Beach Pages and Bullet Journals

peterpauper.com

Though I am fascinated by them, I have never used a bullet journal. All of the ones I see on Pinterest are beautiful and artistic, and both of these elements pose a problem for me. I lack the talent to create a work of art out of my to-do list, and I fear that I lack the self-discipline to return to the mundanity of the list itself once I start playing with my pages and making them pretty.

Still, after my foray into Beach Pages when I was on vacation, I kinda get it. Although I went in a completely different direction aesthetically (my Beach Pages are messy and lack organization by design), I appreciate the value of having all of my thoughts and ideas in one place -- so much so that I went in search of a notebook I could dedicate to this proposition.

If the pages inside aren't pretty, why does the notebook need to be? For many styles, this wouldn't matter but for me and my I need to see it personal style, having a pretty, dedicated notebook makes it easier for me to pick it out of a pile of random notebooks (of which I have a collection).

But that's not all there is to it. Having a dedicated notebook makes the pages more permanent. I started out writing on a legal pad, but the pages got whipped by the wind and, once I was finished, had only an impermanent home where curling and ripping was almost inevitable. Although the pages might not fit into any of my works-in-progress -- or any project, for that matter -- I don't want to consider these entries throwaways because I'm a firm believer that no writing is ever wasted. Some of these pages might merely clear my head, while others might inspire new ideas, become a blog post or even fuel a future project. Putting my Beach Pages in a notebook helps to validate them and keeping them bound allows me to organize them with greater ease, tabbing pages so I can find them again.

Having a dedicated notebook also makes the pages more meaningful. Just because this task isn't goal-directed doesn't make the words any less important. If the task is worth my time, I should take it seriously. A dedicated notebook conveys a seriousness of purpose that's missing in random words on random pages.

Something else I hoped to cultivate with this project was patience. It takes longer to write in longhand, therefore I have to intentionally slow down to write, especially if I'm using a book that's bound instead of just random pages. Cross outs, X marks, arrows -- all signs of a mind at work and the process of writing -- dot the pages. These things are messy, but gratifying, and a reminder of the fact that this is a process -- time-consuming and laden with detours and mistakes -- even if they stand in stark contrast to the loveliness of the bound book.

For now, I've set my Beach Pages journal aside, but I know where to find it if I need it, and I just might revisit it under non-beach circumstances as well. The combination of bound pages and the freedom inspired by freewriting renewed my creativity and reminded me that sometimes, a little freedom to play is just what we need to re-energize ourselves, whether we're writing or organizing.

Pixabay

Though I'm not planning on creating a bullet journal any time soon, I think I now understand what people see in them. The doodles and designs add a playfulness to the lists and must-dos that populate the pages and, perhaps re-energize bullet journal users the way my Beach Pages re-energized me.

When we organize by STYLE, we can't lose sight of what makes us who we are, originals in our own right. What thoughts of yours belong in a place all their own? And how do you put your own creative mark on those pages?

Sometimes, exploring is exactly what we need to set us on the right path.

Start with Successes

Susannp4 via Pixabay

Today's post is the first in a series on using the STYLE process to take your organizing to the next level. 

My home is by no means an organizational showplace. When I say I'm an organizational work in progress, I'm not kidding. I no sooner get one area under control than another demands my attention. And, when I'm tired and overwhelmed, it's easy to revert to the worst aspects of my I need to see it personal style and drop and run organizational style, which invariably leads to clutter quickly replacing clear spaces.

It's a process.

But every day, I make my bed. When I read in one of Marcia Ramsland's books that making the bed instantly tidies better than half of the room, I decided that the two to three minutes I'd spend pulling up the covers and tucking them into place yielded perhaps the best effort-to-value ratio of any organizational task I faced.

When I stop looking for perfection (the things I do every single time and/or every day) and focus on tasks I perform habitually (most of the time), it's easy to spot organizational successes. The counter in the kitchen where we used to dump our mail improved tremendously once I found a style-based solution to the influx. Assigning homes to the things I most typically drop when I'm in a hurry served to clear up not only floor space and counter space, but also to allow us to use furniture like sofas and chairs for their intended purpose: sitting. Using a visual system (labels, color-coding, patterned file folders) for paperwork eliminated the "guess what's in this manila file folder" game.

These successes matter. They remind us that we know what we're doing, no matter how lived in or imperfect our homes and organizational systems may be some days. When we focus more on what's working than what isn't, not only do we feel better, but we learn what to replicate other areas, and what to strive for to make our hot spots into neat spots.

The first step in getting organized by STYLE is to determine the styles that define you. In addition to taking the styles quiz, one way to do this is to see what works for you -- to identify your successes. Doing this will help refine your styles and determine the strategies that take you from frustration to organization.

3 Keys Thursday: 3 Keys for Maximizing the Week Between Christmas and New Year's

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

In yesterday's blog, I dubbed the week between Christmas and New Year's the week of organization. This morning, a friend posted a great article from The Onion about straightening out one's entire life during the week between Christmas and New Year's.

You might say I identified with the article -- just a bit. It definitely made me laugh, while simultaneously absolving me from my guilt over binge-watching a Gilmore Girls marathon last night.

This is a great week to get stuff done, and, for those who've acquired new toys, clothes and household items over the holidays, organization can play a key role in making the transition into a new year. Still, it's important to remember that those of us fortunate enough to have this week off should also take advantage of the respite it provides. That, too, plays a key role in making the transition into a new year.

I suspect that if I did a keyword search on this blog, "balance" and "process" would be near the top of the list of most frequently used terms. So, with that in mind, here are my three keys to maximizing the week between Christmas and New Year's.

Process: Tackle a project or two -- but not all of them. If a project brings you satisfaction or peace of mind, by all means, do it. The multi-step rearranging of the playroom/family room/man cave at my house yielded piles of papers to be disposed of, new space, and a(nother) new purpose for the room, along with a wonderful sense of accomplishment. Well worth the time.

Balance: Segment your days. Did you just spend the whole day on a long overdue project? Cap it off by taking some time for yourself. All work and no play makes us not only dull, but cranky.

Wholeness: Socialize. If you, like me, truly enjoy a good organizing project, you know how easy it is to work in solitude, particularly if you're working out the details as you go along and/or your styles differ from those around you. Make sure you take time each day for some in-person interactions (social media doesn't count). A family meal. Dinner with friends. A coffee date. Okay, so it doesn't have to involve food -- just people.

The Onion article got a lot right, not the least of which is that vacations fly by. Make sure to make the most of yours.

Just a Little Bit Better

Wednesday is my two-post day -- the day I post both here and at the Porch Swing Chronicles. Technically, it's a three-post day, if you count my STYLE Savvy post at CatholicMom.com, but, since that post has an earlier deadline, I'm less likely to feel the posting crunch there. 

Some Wednesdays, I get one--or both--posts done ahead of time. Through a wonderful confluence of time and creativity, I not only figure out what I want to write about before Wednesday rolls around, but I manage to write the post and set it to publish automatically.

Today is not one of those Wednesdays. Today, I'm writing both posts from scratch on Wednesday, grateful that I'm tackling them while it's still morning. And, as I was thinking through the possibilities, another sort of confluence occurred.

A theme. 

So today, I thought it might be fun to try something. Although my post here and my post over at the Porch Swing Chronicles have different content, they have the same title. I hope, if you have a minute, you'll take the time to read both of them.

'Tis the season for piles -- at least at my house. Some piles are good (piles of presents), some not so good (piles of papers to grade). Augmented by the duties of the season, my lists are longer and more diverse than usual, too. The day-to-day responsibilities haven't decreased, but the duties of the season keep piling up, giving me the feeling I'm on a treadmill of productivity: always moving but going nowhere fast.

It's easy to get overwhelmed and self-critical. 

While I have no magical solution to a quick dispensation of the pile-up, I do have one strategy that helps me keep my sanity.

Each day, I try to make things just a little bit better. 

It's not a good short-term strategy, in that the piles diminish slowly, and some stacks overstay their welcome by days, or even weeks. But, then again, losing my mind over a little clutter isn't a good strategy either. 

Each day's list contains two kinds of items: time sensitive tasks and preparations for the season. Intermediate deadlines are sprinkled in, too, as the day's schedule permits, so I can tackle them before they become time sensitive. 

Photo ivoxis via Pixabay

In some ways, this is akin to burning the candle at both ends; on one end, I have the "do it now" things and on the other the end the planning pieces that will make Christmas special and fun, or, perhaps, set up my break between semesters to be both productive and relaxing. Some days, I feel as though I'm standing in the middle of the candle, trying to avoid the flames closing in from both sides, but most days, tackling both kinds of tasks minimizes the panic of the lengthy holiday to do list and gives me a sense of accomplishment as I check a variety of tasks off my list. 

Would I love to see my house pile-free? Absolutely. But, unless a magic wand materializes, I'm going to have to settle for baby steps, reminding myself of what I say here so often.

It's a process.