You're So Filofax (Photo Challenge and Weeks 36 and 37)

Hey everyone! I'm back with days six, seven, and eight of Toni's Planner Addict challenge and a weekly update.

First up, the challenge. I've been having a blast with this and sharing my photos in Toni's Facebook group. So many wonderful, like-minded people, and a truly positive bunch.

Day 6 - On the Go

My personal Malden and my bag in my car.

Day 7 - Workspace

I use my writing office for my planner space, too. This is an alcove at the front of our house, off the living room. We call it the sunroom because it's eastern facing and gets a ton of beautiful morning sun. There are floor to ceiling bookshelves on the right and left and a comfy chair and ottoman to the left of where I'm standing for this picture.

Day 8 - Sticky

I'd been talking on the phone with a close friend of mine who had several bits of interesting news. I took notes while we talked and the post-its ended up in my planner.

 

And that catches me up with the photo-a-day challenge!

Here's the end of week 36... it ended up being comfortably busy.

The week on two pages with notes format is working out so well for me. I love having space for each day to journal a little, just the basics of the day and some reminders, and the notes page for the to do stamp. I have a lot to do during the week, but usually nothing is set in stone for a particular day. It's really ideal for me to keep one giant running to do list for the week that my husband and I can both refer to and check off as we can finish something. There are a few things we always do on the weekends (my son cleans out his hamster's cage on Saturdays, bedding gets changed on weekends, school uniforms must be washed on weekends), so I simply write those in the bottom right corner of the to do section.

And here's the upcoming week...

We're headed into the fall term for our sprogs, so we will be crazy busy. Elder Sprog plays soccer, with games every week and he's on his school's FLL Robotics team, which has a ton of practices up until the regional competition in December. If they do well enough, they'll go on to the national competition in January, which means more practices. Younger Sprog isn't quite so involved yet, so for now it's really just running one of them around.

I have a writing deadline in October and a novel release at the beginning of November, so I'm going to be busy writing, too.

Wish me luck and have a great week!

End of week 33 and going into 34

Hi everyone!

This morning my sprogs went back to school. My older son started eighth grade, and the younger is a fifth grader. They're both now the oldest classes in their respective schools (middle and junior schools), "big men on campus," or so to speak, so I anticipate a year of ego. Whee!

The last few weeks have been very busy, with trying to get the house reorganized for school and getting the sprogs ready. Each of the boys had a chore checklist for the last two weeks, and I've got to admit, they did well. I was surprised. The 13-year old took on the responsibility himself and I didn't really have to remind him to do much. The 10-year old needed a little more prodding, but that's how it goes.

Here's what my completed week 33 in my A5 Malden looked like:

I know, crazy, right?

I love to look at pictures and videos of Filofaxers who decorate like crazy. Their planners look so pretty! My planner, even at A5 size, doesn't seem to have room for me to do much decorating. I use the week on one page with notes, because we often have to do lists with mostly items that need to be done by the end of the week, not necessarily by a set time, so I find it helpful to just make a master list of the week's chores, rather than assigning them to a particular day. The page with days serves as a reminder for appointments and a casual diary.

Here's this week (week 34):

Yay for back to school!

My boys and I spent most of yesterday cleaning and reorganizing the computer area in the family room. Both boys use the desktop for homework, although the older one has more to do on the computer, so I wanted to make sure the space was ready for homework. I didn't take a before picture (I'm kind of glad I don't have to admit what it looked like before we went at it), but here's what we ended up with...

Each boys has an after-school checklist hanging on the message center to the right. Our family calendar is hanging above. Having the desk area mostly clear and ready for homework made me feel good, but they didn't seem quite so thrilled. *snicker*

In another post I will explain further about how I use my Filofax for writing, which is my job. I use an A5 Malden for my home organization, a personal Malden as a wallet, and an A5 Finsbury for work.

Have a great week!