Always on the quest to perfect the ultimate, most fabulous to-do list, I have an update for you. Do you mind?
Just so you know, I am not pushing this method — only offering it if your note-taking temperament happens to line up with mine — that you gravitate towards little notes scattered all over, tend to find notebooks too commitment-y, and find that an archive of admonitions to go to the bank rather burdensome.
If you love your bullet journal, you can keep your bullet journal!
In January, when peak efficiency in to-do list making seems like the most pressing task on earth (to be put on the list, perhaps?), I posted about my brilliant (for me!) system of Simplifying your To-Do List With Sticky Notes.
In that excellent post — with its stellar advice about having only three things on your to-do list for any given day — I lamented thusly:
I was picturing a small spiral-bound photo album, the pages of which are practically laminated. You don’t want too many pages, though, because that’s too much pressure to multiply the tasks! We have enough tasks as it is. But I couldn’t find what I was looking for.
If only I could find such a thing!
As happens to me very often — does this happen to you? — when I have something particular in mind, and simply can't find it out in the world, it's because I already have it.
It's just a matter of finding where I stashed it.
In this case, this elusive thing I was describing was in fact in my closet on my “gift stash” shelf. I have maybe looked at it a thousand times, and it has never quite passed muster as a gift.
But as a task notebook, it's just exactly right! The proof that I'm sadly deficient as a blogger is that this perfect item is apparently not made anymore; at least, I can't find it online anywhere. A million apologies.
It's about 8 1/2″ by 6″. It will fit in my purse or a tote; it can sit on the table and not take up too much room. It opens completely. The covers are very stiff and sturdy. The pages are card stock and there aren't too many of them.
Here it is by a teacup for scale:
As soon as I saw it and made the connection, I put it into use. First, I transferred the tabs and my extant notes (you can see all the details about tabs and such in this post).
I knew I had to cover it. Obviously.
A) it's white. I think we all know how that will go.
B) I have this stash of pretty papers (yes, those are ziploc bags full of Christmas cards of yesteryear, because, stash):
And this one of cards and other notebook-facilitating items:
Some people put inspirational quotes in their notebooks. Usually I don't want words, I want a picture. Old cards are great for this sort of thing — somehow, the little visual that someone sends you is so comforting and often so beautiful that you want to keep it, but it's a card, you know — you're supposed to let go of those little ephemera, lest they clutter up your life.
Mod Podge to the rescue! Even the name — mod (if it has to say it's mod, it probably isn't, right?) and podge (sounds… stodgy or something) — seems dumb, but it's a really useful way of getting things glued up and laminated with very little fuss. This way, that little image or design can be popped on a notebook or a little tin or box and brighten things up.
{By the way, this is not a sponsored post. But the links to Amazon are affiliate links — I get a little cash when you buy using the link — thanks!}
Anyway, I wanted something inspiring, and I do love this little toddler Jesus, as un-PC as he is. I mean, little blue-eyed Jesus, you aren't sacred art but you are really, really cute and loving. I think he's worth putting on my notebook… so I did it.
A paper-cutter is very handy. The Florentine paper is just wrapping paper I picked up one day at Marshall's. It doesn't quite go but this is my very own little notebook. I can have what I want!
Method: A coat of Mod Podge, stick paper on, dry; give another coat, stick on the image, dry; spread all well with one more coat, dry well. Very sturdy, very wipe-able, very non-peelable. (Don't you hate it when corners start popping up? Ugh.)
Since implementing my system in the winter, I have a nice stash of post-its going.
I keep the main supply near my desk and also some in the kitchen. But there is a little supply here at the back of my notebook (including some random advertising ones that always seem to appear — and that work just fine), which I keep contained by means of a strip of card stock which I glued to form a pocket:
My main to-do's are on the first page:
They include actual “go to the bank” style notes and then, on the bottom, my “work order” ones — for ongoing projects, to keep the tasks in view.
For instance, let's say you are re-painting the bathroom, a project that will take two or three days overall, and also prepping the auction booklet for the school. You'd want a post-it for each project, labeled as such, with the main tasks listed. That way you don't have to keep going over and over what has to be done, in your poor little sieve of a mind (well, speaking for myself).
If it's a really big project with many steps, just use a page elsewhere in the notebook.
On the facing page, inside the front cover, I have my prayer lists (including novena intentions). (I've sort of blotted the names to protect the victims. You are on there.) One note has intentions for Samaritan Ministries, because this medical-cost sharing group that I belong to asks you to pray for each other — such a wonderful idea!
So when I open my notebook to tend to my to-do's, my prayer list is right there. I do recommend, if you find figuring out what to do each day difficult, taking your notebook to prayer with you. Just put it all before God and ask Him what He thinks you should do. Then, write down what seems fitting to you.
If little thoughts occur to me, I might scribble them down (like I did on that Pilgrim note).
I've found that if I have a thought I'd like to write more about, I need to jot it down. It's not so much that I will forget, but I will sort of keep having it and being super impressed with it each and every time, which gets silly.
If it turns out to be a truly worthwhile idea, I transfer it to an index card and file it away. That is why I do have some index cards in that stash at the back of my notebook. Most of my cards have quotes from good resources on them, though. If you've ever attended a talk I've given, you've seen these index cards in all their glory, because I am not super in control of my thought process!
Just to peruse another area of the notebook, here is my “book” page. I have a real outline and draft on my computer, but ideas will pop up when I'm trying to figure out whether to mow or vacuum first, so I need this page. As I transfer ideas to the manuscript, I throw away the post-it.
Some of you asked something like, “Well, what about all the other tasks — other than those three or five that you do each day?” That all goes in my “tomorrow” section — anything and everything that occurs to me that needs to be done, ever. Just don't put it on today's list!
So there you have it. And now life should be perfect, right?
Mary says
Thank you for sharing, and thanks for the prayers- really touching!
Dixie says
I really love this idea!! Not trying to stop writing things down on fragments of paper — because that’s never going to happen — but just gathering all the fragments together in a useful and non-overwhelming way! Woohoo! Imma gonna find me a notebook and some post-its!
Susan (DE) says
I have a question. Say you have the sort of thing you do every day (oh, dishes, or vacuuming, if you DO vacuum some things every day. Or whatever). Are they SO SET in your mind that you just DO them, or do you write them down? And IF you write them down, do you throw away the post it after you’ve done it and make a new one for the next day…or…what?
I GUESS my own idea would be to have a sort of little schedule that had the “every days” on it…and keep it there. But then you have the problem of the loss of “importance” of something you see all the time.
Hmm. I am scattered myself. But still struggling…still…
Leila says
Susan, I do discuss this a bit in my other post (linked in this one). I prefer not to put the “usual” things on my list — like “do the dishes” — because it clutters up the list and I will do the dishes!
Exception: When you are sick or have a new baby, put it on the list so that you can check it off and know that it’s a job well done 🙂
If it helps you to have a checklist for the normal chores, then go for it! The problem I see is mental clutter — just make sure that the three things on the list that are over and above the usual chores don’t lose their fine tuning and suddenly turn into the twenty things you’d like to do but can’t because you are washing dishes.
I think that if you have on there 1. bank 2. groceries 2. cut out quilt blocks, you will be sure to get the dishes done… but not vice versa!
Susan (DE) says
Thanks. And sorry — I DID read the original post…when you posted it. But not today.
I like your idea. Not QUITE sure it’s for me, yet…but it might be eventually. 🙂
Leila says
Geez, you need to be up on the posts AT ALL TIMES haha
Do what works for you, really! Cheers!
Susan (DE) says
Giggle.
Lisa G. says
So, you are also in one of those medical things that Deirdre posted about a while back? That is interesting, because you are (ahem) middle-aged. 🙂 Is it more difficult for older folk to join? I have insurance at work, but I’m just wondering – it’s very interesting.
Susan (DE) says
Not difficult at all to join. That’s one of the things I love about Samaritan Ministries.
Leila says
It’s not difficult at all to join Samaritan. They don’t cover existing conditions (although you should read Deirdre’s posts), but I didn’t have any. That’s not to say I don’t have chronic issues, but as long as they haven’t occurred in the past year, you can join.
Susan (DE) says
And you COULD still “join” if you had pre-existing conditions — but they wouldn’t (with the details carefully spelled out) cover those conditions. But they will still publish them as “compassion needs,” if you need help. The main thing is that you need to be a practicing Christian, and they want you to go to church at least 3 out of 4 times a week — unless you’re ill or traveling. We have been with them for years, and we have found them very reliable and generous.
Salome Ellen says
The “podge” part of ModPodge was the manufacturer trying to come up with something pronounced like the second half of “decoupage”, which is the French name for what you’re doing with the stuff
priest's wife @byzcathwife says
Am I the only one that pronounces it ‘modgepodge?’ ….
Katherine says
No! I guess I’ve never really looked carefully at the bottle.
Beth says
I didn’t realize it wasn’t “Modge Podge” until I read this!
Donna L. says
Thank you for such a lovely, and do-able update on organizing your life!
I love the toddler picture of Jesus–charming and adorable. I typically do not appreciate true “Sacred art” as I find it often a “bit-too-Picasso-esque” and not very beautiful, even when it is trimmed in gold — sorry!
I found these waterproof small journals, at a reasonable price on Amazon–maybe a bit extreme for those not in Washington state–but perhaps similar to yours~
* MALEDEN All Weather Spiral Notebook Scratch Steno Pad Memo Notepad with Waterproof Grid Paper
Happy writing!
Becky g says
I have a small, spiral-bound watercolor pad (not card stock, but still heavy paper) that may work in a similar way…something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Strathmore-Visual-Journal-Watercolor-Sheets/dp/B003YIXDKE …just a suggestion for anyone searching for a little notebook to work from.
Elizabeth says
“Anyway, I wanted something inspiring, and I do love this little toddler Jesus, as un-PC as he is. I mean, little blue-eyed Jesus, you aren’t sacred art but you are really, really cute and loving. I think he’s worth putting on my notebook… so I did it.”
That made me laugh out loud… I love these old school sentimental images of Jesus and Mary, guardian angels watching over playing/sleeping children… etc. Very un PC, but I can’t help it, having blue eyed kids myself.
As to your system, the crucial part I don’t understand about it are the post it’s themselves. Why not just jot it down immediately on the paper? Start a new page for every new topic, or a few pages if it’s a larger project? This is how I do it. And when the project is done I tear out the page and after a while my notebook is empty and I start a new one. I have a pin board in the kitchen on which I have pieces of paper to write my grocery lists and the like. So when I cut up my last onion, I can scribble onion immediately, before I forget.
Maybe I am getting all nervous now, because my system is flawed :).
Leila says
No, Elizabeth, there’s no judging in to-do lists!
I do sort of explain it EVEN FURTHER if you can believe that in the other post. But what you are describing would drive me crazy, because of the little bits of torn out paper… and the dwindling notebook… the post-its are so that you can see everything laid out. It’s a visual. You can move them around. You can discard the one task without discarding all.
I previously used bits of scrap paper, but then they got lost and fell out all over and what have you. So this is my way of doing it.
But that’s just me. IF IT AIN’T BROKE DON’T FIX IT!
Jessica says
I, personally, admired wondrously your notecard system whilst you presented in Houston!!! I thought to myself, why Auntie Leila has her act together in real life just as she does on her blog!!! She’s genuine! She’s thoughtful! She knows how to get her point across with the backing of Aristotle, Aquinas, and Benedict XVI, all with the flip of a magical notecard!!!
Leila says
Jessica, you are very kind!
Barbara says
I know that this is a to-do notebook, and it really makes sense. But, what do you do with other things that you want to keep for future reference, such as paint colors, books you want to read, movies you want to watch, garden ideas, recipes for household cleaners, hints and tips, and other tid bits that you want to remember?
Leila says
Barbara, good question. I find that I need different notebooks for different things. I wrote a bit about it here:
http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/2016/01/the-reasonably-organized-life-a-little-series-of-sorts/
You certainly could have a section in this notebook that was for ongoing movie lists, gardening plans, etc. I keep lists for shows on my phone so that I have them when I’m at the library or whatever; Pinterest keeps some tips organized (I have a gardening board and a “ways of doing” board, for instance); I definitely have a separate binder for paint colors — so important to keep a record of these so you aren’t scrounging around for touch-up paint, with no idea what color it was!
I think the organized householder needs several systems…
Mary Cooney says
I love your ideas – especially about keeping sticky notes for prayer intentions!!!!
Kimberly says
I love this idea. I sometimes use stickum notes for very important projects. They can be moved! And moved again!
-Moriah says
I love this idea! I was immediately taken with it when I saw the post since I am a list loving sort, but I couldn’t try it until now. I found this: http://www.target.com/p/mini-1-5-3-ring-binder-bundle-8-piece-set-x-up/-/A-51463769 at Target and am using the page dividers as pages to stick the post-its to. Plus I can keep my receipts in the pocket thingy. Thank you for all of your work here at LMLD . Your advice on mothering has in particular been pure gold to me. I came from a broken home and am estranged from my mother who did not have a good home environment herself. Actually when I think about it; as far back as I know of my family’s homes have been disfunction, on both sides. So kind of a generational curse of sorts. You have a gift for coming across so personally on a very impersonal medium (the internet) and for never sounding high and mighty in your sagacity 😉 . I will pray for you and yours .