I’m not organized by nature. Procrastination is my middle name, and last minute is my motivation. Just being honest here. I have aspirations of having all of my ducks in a row…and then real life kicks in, and yep…there it goes.
First, let me explain just a bit about myself. I’m a working mom, but that’s not unusual, right? I have four children, three of which still live at home. My eldest is in the USAF, and stationed overseas. We’re getting ready for our first holiday season without him at home, and let me just say that Mom is having some weepy moments with all of this. My youngest has special needs, and keeps us on our toes in many ways. 🙂 Add in that my in-laws live literally out our back door, and it can get a bit…crazy around here at times. If I was organized it would be so much better!
I have found some ways to fake my way through though, and keep my family going. I keep things very, very simple…and I mean everything! We’ve learned to say no to good things so that we can say yes to the best things. We keep things pretty close to home, and really pick and choose what we’re involved in. This is one of the many ways that Pocket Informant has helped me tremendously.
Let’s be honest, Informant is made for people like me. I need a kick in the pants, tug on the sleeve, and visible reminder. Yay for a product that does all of this and more! And I don’t just say this because I work for the company. I was a loyal, and dependent user, long before I was an employee. Now my husband he’s one of those super organized people. Really…it’s quite sickening. He’s very self disciplined, and all that goes with it. That’s why he needs me in his life; I balance him out. 🙂 Ah, don’t ya just love it?
Now, back to Informant. I will freely admit that I don’t use tasks very often. I tend to just make everything an event, and work from there. This is what I did when I lived off of my kitchen wall calendar, which is what Informant directly replaced. What I do though is make extensive use of the calendar function. I make calendars for everything! I have one for each member of my family so that I can keep track of things pertaining specifically to them. I can’t tell you how beneficial this has been with my youngest daughter. I have used her calendar to track seizures, manage doctor’s appointments, meds, and more. And, I have all of that info at my fingertips when I need to reference it.
I also have a “Christmas” calendar. Oh. My. Goodness. This has been so helpful! Like all of you, we have multiple events happening this time of year, and it can get a little crazy. This little calendar helps me to keep track of everything, and keep the big picture in mind. I always default to the Month View, and I can see which weeks are busiest, etc. If I see that a particular week is full, I will plan things in another week. This has helped to keep our family life intact during the crazy. I can’t say it enough…Informant rocks!
The photo above is of my unfiltered calendar. Yikes! Can I just say that I love the calendar filtering feature? I filter out all of the calendars that I don’t need right now, and focus on what’s most important. The other info is there, but I can hide it until I need it. I have multiple saved filters that allow me to see specific info, and I toggle back and forth as needed.
Alex wrote a wonderful post about end of year organizing. Yeah…I don’t really do that. Tabetha wrote a fun post about surviving the holidays with Informant. She’s like my better-organized twin sister. 🙂 Isn’t it great that one product can meet the needs of so many people, with so many different styles?
However you choose to use it, Informant will be your best friend. Your personal assistant. Your..dare I say it..secret weapon.
Merry Christmas from my family to yours!
Amy Sandlin
Marketing