My Non-Smartphone Calendar

“Don't say you don't have enough time.  You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.” 
~  H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Ending with that quote I had given a ‘time management’ presentation to my class back in university.  I have always been the organized kind of person, having my daily to-do lists, planning my day and the week; it’s a different question whether I finally get everything done or not.  But I liked having a schedule, however tentative it may be.  And if I didn’t find a certain kind of organizer, diary, or calendar of my choice – I made it.  I actually do that with anything – when I don’t find what I want, I make it if I can.  My calendar is one of them.



(a picture from Sept 2009)
This is the kind of calendar I used to have in my room back home, on the wall near the dressing table (since that’s where I spent most of my time!) – scribbled with special occasions, exam dates, project deadlines, and sometimes worked as my personal diary where I would just walk past and quickly write in the box when I remembered something for the day.  When each day ended, I would make a big inclined ‘Z’ on its box.  The ‘Z’ doesn’t mean anything – I just liked it more than making a big ‘X’.  Ever since I started doing this in the year 2006, I stored all the ‘months’ (A4 sheets) of each year.

To me, they were just the right size and shape, lightweight, didn’t need to be pinned on wall, no huge pictures or prints, and ample space to write important stuff.  All I had to do was make a sample template and plenty photocopies.  On the back of recycled papers, mind you, I do believe in the 3 R’s.  To that you say, why not use a Smartphone, tablet PC, whiteboard, sticky notes on laptop, or organizer in e-mail instead, girl?!  Well, my style works best for me.  Call me old-fashioned.

(here, pencil is better than pen, you know why?)
So, continuing to put up the calendars after my marriage, their location has now shifted to the kitchen instead of dressing room, the exams & projects have been replaced by dinner invites, and the personal diary part mostly contains the happy times or fights with my hubby.  I did the latter with the intention that if he walks past and reads and sees the sad faces I made in the boxes, he’ll probably feel guilty and be nice.  After a few months I realized this doesn’t work and am still looking for another trick.

Apart from all that, this month onward I’m going to use these calendars on the refrigerator to also plan my meals.  Menu-planning was an unheard task back home, because my mom used to cook whatever we demanded for the day.  But ever since I started cooking after marriage, I either wasted a lot of time searching what to cook, or I wasted a lot of vegetables and fruits that rotted while I was still searching what to cook.  Using this calendar to plan menu for the week, I’m hoping our grocery shopping will be better planned, with lesser wastage, and help me make variety of dishes than settling for dal & rice or stuffed parathas when I can’t think of anything else.



And may be this month on I’ll start making sad faces on it again, especially writing “he’s not buying me a KitchenAid Stand Mixer :( :( ” all over – who knows when miracles may happen.

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Tell me how you organize/plan/schedule/manage your time/day/week/month ... as well as meals?

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11 comments:

  1. I am one of the kinds who feel pressed for time all the time.. The quote with which u have started has got me thinking.. I am a fairly organised person and not the techie type and depend on lists I scribble in my little diary... But seeing your lists i think I have to get those a bit organised.

    Jyoti

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    1. Same here, pressed for time. But in my case I don't understand what exactly am I so busy with while actually having nothing much to do!

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  2. Very well written and this article motivates me to be more organized and effective. After all you don't need techie gadgets to be organized. I, myself make shot term "To Do's" list on piece of paper and cross off things as it completes.

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  3. Very motivating. I used to have a planner and a calendar. It was so long as I had a maid to look after my kid. She left and my planner too left. Have been thinking seriously of making this. Will print from the MS outlook lets see.

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    1. Thanks Archana. Found something from MS Outlook?
      Personally I don't know what I'd do without my planners (lists, calendars, etc). I don't like to store too much in my memory (head)!

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  4. wow, ur super organized! wish i had even 1 % of that haha, btw if ur tricks work & u do manage to get a kitchen aid outa ur husband do let me know so i can try it :D

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    1. Yes I am, Deepthi, but don't ask how much gets done ;)
      And yes, I'll tell you if it works *big doubts*

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  5. You are VERY organized...I love it. I too am a huge fan of calendars and lists and anything organizing-related always catches my eye.

    And yes...miracles do happen. Keep your fingers crossed!

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    1. Thanks Ameena!
      Fingers crossed since last year, and still counting :D

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  6. Hey , This is great idea! I had stick out this week organiser for menu planning...But I couldn't' follow most of the times. Hoping to be better for forthcoming weeks... But my hubby kidding me when I started writing this"anyways I will not get these in this week.Am I right?"

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