With going to college, this became a huge issue for us. In order to succeed in school, we had to get organized.

What works for us now is basically, write it down, then write it down, then write it down...then write it down again! We use a small, weekly planner...everything gets written in there...especially anything that has a due date. On our desk we have a large calendar/desk blotter...everything gets written down there. Our binders for class are the kind with a clear plastic sheet on them...where you can slide things in and view them without taking them out...we have a small calendar page there. Again, everything gets written in. We have a small write-on/wipe-off board posted right next to our desk. REALLY important things get written there...and also, any requests from littles etc. We also post things on the fridge, next to the coffee pot, in the car, schedule things in our cell phone (alarm goes off), and make to-do lists...any little thing we can think of to help us remember/remind those who might want to do other things...that there is something important coming up.

We also started planning our day (learned this in a college skills class) by the hour. It was a homework assignment and really helped. The idea is to plan out one week and then see how well you stick to it/if it is realistic...then revise it for another week. The key is to put in every little thing...as well as the big things. It's set-up similar to a calendar only its for a day...so instead of days, you have hours. Then you put in things that don't ever change...for us it was actual time in class and T appointments. It would go something like this...6 am...wake-up/shower/get dressed 7 am...breakfast/check email 730 am...leave for class 8-930 am...Statistics 930-10 am...snack/review notes for lab 10 -1 pm...chemistry lab 1 pm...lunch 130 pm...travel to T 2-3 pm in T 3-30 pm travel home 330-5 pm...play with pets/watch tv/ chat online...etc

We were instructed to include things like blocks of time for studying, spending time with partner or kids, shopping, sleeping, etc. After we got it done and then revised, we used it for a couple weeks and suddenly we didn't really need it anymore...things were going much more smoothly. Of course, our revision (that the teacher did not see) included time for littles to play, time for teens to do artwork, etc!

These things seem very ridgid, and they are, at first...but once it's all been figured out and becomes routine, then things can be loosened up a bit. For example...it didn't take us a half an hour for any of our travel...that freed up a lot of extra time each day.

Sera