BC Living
Spreads – From Scratch
You’ve Gotta Try This In May
How to Support BC Wineries Now
4 Tips on Balancing a Nutritious Diet with a Side of Indulgence
Choosing Connection: A BC Family Day Pledge to Prioritize Presence Over Plans
Embracing Plant-Based Living this Veganuary and Beyond
Inviting the Steller’s Jay to Your Garden
6 Budget-friendly Holiday Decor Pieces
Dream Home: $8 Million for a Modern Surprise
Local Getaway: A Mini Cozy Sanctuary in Nelson
B.C. Adventures: Our picks for May
Spring into Fun in Kamloops: The Best Events in the City
BC Distilled
Melodies and Museums: Solo-Friendly Entertainment for the Independent Traveller
Arts Club Theatre Company Celebrates 60 Years
Pyrrha Connects People With Pieces That Speak To Them
BC-Based Gifts Perfect for Mom
SOLO CHIC: 5 Essential Pieces for the Stylish Solo Traveller
Organizing your life can be daunting. But if you take a year-by-year approach, you can get organized for good in 2012
Whether you use a computer or paper, you can start planning for next year now
Readers of this blog know about my ongoing struggles to cope with masses of paperwork and mounds of e-mail. While I haven’t conquered the paper monster yet, I have learned how to use one simple technique that allows me to plan for events in the upcoming year.
Whenever I come belatedly across an event, a festival, or contest that occurs annually, instead of lamenting the fact that I’ve missed it, I flip to the last week of this year’s agenda (I use the Moleskine weekly notebook) and write the date and the item down. (Those of you who use electronic calendars have it even easier, because you’re not limited to the current year).
This year I’ll miss the Okanagan’s Fall Wine Festival, as well as the deadline to apply for funding for a project. Next year, I’ll be ready in plenty of time because I’ll already have the dates written down. By scheduling at the beginning of next year, I’ll be fresh and I’ll have pletny of advance notice for that year’s events.
Instead of regretting a missed chance to apply for that annual scholarship or attend that fun-sounding exhibition, I can resolve to do so next year.
If you’re super-organized, you can even make note of great events you did attend, like the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s annual free concert in Deer Lake, so you’re sure to go again next year. Some organizations will even allow you to sign up to receive automated e-mail notices as deadlines or events approach. (I’ve already got enough e-mail, so I always uncheck this box).
Planning for next year in these small matters might seem counterintuitive if you’re more of a plan-as-you-go type. Still, there’s something highly satisfying about knowing when you’re going to apply for that grant in advance, instead of scrambling to complete an application at the last minute or, worse, turning up only to hear the show’s sold out or the hall is full.
Give it a try and let me know if it works.