How She Does It

Getting organized can be challenging when you’re not sure where to start. Here are ways you can start to get it together now!

How to get it together? That’s the big question! Scheduling for personal activities and school assignments can be overwhelming. For families with several children, it can seem impossible but it is a must! Once you have it together, you will feel a peace of mind as the schedule becomes routine. When my friend posted a photo of her scheduling system, I was so excited to see her calendars and sticky notes. I had to ask her how she does it!

Mrs. Mona Dervin is a Marine Master Gunnery Sergeant with 4 children – a daughter in college and three elementary age sons at home. I’ve known Mona since junior high school and we keep in touch on Facebook. She was happy to share some of her absolute tip with us! Here’s how to get it together now!

Setting a schedule can be challenging when you’re not sure where to start. My friend Mona gives us her best advice plus a few great tips! Read on for #howshedoesit #backtoschool #schedule #success

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How to start with a planner

• Mona keeps 3 planners each for budgeting, personal activities, and work. This is for a great reason! I hadn’t thought about it until she pointed out why. To avoid feeling overwhelmed, she’s able to focus on the task at hand with each planner. Work is work, personal is personal. Although, you can easily combine work and personal, this will keep your personal info private instead of accessible while at work. Also, science shows that multi-tasking actually slows progress.
• Mona’s favorite planners are from Erin Condren. The deluxe Monthly Planner is perfect for budgeting and their Lifeplanner is for work and personal. She has followed this process for 7 years finding this brand one of the best. You can certainly use any planner that works for you. However, if you’ve tried planners before and it just didn’t work, maybe it is time to try one that’s proven to work well. I searched through Erin Condren website and found it has many different planners and helpful tools.
• Now make it fun! Decorating your planner will keep you motivated to maintain it. I was surprised to find Erin Condren also has a lot of stuff for decorating! Whether you decorate with stickers or use colored pens for your own doodling art, make it fun for you!

3 more quick tips on how to get it together

• Create a to-do list to stay on task. Crossing each one off is a sense of accomplishment. It’s motivating!
• Do a little everyday. You can find things to do even if 5 min is all you have. For example, sort through mail daily to avoid junk mail piling up with important mails hidden within it. Get an inbox for important mail and put bills the budget planner to tackle when it’s time.
• EVERYTHING in Mona’s house has a home. Staying organized makes a big task less time consuming. She uses labels, baskets, boxes and compartments in storage spaces, including the kitchen pantry. Importantly, everyone knows where things go. Even her youngest son, who is 2 years old, knows where to put his stuff. I completely applaud the family responsibility because in the end it is for everyone’s benefit.

How these tips helped me

Lately, I’ve felt like I’m not as organized as I need to be. I do use planners but not in this way. I’m so excited to try Mona’s techniques! I hope these will help you too! Do you have more tips you’d like share? Share them in the comments!