped me enormously, was to keep everything written in ONE book. In other words, not to have a calendar for appointments plus a day planner for work, plus a notebook for reminder notes or shopping lists. According to the book I read this in (it was a guide for the "hopelessly disorganized" that my poor frustrated mother gave me as a gif when I was a teenager)-- this is too much to keep track of. The author recommended instead using one notebook for ALL these things, and also for writing down things like package tracking numbers, to-do lists, and everything else.
This helped me enormously (thanks Mom!). Nowadays my smartphone serves many of these functions for me, except the daily to-do list which I still like to write on paper in my trusty notebook.
Carmel, I strongly agree with you about keeping everything in one book. I've found out the hard way, for example, that keeping my gardening journal in one place and my meetings and appointments in another just doesn't work for me. It all needs to be in one source. I believe what I'll make use of in this new planner/organizer that I've ordered is breaking down huge jobs into smaller segments so that I won't be overwhelmed, which leads me to procrastinate or do nothing at all. I'll probably keep it with my calendar. Then, when I have a huge project, I'll pull out a page, define the task, break it up into segments, and start on Step 1, Step 2, Step 3, etc. If it's an ongoing project, I'll keep it until it's completed. That's my plan for now anyway. We'll see how that works.
One thing I don't like about that new organizer is that you have to write in your own dates. If I do that and get off by one day, I'll think it's Tuesday when it's really Monday or Wednesday. I have enough trouble with that already! :)
Linda, I think you might have started something here. I just clicked the link to check it out and there are only 14 left in stock! So if any of you need to get this product, I strongly urge you to do it now. :)
I just started using a PlanAhead calendar that I bought. I realized a few months ago that I have to keep everything in one place because I'm losing it here with life. Since I started putting everything together in one place, it has been extremely helpful to get things done. Even my kids know to check this one book to see if they can stay after school the next day.
Regardless of what you use, I think the most important thing to do is to keep everything together in one place or you just don't know what you'll forget!
I just ordered my copy as a Christmas present to myself. I used to always have a Day Timer I carried aound with me, and I liked it, but it never was quite what I needed. This looks like it might be more the thing.
Yes, the idea of breaking down a huge job into smaller ones is vital, and if this organizer can help me do that, I am in! One thing I absolutely love about the way the Andrews curriculum is laid out is the way every section is broken into small, manageable, step-by-step pieces. And deadlines! As soon as I saw all that I knew I was in the right place!
I started this year off fresh with this planner and I have to say so far I like it. I can keep track of school work, important dates, etc,. but it also has plentry of room for my diet tracking (writing down everything I eat keeps me honest), my gardening plans and dates, my grocery list, my household chore schedule... It's so nice to find a planner that recognizes life has more than 8-5 business appointments.
Thanks Linda for the tip on this planner!
Terry
I'm bumping this for our newer students since I had a student bring it up to me recently. :)
I also want to add a note here that if you're having trouble getting a study schedule to work for you to fit in all your assignments by your deadline, you can always email or call me for suggestions and advice. Study schedules for online courses like ours are NOT one-size-fits-all, and often what works for one student will make things harder for another. I'm happy to go over your general schedule and your study habits with you and offer ideas for ways to tailor your studies to better fit with everything else. I've done this with plenty of other students, so you won't be alone if you want some help!
Also, please feel free to add to this thread with any ideas or suggestions you want to share with other students for study tips, organization help, or even how to wrangle the spouse/kids/pets while you try to read a chapter or finish a test!
-Glenda