Can you believe that we’re beginning the last week of April?! This month has been a shock to my system; the weather and the news have been rollercoasters and still – time marches on. Each Monday morning I spend a little time reflecting on the week that ended by examining how I used my time. Our little habits make up our lives and I want to make choices that align with my overarching goals and values as often as I can.
We’re still in the midst of renovating a few rooms, so the structure of my days seem loose and out of control. Fortunately the mornings have been consistent – this morning’s entry marked day 386 of journaling followed by 121 straight days of meditation. Colton was able to attend every day of treatment last week, we had school every day, and we spent at least a little time outside each morning and early afternoon.
But it was hard to find consistency outside of the morning hours. I was so overwhelmed with little tasks that I had to start a running to-do list on the sticky notes on the side of the page, which I haven’t done in quite a while. I’m not complaining but am very thankful for this little notebook! Using those stickies as a brain dump helped me clear my head and focus on one task at a time, which made a world of difference.
This is the second week that I’ve tried meal planning on the weekly spread and I’m very pleased with it, especially since I’ve been using a pencil and can correct as I go along. Knowing I have something planned for dinner keeps me on track and reminds me to get started cooking early in the day. We have a wonky meal schedule – I aim to have dinner finished before I pick up Colton at 2:30 because I try to have a hot meal ready for my husband before he leaves for work in the evening. It’s not always successful, but we do the best we can!
On a slightly different topic of notebooks: storage! All of these finished notebooks from the last few years have been haphazardly lying around on shelves. I bought a little storage box at Joanns last week that was perfect for A5 notebooks – and now they’re all tucked away, safe and sound. I’ll have my first finished notebook of 2021 by the end of April and will need a new box for storage!
How do you store your finished notebooks? Some of them, especially the traveler’s notebook inserts, are especially hard to clearly label and organize. I’d love to hear what works for you!
I plan to be back tomorrow with a One Little Word update – take good care until then!
The Cozy Burrow 
That storage system works well!
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This is something I’ll carry with me this week: “Our little habits make up our lives…” Onward!
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Your storage solution is such a good one! I can see how I’m going to need something like this soon. For now, I’ve filled two notebooks, so they’re just sitting on the shelf on my nightstand. But that’s not a long-term solution. Fortunately it’s not an emergency, so I have some time to research options.
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Hmmm storage for notebooks? I’d say I go for random. Back of a drawer, old suitcase, wardrobe… To be honest I burnt a lot, too much angst I wouldn’t want any family member to deal with!
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How do I store my notebooks/journals? In a word: Haphazardly! Basically because they are varying sizes, formats and bindings. Some are on shelves – most are in plastic boxes with lids. One of these days I shall probably bring some order – perhaps. Thanks for sharing yours and offering some food for thought …Have a great week!
Cheers~
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Love the sticky notes – gotta do what you’ve gotta do! Kudos on meal planning. I stink at that. Actually I just don’t like to cook so I’m lazy, ha ha. With the one kid it’s easier to get away with “meals” like chicken nuggets and frozen veggies, spaghetti, etc.. And then my husband actually likes to cook so the two nights he’s home we enjoy that!
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A brain dump onto sticky notes is perfect! and I love that you’re keeping them in your journal. I look back on my old to-do lists sometimes and it helps me remember … how we spend our minutes is how we spend our lives.
I used Moleskine journals before I started the Traveler’s Notebooks … they are now stored in a box in my closet. The TN’s are stored in binders https://smile.amazon.com/Midori-Travelers-Notebook-Binder-Refills/dp/B003SO1SD8/ and so far I have 4 or 5 of them (Holly is sitting in my lap or I’d open the cupboard to actually count). All of my inserts are TNs now so that’s great – but the inserts aren’t synched up like I wish they were – each binder holds 5 – which in an absolutely perfect world would be 2 calendars and three thin pages per year. I think it would be easy enough to add an extra insert to a binder (especially for you/your husband – y’all are handy!) … I’m trying to just not care too much. I put the finished notebooks into the binder in the order they’re finished and start a new binder when one gets full. At some point, I’ll need a crate for all those binders 🙂
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I wish I was as organized as Mary but I tend to be more like Honore with the haphazard plan. I have been all over the place with notebook sizes so I can’t fit them neatly in a box. Now that I have been in the standard TNs for almost two years, I hope I can get it together. Or, I might just burn them all!
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