Out of Sight!

Are you an “out of sight, out of mind” kind of person?  Do you have to have things out in order to remember them?  Do you worry that if you were to put it away you will never remember to use it or deal with it?  Well, I am one of “those” types.  I am highly organized, yet I am extremely forgetful.  If it is not in front of me or under my nose, I will forget. 

I have my schedule down to a science, yet I did forget to pick up my son and his friend from their tennis clinic!  My five year old and his friend decided since I was late they would walk home (three blocks)!  They were a happy as could be thinking how grown up they were to walk home!  I had my heart stop and my throat close as the guilt of my mistake consumed me.  A frightful night of sleep was a result, as I was thinking of what could have happened to the two sweet boys!  It was a day where time got away from me.  I am a scheduler and planner, yet this day a long business call took my mind off of what I was supposed to be doing.  Needless to say, a talk with the boys was a must to let them know to call home first, and to never walk home alone again.  And, for me, a new way of reminding myself needed to be developed.

There are many ways to remind you of what needs to be done.  I am the queen of reminders.  Here are a few things I have found helpful in helping keep me in line (without having to staple a note to my forehead!):

• Use on-line calendar with reminders.  I have the calendar synced to my phone so not only does my computer ding at me, but my phone does as well. 
• Use a timer.  The dreaded day my son walked home was unique.  My friend and I decided to send our boys to the tennis clinic at the last minute.  Our older children were at other practices and the little boys wanted to go to tennis.  She drove them to the clinic and I was to pick up.  It was not on my calendar so there was no reminder.  Now, for those days where something last minute comes up, I set a timer to remind me.  I was distracted by the phone conversation and time got away from me.  This can happen if you are busy cleaning, surfing the net, or reading.  I needed to be brought into the present and a timer would have been the reminder.  Now, I set one often!
• Sticky Notes – I am not a fan of sticky notes for daily use.  They fall off, get attached to other papers, or clutter up a space.  But, if used for special reminders, they work well.  If you have a unique, one time reminder, they can save the day.  For example, I was to bring food for my bible study group.  I had all the food that was not perishable set out to take the night before.  Most bible study mornings are busy and I know if it is not in my path to the door, it will be forgotten.  So I put a sticky note reminder on the non-perishable bag set by the door to remind me to get the items from the refrigerator before I left.  I could easily see myself leaving in a dash without them!  That morning, almost everyone in my group who was bringing food forgot something.  When you have tasks that are not routine, it is easy to be distracted and forget.

There are other ways to remind yourself of important tasks.  What do you do?  I never understood the “tie a string around your finger” method, yet if I have another incident where I forget my child, I may break down and try it!  Even the most organized can make mistakes!!!

For more tips on organizing, visit my website at:  www.afreshstartorganizing.net/tips. 

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