I admit it. I’ve been running really really fast this summer. Too many things to do, to little time. I’ve been sleeping less in order to get it all done and my brain is a bit fried, which causes forgetfulness. (Don’t worry, I’m going on a few day vacation next week with hubby to recuperate).
My best friend called me the other day and when I picked up the phone she said: “I’ve called you the last 4 times and you haven’t called me once in days”. Mind you, she and I talk almost everyday and at this point I’d hurt her feels and she was not feeling the love. OUCH.
You see, my BFF and I have been friends for over 25 years and we call them like we see them with each other. And yes, I hate it when she points out things I should see within myself before I do and vice versa I’m sure. That’s what 25 years earns you.
While I am not a perfectionist, I strive to be really good at what I do and have a high ethic of integrity. I meet my deadlines or even if I have to stay up all night to finish something or I ask for an extension. And yes, I am deadline driven. I prefer to call it priority management.
Anyway, I digress. I have a confession. I messed up this week. I have been running so fast and the last week brought travels 4 days of travel and an unexpected flight cancellation and travel challenges that added an extra day to my trip.
In my frantic hurry to prepare from my trip last week I forgot to notify one of my groups that I needed a leave of absence. Because this group is a content syndication group I have let down those who were counting on me to syndicate their content and that makes me mad at myself. Ok, maybe there’s a little perfectionist in me 🙂
Worst of all, I have now ended up in the “blacklist” and need to work my way back up into the regular team rotation. I’m fine with that and accept the consequences of my actions. I still don’t have to like my faux pas.
Back to the title of this post. Details. Details are important. How do you keep track of them for yourself?
I use an electronic planner and a notebook to write things into to keep myself on track. I’ve struggled for over 20 years trying to find the perfect system for my individual needs. I thought the electronic planner would be the way to go. Well, it is great unless you forget to input information. 🙂 Now, I only use the electronic calendar portion for my appointments and I sync them with Tungle which is awesome. I have found that I still need to write my to do list on paper versus put it into Evernote or another electronic form. I still like checking things off with my pen.
Sometimes we miss a detail or a task. It happens, we’re all human. Flubs happen. We need to cut ourselves a little slack and get back on track rather than have it hold us down. That is the lesson I learned in this.
Do you have a favorite method of keeping track of the details in your life? If so, I’d love to hear it in the comments below. I’m always looking for a better way.
And now, I’m going to go work on giving my syndication team a little groveling love. Â And I am going to call my BFF today.
Have a great week everyone!
Hi Vanessa,
I am never going to be able to do everything that is available for me to do. I am never going to get “caught up.” I am never going to finish all of my work. There will ALWAYS be more things to do. At first, this sounded a bit depressing and overwhelming; however, I now consider it quite liberating because once I realized that I will NEVER be able to get EVERYTHING done, I no longer try to get EVERYTHING done.
I do use a Franklin planner (pen to paper). I use a to-do list that allows me to “zoom out” to see the big picture and “zoom in” to focus on a specific part of
my work without getting lost in all the details. And lastly, I prioritize and consciously choose what to do (and what not to do) so that I don’t get overwhelmed trying to get EVERYTHING done.
Hey Rachel. I love this comment and appreciate the suggestions an feedback on tips. I will take the never get everything done and be ok to heart! Love it.
Hi VaNessa,
I sympathize with your frustration with keeping up with all the details of life. It’s a constant challenge for me and I used to TEACH time management. I guess it’s like the cobbler whose kid has no shoes. I now use a combination of a paper system for taking notes and keeping up with tasks/projects while I’m out and about but only use an electronic calendar (which syncs my mac and my dell and my blackberry with Google calendar) to keep track of appts. I occasionally forget to include an appt. but having ‘one’ calendar that appears on all my platforms is a powerful tool for me. For bigger projects I use a Mac-program called Notebook which is also an amazing place to keep up with bigger, complex projects and dreams and wish lists. I wish you success in creating a system that works for you!
Take care, Allegra
Hey Allegra, thanks for stopping by. i have a mac and do all of my calendaring on the mac. I’ll have to check out the Notebook program. Thanks for the tip!
Hi Vanessa,
Like you I fell into the black group. I had a whole lot of work to do on my blog and by the time I sorted it out, I missed the deadline for syndication.
I also feel I have too many things to do and have to prioritise. As a successful internet marketer, each campaign takes careful thought and implementation of a number of cohesive steps, or it just doesn’t work.
The good news is that I usually get results. IT is great to spend a few hours work and then watch the money pile in for the next few weeks! That is real passive income.
Love it John! The time and planning we do sometimes cause us to have to shift priorities for a period of time. And getting results is good!
Hi VaNessa,
I think it is going to be a long time before a suitable replacement for the good old pen and paper is invented.
I find that by actually writing down what I need to do I don’t seem to overload my next day… I was a weekly planner so I make sure the daily tasks are spread out.
Just do not like to over stress myself and I keep work to a managable level..
works for me.
Great post.
Cheers
Bryan
Totally agree Bryan. I love my Pen and paper and I don’t think they are going anywhere soon, even with technology. Have a great day! V-
Wow we forgive you. The fact that you wrote a post about it really shows your commitment to TSA. It is easy sometimes to get caught up in the important and pressing stuff to forget all about the other pressing and important stuff! It happens and welcome to TSA.
Steve
Thanks Steve! TSA is a great place and it sure is fun to meet new people! V-
It’s really important to keep track with the things that you need to do. Especially if you are into business, you should have a planner and list everything that you need to do in order not to forget it. For me, I use a pen and a notebook to write down the things I need to do, say, for the whole week….
Thanks Tony,
I totally agree…and I still love the pen and paper method. 🙂
VaNessa
Hi VaNessa,
I absolutely can’t live without my pen and paper to keep track of things!
I do use my iphone calender a lot though which is a lot harder to misplace than my note book, or more likely scraps!
I always sit down with my coffee in the morning and make sure my lists are in order and I know what I’m doing for the day… very satisfying to cross off a proper pen and paper list!
Emma 🙂
Hey Vanessa,
It seems like everyone prefers the good old pen and paper, and so do I. If it works why change it. I usually use a small piece of paper to write down all of my tasks for the next day before I go to bed. If I don’t finish all of them, I put it on the top of my new list for the next day. It seems to me that keeping it as simple as possible is the best way to do it.
I hope you’re doing well and you get out of that black list quick! =) Talk with you soon.
Kyle
LOL. yes, it works. As we all seek to have better efficiency in our lifes, it’s just one of those questions…when is technology helpful or better over pen and paper. Thanks for stopping by. I love to see your progress and success!