Calendars (was A little confused -- this flu thing???)

OSPAM (Naomi Pardue) wrote in message ...
Geez, Naomi, this sounds really lame. I know you're brighter than
that, but this really sounds willfully incompetent. All it takes is a
piece of paper.

A piece of paper? WHich would get lost where?

This piece of paper is punched with three holes and filed behind the
calendar for the current year. Or if you prefer to buy a small pocket
planner, it would be one of the blank pages at the beginning or end.

Here are some of the things that I include in my planner, which I
couldn't live without. I really think it's great if people have all
that memorized, but I'm well over 45, and those numbers just don't
stay in my brain.

First, on the yearly calendar, I mark my menstrual periods and
paycheck dates, just so those rythyms are tracked. In the calendar, I
keep track of all the club dates (one daughter has to be picked up
late from school twice a month, and I don't keep that in my brain),
social engagements, band concerts, professional travel, financial
deadlines, work meetings, etc.

Then I have a section for listing our family's frequent business
contacts: schools, doctors, plumber, tow service, etc. This helps
when something happens away from home, like when we were at a bank,
and one bored daughter was kind of mindlessly banging her head against
the counter, and her scalp split open, right along the line of her
part for the braids I could call the pediatrician immediately and
ask whether to take her to the office or ER.

Then I have my personal address book. We travel a lot, at least six
weeks out of each year, and it is helpful for sending post cards, etc.
when we are away from home. I also have several pages of photocopies
of the rosters with phone numbers and emails for work and church
contacts.

I have a photograph of my family in a page protector, and a zippered
pouch that has quarters, paper clips, safety pins, wet wipes, rubber
bands, etc. I also have plastic sleeves for carrying diskettes or
CDs, and another for business cards.

In addition to a section for taking notes, I have lists of books I
want to read and movies I'd like to see, and a section with the food
values for a diet I try to follow.

I guess I just assumed that everyone has some kind of system like
that, whether it is electronic or physical like mine.

Although nowadays the fancy planners come with like six or seven
rings, mine has three rings. I like that because it is so easy to
punch whatever I want, and I often just punch, or perhaps
reduce-photocopy then punch, an important calendar handout that is
sent from school, etc.

My children call this notebook my "brain," as in, "You left your brain
in the backseat, mom!"

Colleen Kay Porter

Here are some of the things that I include in my planner, which I
couldn't live without. I really think it's great if people have all
that memorized, but I'm well over 45, and those numbers just don't
stay in my brain.

[snip]

Wow! It really does sound like you have a much busier schedule than I do. I
have one child. She has a fairly straightforward schedule. (I have no trouble
remembering the times and days of her various classes and lessons, and on the
rare occassion that she has something special (a recital/a school trip) I can
usual remember that too.)

We don't travel much.(I would like to travel more, but we don't have the money,
and DH doesn't like to travel.) I know my daughter's pediatrician's phone
number.
I know when I get paid, don't need a calendar for that. (Though I DO have a
small notebook that I use for keeping track of the budget, which includes all
the paycheck dates.)

I SHOULD be keeping track of my migraines, but I don't. I am, at present,
tracking my menstrual periods, but my doctor gave me a special form to do that
on.

Maybe if I had more kids or a more demanding job/social life I would need a
more complex system for keeping track of it. But my brain works fairly well
for most of what I need to do. (And what I do forget, writing it down
wouldn't help. [I've known for a couple of weeks now that I need to get my car
in the shop -- just keep not getting around to calling.])


Naomi
CAPPA Certified Lactation Educator

(either remove spamblock or change address to to e-mail
reply.)

"Naomi Pardue" wrote in message
...
Here are some of the things that I include in my planner, which I
couldn't live without. I really think it's great if people have all
that memorized, but I'm well over 45, and those numbers just don't
stay in my brain.

[snip]

Wow! It really does sound like you have a much busier schedule than I do.
I
have one child. She has a fairly straightforward schedule. (I have no
trouble
remembering the times and days of her various classes and lessons, and on
the
rare occassion that she has something special (a recital/a school trip) I
can
usual remember that too.)

We don't travel much.(I would like to travel more, but we don't have the
money,
and DH doesn't like to travel.) I know my daughter's pediatrician's phone
number.
I know when I get paid, don't need a calendar for that. (Though I DO have
a
small notebook that I use for keeping track of the budget, which includes
all
the paycheck dates.)

I SHOULD be keeping track of my migraines, but I don't. I am, at present,
tracking my menstrual periods, but my doctor gave me a special form to do
that
on.

Maybe if I had more kids or a more demanding job/social life I would need
a
more complex system for keeping track of it. But my brain works fairly
well
for most of what I need to do. (And what I do forget, writing it down
wouldn't help. [I've known for a couple of weeks now that I need to get my
car
in the shop -- just keep not getting around to calling.])

Sounds like you should have no problem remembering the flu vaccine, then.