Your Own Planning System for 2021

Hello friends!

It's mid-December, and I'm seeing so many tempting Facebook ads for pretty, clever, and amazing planners that promise to transform my life. I've used a bunch of different planners and phone apps, and I have even customized my own daily forms. But...

Now heading into 2021, I'm back to SIMPLE, or at least simpler. I cobbled together my own flexible system with a sensible mix of digital and paper formats. When part of it stops working for me or my ADHD brain gets bored, I tweak it. No big investment. No guilt over buying something that I won't use and then seeing empty planner pages.

Here's what I've got. Maybe a few of these ideas will spark something for you.

First, let me acknowledge that I've got a lot of plates spinning in my life. I am a single mother of 10, though only the youngest three teen/adults still live with me. I am still homeschooling one teen, as I have even before COVID. (I started with my oldest in the early 1990s.) I am a part-time seminary student, working through an independent study course this semester as I write a new book called Burned: Rising from the Ashes of Spiritual Crisis. I work part-time (as needed) for the seminary as a course assistant helping masters and doctoral students with the research and writing process. I also work part-time regular hours for a local community crisis helpline. So, yes, I have a lot going on right now and lots more big stuff coming up in the future.

Even with my Attention Deficit Disorder, I can hyper-focus to complete big tasks. However, I still get distracted with a lot of little details. I need help keeping it all together. Unfortunately, no single packaged system had everything I needed and many of them had extraneous features that distracted me even more.

So I designed my own system just for me. I used ideas from other systems and customized them for my life. It has some concepts from bullet journaling. It also incorporates SMART goals, which are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timebound. It covers daily all the way through long-range plans. It also has a reflection facet. Best of all, it is intuitive yet semi-structured. 

Here's the short story: I use a simple handwritten daily To Do list, supported by a variety of other printed lists for longer time periods and more specific categories. Nothing is bound, so pages can be swapped in and out as necessary. I can keep what I want and throw away the rest. I also use apps for scheduled tasks and events. 

You want the more detailed version? Here are the main elements:

Clipboard portfolio and/or 3-ring notebooks: 

• My clipboard portfolio has the clip on the front cover. On the inside of the portfolio, there is a pocket on the left and a pad of paper on the right. 
• I use the clipboard portfolio daily for my current lists which I describe below.
• If I have time-sensitive pieces of paper that I will need in the next day or so, such as forms to fill out, I tuck them into the inner portfolio pocket. 
• My main 3-ring notebook holds any other papers I need handy, such as notes from meetings, reference materials, and assorted other papers. 
• I have more than one notebook either because some categories (like school or personal Bible study) need their own, or because I want to archive older information. 
• If you want to keep your main list visible but you don't want to use a separate clipboard, you could also attach a binder clip to the front of a 3-ring notebook. (Yes, I've done this before!)
• If you like the pretty packaged planners but don't want to buy one, get some inexpensive stickers or colored pens at the dollar store and jazz up the pages on your own. Or buy a pretty notebook and/or clipboard that you can use from year to year. I found my lovely Vera Bradley clipboard portfolio on clearance at Staples, and I had a $5 coupon, so I paid only $4. It goes with the colors in my bedroom, as do my notebooks. They have the kind of plastic cover where you can insert a page of your own design.

Simple Daily To Do List: 

• This is at the top of the stack on my clipboard. If I were using a regular notebook, it would be the first page.
• Each day (or the evening before), I handwrite a list of the main stuff I think I need to do for that day. 
• I might write it in chronological sequence, or in order of importance, or just get it out on paper as it comes to mind. It's usually short enough that I can figure it out as I go, no matter what order it's in. 
• Any scheduled events go in a boxed section to the right of the page. 
• I might fit two or three days on one page. 
• I try to keep it uncluttered and uncomplicated so I don't write all the little routine stuff, but just what is unique for that day. If my laundry is piling up, that item goes on my list. If a project is due soon, I write down what specific part of it I want to work on that day. 
• I check off the items as I go. I also add in new ones that I've done that day and then I check them off too. It's fun that way, and I can look back in the evening with a sense of accomplishment.
• Whatever I didn't do either gets shifted to the next day or cancelled with an X. Some things just don't get done. Oh well! 
• I don't keep these pages long-term. I save them for a week at a time so I can look back over the patterns of my productivity. If I want to "save" a page for posterity, I can take a picture of it and throw away the paper. 
• I've tried putting habit-tracking features and food logs on my daily pages (the ones I have designed on the computer in the past) but right now this is just too much for me. To be honest, I am more likely to avoid my planning page if it makes me feel guilty. I can do those separately when I want. Little bits at a time here. 

Ongoing To Do List:

• This is stuff that should be done soon, but not necessarily today. I add to it as I think of something.  
• I consult this list when I'm writing my daily list. I keep it clipped just under my daily list on my folio, so I can easily flip the pages to see it.
• When most of it is crossed out or obsolete, I start with a fresh list. 

Daily/Weekly Routines:

• For my daily routine of little tasks, I have a printed reminder list of specific things I could do on any given day, such as laundry or dishes or exercise. It jogs my memory when I am handwriting my list for a particular day. 
• I also have a Google Docs table with time blocks for my general daily/weekly schedule. This page has columns for days of the week and rows for each half hour. I can merge table cells to make larger time blocks. 
• This daily/weekly overview table has my scheduled work hours, church meetings, meals, blocks for studying & writing, etc. Though there are variations, my weekdays have a pretty regular rhythm. 
• I don't follow this strictly, but it's a good overview guideline to structure my days. 
• In addition to the printed version of my regular schedule, I also set alarms on my phone to help me transition from one time block to another or to remind me of essential short tasks, like taking my medicine. You can set alarms for certain days of the week if your schedule varies. 

Master Lists of Future Tasks, Events, and Goals: 

• I have lists for this month, next month, the next six months, and the next five years. I do these on the computer and often copy items from month to month. If I know the date of an event or deadline (even it its tentative), it goes on the this page.  
• My lists are in categories: Kids, House, Homeschool, Seminary, Book, Health, Personal Growth, etc. 
• Every month I print the list of tasks, events, and goals for that month. I put into my my clipped portfolio paper stack so I can refer to it when I make my daily and ongoing To Do lists. Much of it is copied from month to month.
• I also write and print a 6 month version, which I refer to when making my monthly lists. 
• My longest range goal page is a 5 year version, with sections for each year and categories within each year. Obviously, what I have here is general goals rather than specific plans. I find that this is very powerful in helping me move forward by working backward. For example, since I know I will be selling my house within the next few years, I have to work backward and plan for intermediate goals of downsizing and doing home repairs before then. I even put things on this list that I am considering, such as getting a doctorate degree or writing more books. This will help me discern my path as I keep my options in mind. 

Other Categorized Lists:

• These include upcoming house projects, books I want to read, Christmas presents to buy, etc. 
• I type them into Google Docs where I can read them from my phone or computer. 
• I may or may not print them out to put in my main notebook.

Calendar, Clock, Notes and Other Apps: 

• I use the Notes app to jot down whatever I need to remember as I go along, whether I'm at home or not. I can add these into my other lists as needed. I can also email information to myself from here. This is often a reminder of what I need to get at the grocery store, or a website I want to look up.
• The Calendar and Clock app alarms alert me to pay attention to things like taking my medicine, picking up a teen from work, getting on Zoom for an appointment, paying my electric bill, or setting up my desk to work from home that day. 
• My Calendar app events are color-coded: purple for church, blue for school, red for medical, yellow for work, orange for birthdays, etc. 
• The alarms I set to remind me of time blocks each day are actually songs relevant to the tasks, such as Andra Day's "Rise Up" to get me out of bed, or Sandra McCracken's "We Will Feast in the House of Zion" when it's time to make dinner. 
• When I am taking seminary classes that have a syllabus of assignments, I track my progress using Trello. It is a free planning system you can use on any of your devices. You can set up a Board for each topic in your life, then lists for sub-topics, cards for tasks, and checklists within the cards for sub-tasks. So I can have a board for seminary, a list for each class, cards for assignments, and checklists for the steps I must complete for that assignment. I will be using Trello again in the spring semester. I like having this digital because I often read textbooks on Kindle when I'm away from the home, and it's nice to be able to see what's next and to check off the chapters as I go.

Journals:

• Journals are not technically for planning, but many packaged planner systems include a section for reflecting on the day or the week or for dreaming for the future. I appreciated this feature in the Monk Manual and want to continue it. However, I want to preserve my reflections and dreams, rather than discard them with my daily To Do lists. They belong in one of my journals. 
• Right now I'm mainly using one journal for everything - diary of recent happenings (and my thoughts about them), prayers, reading notes, abstract musings, angst, etc.  

Paper and Online Storage: 

• Online in Google Drive
• Pictures on my phone of receipts and documents
• Two-pocket folders for specific categories of papers that I don't want in notebooks (mementoes, letters, artwork, etc.)
• File cabinet near my workspace
• Plastic file boxes in my closet and storage room
• Archive notebooks
• Paper piles that migrate around my bedroom (I gotta work on that!)

~*~*~

One of the books I chose to read for my independent research course in seminary is Crafting a Rule of Life: An Invitation to the Well-Ordered Life by Stephen A. Macchia. Though its primary focus is on spiritual growth, it gives much needed insight on creating productive rhythms for accomplishing goals. 

If you're interested in planning and time management, you might like these two blog posts with videos that I made last spring, as well as a few posts from previous years. The first video, featured in my post Talking About Time, gives a flexible framework for getting stuff done. The second video, Time --- and Time Again, talks about time in the kairos sense, which focuses more in being attentive to opportunities. 

Time --- and Time Again

A few other related blog posts:

• The Goals Gatherings
• Pull It Together and Push It Through: How to Get It Done When You Think You Can’t
• Focus (One Word)
  

Brainstorming and Problem-Solving

Hello again!

This next video is about brainstorming and problem solving using the scenario of setting up for Zoom calls and video production.






I mentioned the UBeesize  Phone Tripod. It cost me $21.99 on Amazon and can also be used for cameras. This is not an affiliate link, just a courtesy to y'all if you are interested!

After I made the video, I realized I could not only trim the length of the video, but I could also resize it right on my phone! I hadn't known that before. I had shot the video in horizontal mode, but made it more narrow before uploading it to YouTube. When I embedded it here on the blog, I also changed the width in the HTML code.

While the video covered how I worked through the aggravations of setting up my physical space and phone for Zoom calls and making videos, the general concept is brainstorming and problem solving. I didn't go into too many details on this process, but the main gist is to:

• stop and think of what is bothering you (what problem you need to solve)
• brainstorm for possible solutions (even if they seem silly)
• consult with others (those who know you and/or those who know the topic)
• check websites or other sources for information
• assess the alternatives and choose the option or combination of options which looks best
• try it, reassess, and shift to something else if that doesn't work

You might also find these links helpful.

• The Goals Gatherings (more extensive section on Brainstorming near the bottom)
• Pull It Together and Push It Through: How to Get It Done When You Think You Can’t

• How Do I Juggle It All?

These are the two most recent videos in my practical encouragement series.

• Time--and Time Again! (a look at chronos and kairos time)
• Talking About Time! (a simple framework for time management)

Time -- and Time Again!

Dear friends,

In the last post, I featured my 10 minute video called Talking About Time which provided a simple framework for time management. In this edition, my topic is Time--and Time Again which is another look at time. The Greeks had at least two words for time, chronos, which is more quantitative and measurable, and kairos, which is more about being aware of the opportunities that each moment brings.

What I didn't specify in my story about waiting was that it was 70 minutes before I got my groceries from Walmart curbside pickup, and as you may remember, that was the second time I had tried that day! Phew! Usually it's just a few minutes!

In this video, I mentioned the book Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life by Anglican priest Tish Harrison Warren.

And before I go, I wanted to let you know I have another video post ready to go too, this one on Brainstorming and Problem Solving -- or how I keep my sanity when setting up for Zoom calls and video production with my phone. 

Until next time,

Virginia Knowles

The Goals Gatherings

Goals gatherings!

That's what I've been up to this past week! Let me back up a bit. A year ago, I posted on Facebook asking if any of my local friends wanted to get together to talk about goal setting. We never did end up doing anything, but the post came up in my memories feed earlier this week and I decided to try again. So many people said they'd love to come but either were too busy or lived too far away, so on a whim, I decided to start a new private Facebook group called "Goals with Virginia Knowles" to share inspiration and resources. That was on New Year's Eve. It kind of took on a life of its own, and now, four days later, we have 282 members who are actively posting and interacting with each other. I love this!

I still wanted to do a local gathering. Some people said they could make it on a Friday evening, and others on a Saturday morning. So I did both. I didn't know exactly who would show up even though I had an RSVP list that kept changing.  I had four pages of handouts ready, which I'll share later in this post. I also bought supplies for making vision boards, which we didn't end up having time to do. 

Four women showed up last night and two more came this morning! Most of them are pictured with me here. I tended to do too much talking in the evening session, but fortunately one of my friends who was helping me moderate, redirected by asking each of us why we were there, and what was our biggest need for goal setting. I am so glad she did that! It's amazing how women can equip one another when we know what each other needs!

Here's an outline of what we talked about! It's not a very linear approach, but then I'm not a very linear person. 

Goals Gathering

Identity >>> Vision >>> Goals >>> Plans >>> Actions >>> Assessments

• Identity: Who you are - gifts, personality, opportunities, experience 
• Vision: What you dream - big picture desires and passions 
• Goals: What you’ll do - what you specifically want to accomplish in real life 
• Plans: How you’ll do it - detailed steps you will take to make your goals happen
• Actions: Doing it - carrying out the plans, adjusting as you go 
• Assessments: How you did it - reviewing how it went, tying up the loose ends, and deciding what you would change for next time

Centered Life:

• Think of a circle with a core and radiating spokes. 
• What is at your core which keeps everything else in place?
• My center is my faith in God that overflows into a desire to serve others. 
• Simplify! Tend to the inner first, then work outward along the spokes.
• Key facets of life: Spiritual, Emotional, Physical, Mental, Social 
• Key spheres of influence: Family, Home, Work, Service, Friendships, Hobbies
• When you live from the center, you can work with peace, joy, and confidence no matter what else is going on around you.
• Don’t forget holistic self-care, tending to who you are and the body you are in. 

Starting Over:

• Moving past failures and disappointments is a part of life!
• Allow yourself to grieve your losses. 
• Learn from your mistakes!  Reframe them as life lessons!
• Own your own responsibility, but don’t take the blame for what is not your fault.
• “Recycle the trash!” Use your experience to help others heal and move forward!
• Let go of bitterness for your own sake. Forgiveness does not necessarily mean trust or reconciliation. 
• Shake off the shame and stigma. Seek out professional help if you’re having a tough time. 
• Start fresh, looking to the future! God gives beauty for ashes, and the oil of joy for mourning! His mercies are new every morning!

Timing:

• What legacy do you want to leave for the future?
• Set long, mid, and short term goals. Work backward from the future and then work forward from now to fill in the gap between here and there.
• Overwhelmed by the immensity of the future? Stick to “just for now” for now. Sometimes it’s all you can do to take the daily steps as you receive a little light for the path. Still try to think a little about the distant future as you are able.
• You may have an idea or dream now that won’t come to fruition until much later! Sometimes you have to let a seed go dormant until it’s ready to sprout. Be watchful! Or maybe it will show up in a different way? Be open!
• What dreams have you had in the past that might be ready to burst into bloom now? What would it take to water and tend them?
• Other times, you could do something now, but it’s not the best time. Save it for later? Or just minimize your time investment for now?
• Our opportunities build with our experiences. You are equipping yourself now for things you don’t even see yet. Be faithful.

Case Studies and Case Management:

• Case Study: Take a step back and look at your life as if you were observing from the outside. Write down everything you can about the situation: the atmosphere, key players, the relational dynamics, what is working, what is not, areas where there has been progress, areas that still need improvement, trouble spots, constraints, resources, anything else? Analyze it from as many angles as you can. Pretend you are a business consultant.
• Manage: Based on your findings, come up with an integrated plan for progress that will holistically and realistically address the major concerns. Make it like a business plan if that helps. Think about people, time, money, and other resources.

Cooperation and Collaboration:

• Our lives involve others, but we can’t control them.  Our goals have to acknowledge that and be more focused on our own actions.
• How will you motivate other people to work with you? What will you do if they don’t? How can you idiot-proof your goals? (We can't completely, but we can try!)
• We can’t always remove negative people from our lives, but we can counteract that by surrounding ourselves with encouraging people.
• Pair up for follow up! Share strengths. Ask for help with what you find hard to do. Offer your help in areas where you have seen success.

Time Management:

• “Habit stack” into a scheduled routine (little to big). When I get up… When I get to work… When I get home… Before I go to bed…
• What are your “time sucks”? Do you need to eliminate them or just limit them?
• Do you use timers or alarms?
• Consolidate similar tasks.
• More ideas at www.thismomgrowsup.blogspot.com category “Get It Done”

Efficiency and Effectiveness: 

• Efficiency is doing things the right way. Effectiveness is doing the right thing! 
• What will it take to do the right thing the right way?

SMART Goals:

• Specific - Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? Details!
• Measurable: How much? How many? How will I track progress?
• Attainable: Reasonable? Doable with your resources and constraints?
• Relevant: Worthwhile? Consistent with your own life? 
• Timely: Timelines? Deadlines? Urgency? Rhythm? 

Big and Little: 

• We need to think of both the big picture (telescope) and the little details (microscope).
• The big affects the little. The little affects the big. They are intertwined.
• Big rocks in a jar - get the priorities in first, then work in everything else as it fits.
• Little things - daily habits can make or break your life. Don’t neglect them!
• Baby steps! Don’t get too overwhelmed by the enormity of the goal. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time? The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Brainstorming:

• What would you do if time and money were no object?
• What would you do if you could overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles?
• Think and write now as it comes, even if it’s random or crazy. 
• Let it flow freely. Save your tweaking for later. 
• Do you see any themes? Any weird possibilities?
• Essentials may reveal alternatives. Take it down to the basics and think what could possibly work for you for this need, even if it’s not a traditional approach. You could get what you really want by decluttering a bunch of peripheral desires.

Organizing Your Thoughts:

• Lists - any kind! Where will you keep them?
• Planner - digital and/or paper - buy it or design your own
• Vision board - pictures or words
• What apps or computer programs help you most?
• I like Trello, gTasks, Calendar, Notes, Evernote, email

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since we didn't have time to do the vision boards, we're going to schedule another evening later this month to do that at someone else's home. I'm looking forward to that! 

I'm glad I did the Goals Gatherings and hope to do more in the future. We may also try to get some of this on video, but I will probably do this separately since much of our interactive discussion is private. I am guessing I will do very short videos for each section. 

Have you ever done something like this?

Virginia

How Do I Juggle It All?

Dear friends,

People sometimes ask my how I manage to do what I do, how I juggle it all as a single mother of several children. That's a good question. I don't always do it well. Other times, I do well enough, but not as well as I'd like. 

I am a seminary student (usually full-time with 9 hours a semester in fall and spring, but only 3 in summer), a part-time crisis hotline specialist (15 hours a week), I am resuming home school with my youngest teen in about a month, I have four other teen/adult kids still living at home, and then there is plenty of housework. Add in paperwork, personal care, downtime, and myriad other stuff that needs to be done. Plus, I love to spend time with my five other adult kids and my six grandchildren. One of my daughters is getting married in about two months, too.

Let's just say the house is the thing that suffers most. As I say, if the kids want a cleaner house, they know what they can do... And they do all know how to cook, or at least heat up corn dogs and pizza rolls. I occasionally take a stab at something a little fancier than chili and spaghetti for dinner.

So yeah, it's kind of crazy here. I'm still wondering how I'll manage when school ramps back up for me, my home schooled daughter, and my teenage son in public school. Should be fun, right?

I think the trick for me now is just trying to layer in what I need to do and make it fit.

This morning I woke up before 7, but lay in bed and scrolled through my FB feed and memories to find good stuff to repost to my new page Empowering Christian Women. Then I ate a quick breakfast and headed to my study table to do my seminary homework for two hours. I had a five page paper due tonight, but I worked ahead and wrote most of it last week. I still had to finish the final edits and format my footnotes before submitting it this morning. I posted my responses to assigned topics on the class discussion forums. I updated my list of assignments on Trello (project management app and online program) and checked off what I'd finished. 

Next I cleaned out old food from the refrigerator, attempted to tidy up the kitchen, and packed my snack bag for work. I took a shower while listening to a friend's Facebook Live video on self-care for advocates of abuse survivors. I ate leftovers for lunch while reading a theology textbook on Kindle. I dabbed on a little concealer and blush.

I left for work in the early afternoon, spending five hours talking to people in crisis. I was on a call deescalating a very depressed and anxious client when I accidentally knocked over my drink onto the carpeted floor. My supervisor quietly came over and wiped it up for me. Bless her.

As soon as I arrived home in the evening, my youngest climbed in the van and we headed to a youth event at church. I've been chilling in my room since we got home, talking with some of my other teens. I don't even want to look at my cumulative to-do list. Oh eek, I just did, and I apparently forgot to make sure the trash went down to the curb this morning. Oops. At least my daughter watered my flower garden for me! 

Now it's almost midnight, and I'm off to bed after my evening routine of flossing teeth and moisturizing skin. 

Tomorrow (Saturday) I will try to sort all of the clean laundry that has been piling up in my dining room so the kids can put it away, tame the dishes in the sink, run a few errands, and finish the last several chapters of reading assignments for the week. I also need to finish up some of the arrangements for an upcoming out-of-state family reunion that I'm organizing. I'm sure I'll squeeze in a nap too.

I don't think I'll ever get the house the way I want it until I have an empty nest in several years. That's just something I have to accept for now, but I still keep plugging away at it with the help of my kids. I can at least keep my own bedroom mostly tidy most of the time.

So how do I get it all done? I don't. But I do what I can and call it good enough. And when it's not, I take a rest and give it another try later.

How about you?

Related blog posts? Sure thing! 

• Pull It Together and Push It Through: How to Get It Done When You Think You Can’t
• Arise (One Word)
• A Vision of Mother-Life (A Poem)
• This Mom Starts a New Chapter
• Focus (One Word)
• Smile. Focus. Begin.

Grace and peace,

Virginia  Knowles

This Mom Starts a New Chapter

Dear friends,

I'm starting a new chapter in life.

In the last post on this blog, I wrote about my One Word for the Year, which is Focus. I was trying to figure out what to do next with my life. It's funny how once I really focused on it, the way became more clear. Here is some of it:

School and Work Choices

I also wrote in that last blog post about my friend Patricia leading a Lectio Divina Bible study. That opened a new door for me: I'm starting a Master of Arts in Ministry at Asbury Theological Seminary (Orlando campus) this fall, partly funded with two of their scholarships. 

But this leads to other transitions. 

After 31 years as a (mostly) stay-at-home mom, I'm looking for a part-time job to help pay for my tuition. I went to a job fair last week, and as a result of that, I have an interview tomorrow at a social services agency working with people in crisis. (Update: I got the job!)

Because I will be going to grad school full-time and (hopefully) working part-time, I won't be home schooling my youngest daughter, so she will be going to public school for 7th grade.

Summer

During the summer, I'm scrambling to get a lot of stuff done around the house and with my kids before I don't have as much time. Big clutter purge going on here!

I'm also getting a jump on my seminary studies since there is a ton of reading due pretty quickly. I took home school books to Brightlight Books (my favorite used bookstore) and traded them in for several of my theology text books, which is one of their specialties. I downloaded several texts in Kindle version, which is much easier for me to read since I can adjust the font. I ordered a few other books new on Amazon, and now I have just one left to find at a decent price. 

Side note: My son just came in and said, "I think someone's been using my debit card on Amazon." Oops. We share an Amazon account, and for some reason his debit was listed as the default. I now owe him $80. Of course, he owes me his very existence, but that's beside the point. 😉


Digital Organization

Getting my digital life organized helps me get the rest of my life more organized. I have used Evernote and gTasks for quite a while, but my friend Susan Moore clued me in to Trello and I'm hooked! 

I'm not quite sure how to describe it, but Trello is an organizing system that you can use on your computer and all of your devices. 

Trello has boards for the major project areas of your life. These boards can have really cool photographic backgrounds of your choice.

Each board has categorized lists with cards (tasks) on them.

The task cards can be opened to enter more details, such as check lists, due dates, labels, and file attachments.

I opened two windows in my browser and set up tabs for all of my Trello boards. Then each day, I click through the tabs to see what I need to work on. If I'm away from home, I can open the app and swipe through my boards on my phone.  For some reason, this is just so much more satisfying than my gTask checklist, which I still use for some things. Plus, it's more comprehensive and intuitive.

In addition to my Trello windows, I keep another window open with tabs for my email, Facebook, Google Calendar, and Mint financial tracker.


Wisdom from James

I also started another blog, but this one is not your typical format. It's a study of the book of James. Each passage has separate pages for Read+Reflect+Respond (study questions, applications, a hymn, a prayer), My Reflections (an extended paraphrase) essays, poems, links), and Study Helps (alternate versions, related verses, commentaries). I'm about a third of the way through it! Links to each post are below, but the main link is Wisdom from James.

That's about all for now, except for links to my recent blog posts below! I'd love to hear what you are doing, too, so leave a comment!

Much love,
Virginia Knowles

Recent Blog Posts

Virginia's Life, Such As It Is

• Simple Woman's Daybook - June 2018 - a more detailed update on my life.
• Simple Woman's Daybook - April 2018

Watch the Shepherd

• The Power of a Christian Woman's Voice - a gender manifesto of sorts - PLEASE READ!
• Soul Musings from an Old Journal
• Lift High the Cross (Strength in Hymn)
• PTSD: Pain that Keeps on Giving While We Go on with Living
• Human Trafficking: A Community Conversation

Wisdom from James

• Read + Reflect + Respond with James 1:1-8
• My Reflections on James 1:1-8
• Study Helps for James 1:1-8
• Read + Reflect + Respond with James 1:9-18
• My Reflections on James 1:9-18
• Study Helps for James 1:9-18
• Read + Reflect + Respond with James 1:19-27
• My Reflections on James 1:19-27
• Study Helps for James 1:19-27
• Read+Reflect+Respond with James 2:1-13
• My Reflections on James 2:1-13
• Study Helps for James 2:1-13

Focus (One Word)

OK, so it's only been like, what, eight and a half months since I posted on this blog? Eek! Oh well! That's life! There's only so much I can do sometimes.

But here I am. 

It's now February 2018, and back at the end of December, I thought about my new "one word" for the year.

FOCUS.


Because that's what I need to do. Focus.

I have a lot of growing up to do - as the title of this blog suggests - and so much progress to make in areas where I've been lacking. I need to sit down and take a good hard look at what I still want to do in this life, where I want to go on this journey I'm on. This takes planning and preparation and productivity. And focus, of course.

To be honest, this morning I had a hard time focusing. I was tired and stressed and had a headache. It took effort to move forward with the day. After I returned from running errands and eating a little breakfast, I tackled the dishes and other basic household chores. That put me in productivity mode so I could focus on creating this blog post that I've been meaning to write for a while. 

I won't be able to cover everything rattling around in my brain about this, but I'll write more in the coming weeks. 

For now, I'll just share a few things which remind me to stay on track.

Visual Cues

I created this framed picture by adding the word "Focus" to a photo of one of my tie dye creations. Focus encompasses creativity, too, not just dry logistics.

This large montage reminds me of what areas need my attention this year. I listed several key words for each one.

 

I also created my own calendar on Snapfish. I thought of several Scripture passages that I felt would be powerful encouragement toward focusing my life. I used The Message paraphrase since it's poetic, and I paired the verses with some of my nature photos from the year. Here is my February page.

For my front hallway, I just created my new chalkboard design for the spring season. As a visual metaphor to go with it, I set out a vintage Polaroid camera and its case. They belonged to my late Grandpa Quarrier in the 1970's.

Apps & Planners

In my last post on this blog, The (Unexpected) Ritual of My Daily Do List, I shared about how I had stopped using apps for planning, and was using a Daily Do sheet that I had designed. That worked well for many months, but then it didn't anymore. A few weeks ago I replaced a malfunctioning phone, and when I set up the new one, I decided to give the gTasks app another try. I'm glad I did. I also switched from the default Apple Calendar app to the Google Calendar app. 

gTasks app

Google Calendar app

However, even with the apps, I'm still using a paper planner as a backup. Writing things down physically helps me remember them, and it's also helpful as a backup for when I accidentally delete an event from my phone calendar. The book on the right is my planner, and the one on the left is a journal with writing prompts and beautiful illustrations.

What I really like about this planner, which I bought at Walmart, is that for each weekly page spread, there is an extra lined page for writing whatever is needed. Monday and Tuesday are my high productivity days since my home schooled daughter is in classes, so I can do a more detailed to do list for them on this lined page.

(This was actually my second attempt at using a paper planner this year. I bought a much more complicated loose leaf system at Michael's Crafts, but it was confusing and overwhelming to me with all kinds of different pages. This new one shown above is much more doable for me.)

Books

I recently purchased several books on focus, planning, brain boosting, and financial management at our library's used bookstore. Please note that I haven't read them yet so I can't exactly recommend them, but for less than a dollar a piece, I figured I couldn't go to far wrong grabbing a pile. Perhaps I'll be sharing some of what I read in future posts!

Lectio Divina Study

So many lovely people have taken their time to help me learn vital skills and to grow as a human being. Besides my own family, I have a circle of friends, both on-line and IRL (in real life) who have been priceless. 

I recently joined a Bible study that my friend Patricia is leading each week at a local church. Connecting with a small group of women there has been such a gift. The study style - Lectio Divina - helps develop focus, too. It's not a teacher imposing her own opinions on a subject for everyone else to hear. Instead, we carefully listen as Patricia reads the Scripture passage three times slowly. We try to be attentive to what God wants us to take into our hearts from the passage, reflecting on the words and phrases, and then jot this down in silence. This is called Meditatio. Then we write a prayer based on this, which is Oratatio. Third, for Contemplatio, we write down how we plan to apply the truths and ideas this week. After this, we briefly share our thoughts and pray for each other. Later on at home, I spend a more extended time with the same passage, perhaps making a list or an outline, or reading it in another version. This practice - or spiritual discipline - helps me to focus better on God's word, which in turn brings clarity to my life and decisions.

And now I'll just leave you with some links to other posts.

Some of my earlier "One Word" posts:

• Strength
• Forward
• Refresh

Two other related posts on this blog:

• Pull It Together and Push It Through: How to Get It Done When You Think You Can’t
• Smile. Focus. Begin.

Recent-ish posts from my other blogs... 

What About Privilege, Justice, and Social Responsibility? 

God of Joy, I See Thee

Mutual by Design 2017 Christians for Biblical Equality Conference and No Little Women