Obsessive Compulsive Meets
Organisation
Anyone who knows me well, knows I have a deep and unhealthy
passion for lists. List are life. Lists are love. People also know I am
painfully organised. My house is tidy, my days are ordered. And as a result, I
am very productive.
This blog post is going to be an insight into how I organise
my life and, there are no surprises, its mostly lists. Lists make me happy. They
make me content. And I find crossing things off lists to be very enjoyable
indeed.
This post is not a suggestion for how you should organise
your life. Rather, its just an entertaining insight into me and my system. In
fact, I suspect my system wouldn’t suit anyone else, and if it was forced onto
someone, they would probably go crazy.
Still, maybe something here will inspire you, or solve a
problem you have been grappling with. At the very least, it will give you an
entertaining peep into my brain.
Journal
My journal is for my thoughts, my memories and my feelings. It
is an exercise in mental health. I put down the good and the bad here, both so I
can let it go, and so I can process and analyse what is happening in my life.
It helps me make plans, analyse my problems and explore my feelings. I have had
dozens of epiphanies writing in my journal. I would say putting myself on paper
has changed the course of my life for the better.
I go through a lot of these. On average, one hardback, lined
journal every two months. That's about six a year. I do a lot of thinking. And
a lot of talking to myself! Some days, I can write 10-15 pages, though the average
is closer to 3 pages. That's not to say I journal every single day, but I do
make the time a few days a week.
If you are stressed, feeling lost, feeling frustrated,
unhappy with your life, or just trying to step your life up to the next level,
I strongly recommend journaling. Getting all your thoughts down on paper makes
a huge difference. I don't see any point in imposing any rules on yourself. I
will say, my favourite time to write is early on rainy mornings, either out on
my back deck or in bed—depending on how windy it is.
Either way, even when I am stressed, journaling is a relief,
if not a joy. It’s a way of letting go and taking time to get to know myself. It’s
the one time I can be 100% honest, knowing I can't be judged. And that is a
rare pleasure indeed.
Day Planner
This is for my practical, every day 'to do' list. It keeps
my house running, and makes sure I get to appointments and pay bills on time.
It is a tool and the workhorse of my productivity. There is nothing poetic or
creative about it.
Everything else on this list makes me feel good, or makes me
more productive, or cares for my mental health. However, my day planner is vital.
Without it, my life would be in complete shambles. Because when I am very ill,
I can't remember anything, and because my day planner tracks my medication and
if my pets have been fed, my day planner may actually actively keep me and my
pets alive.
I actually don't know how people function without a day planner.
I can't even imagine it.
What is really important to me, is that my day planner has a
full page for every day. Its very frustrating for me when Saturday and Sunday
are sharing a page, since my weekends aren't less busy than my week days. When
choosing a day planner, think about how your week is structured and spend the
time hunting for a planner than suits you. You might even find a digital
planner suits you better, but I will stick to my physical book and pens.
Bujo
My bujo is part goals, part inspiration, part monthly plan. I
don’t bujo exactly the same as other people—though anyone who insists on bujo
'rules' is just a killjoy. My Bujo is a gorgeous Paperblank hardcover notebook with
blank pages. I keep it yearly, so each bujo covers a whole year of my life. It
is used to track my yearly goals and projects, which are then further broken
down into monthly sections. I include a lot of lists and checklists. Including,
but not limited to, places to visit, saving and finance, books I have read,
books I want to write, blog post planning, weight and fitness tracking,
birthdays of friends and family, wish lists, planting and harvesting guides for
my garden, career goals and milestones, & personal goals and milestones.
My bujo is also decorated with stickers, washi tape and hand
drawn art. Its not just about tracking, its about inspiring, so its important
to me that it looks good. Working on it is a great joy for me, an artistic
process and something I do when I want to relax and do something creative.
Bujo is a fantastic hobby for people who love lists and art.
Just keep in mind it should be enjoyable. Too many people I see put pressure on
themselves to make it 'perfect', or they put such high expectations on
themselves that they fall behind in bujo maintenance then are too despondent to
catch up again.
I started working on my 2019 bujo in August, planning out
the pages I wanted and then the order I wanted them in. I pencilled in the title
and page numbers very lightly and over October/November/December I will do the
penning and taping for many of the pages—since I am going to be very busy with
a baby early in the year, I am hoping to get at least six months prepared in
advance.
Often, I will set up pages at the start of the year, then
only decorate them as the year progresses. Even if I have finished with them.
That's okay too. Bujos are about function and enjoyment. Its not an art
competition.
Prayer Book
Every day, instead of praying out loud, I write in my prayer
book. These prayers are usually in the form of giving thanks, asking for guidance
and asking for God to act on behalf of the people around me who may be
struggling.
If you aren't religious, the equivalent would be a gratitude
journal, with letters to loved ones.
Personally, my prayer book has a hugely positive impact on
my mental health. It teaches me to stop trying to control everything in my life
and not obsess quite so much. Its also nice to look back through the pages and
see how many of my prayers were answered, and how many things I was worried
about that turned out okay.
Obviously, for me, as a Christian, it is a deeply personal
connection with my faith. Its not really something I would recommend for
others, unless the idea brings you joy and excitement. Its not going to make
you more organised, either way!
Business and Writing Plan
This is my only digital file. I keep it in scrivener and it
is broken into several parts.
Website
Social Media & Promotion
Novel Length Projects
Shorts and Novella Length Projects
Vision Writers
Non-Career Items
These are straight up lists of things I need to do, broken down
into manageable/practical steps that can be added, one at a time, to my day
planner.
In the Writing Plan, a novel might look something like this:
TITLE – First Draft
TITLE – Second Draft
TITLE – Feedback and Beta Readers
TITLE – Third Draft
TITLE – Synopsis and Query
TITLE – Submit to Agents
In my day planner, I might put 'Title – First Draft' down a
my primary goal for several months, while I write it. But once it is done, it gets
crossed off in the Writing Plan and the next day, the primary item in my day
planner is 'Title – Second Draft'. And plodding along in that manner keeps me
productive and on track.
In each section, Website, Vision, Novels, etc, everything is
listed in the order I want to complete them. So, I always know that, in each
section, I work from top to bottom to achieve my goals. There is, however, a
LOT of things in this file. Probably enough work for at least the next five
years, if not the next ten. And that's okay. Its fantastic to have a clear idea
of where I am going.
None of it is set in stone, I can review and change it whenever
I like. Things get moved around a lot—just not in mid project. Once I start, I commit
to finishing.
Conclusion
There you go! Insight into the way I track and organise my
life. Inspiring? Terrifying? You tell me. The important thing is, I have a
system that works with my life. Whatever you do, you need the same.
And stay tuned, the newsletter, synopsis series and new
website is coming! I promise.
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