My High Tech Planner ;-)

I am a list maker.

Honestly, if I don't write something down, I forget all the things I need to do!

I have tried so many different planning tools over the years from day planners to Blackberries to chalkboards hung in my kitchen...what works best for me is notebooks.

Just plain, old, cheap, wire bound, college ruled notebooks.

When the girls were babies I had a little one that I kept with me at all times, I had a grocery list in there as well as cleaning tasks, errands, phone calls to make, etc.

Now that my girls are older and we homeschool, I need more space to write, so I have started using a regular size composition book.  I use one page per day.  It has EVERYTHING on it.

I list chores, schoolwork, errands, appointments, menus, etc.

a simple composition book is the best planner for me

When I used fancy planners, I felt bad when I had to cross stuff out.  I was always trying to keep them neat.  Life is not neat.  Life is messy. At least my life is messy.  There are lots of plans that get cancelled or postponed or rearranged.  This week we were going to have my mom's meatballs for dinner one night, but Jason has a dinner meeting so why should I even bother heating food?  we might as well go out!  We had a third opinion appointment with an orthodontist scheduled for next week but the whole deal is causing me such anxiety that I moved all the appointments to this week...so we can gather info and make a decision soon because it's causing sleepless nights here.

I rarely get more than a day ahead

When I try to plan a few days in advance, even with school, something happens...someone gets sick, we get ahead on something or behind on something.  I have to resist the urge to plan too far ahead and just organize TODAY.

If I don't have everything written down, I forget to do things.

What are your tips for staying organized?