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Previous articles available here.

As we all know all too well, life doesn’t always work out as neatly in reality as it does on paper.  There are going to be exceptions to your weekly and daily routines.  The key to the success of any system is its flexibility, and your willingness to let it be flexible.  If something comes up that prevents you from completing your routine, roll with it as best you can.  Skip tasks if necessary, trade routines or days if possible, whatever works to keep you moving forward.  Don’t let one day – or even a week or more – take you completely off course.  Veer a little, veer a lot, but with routines in place you’ll always have a path to return to, and that alone can be comforting in trying or hectic times.

Another wrench in the weekly works is not exactly an exception, but an irregular or regular but infrequent addition: the monthly or seasonal tasks from our master lists.  There are, in my opinion, three basic ways to handle these.  One is to follow a Zone system for housework (Flylady), wherein each room or section of your house is assigned one week of the month and you rotate through the entire house in one 5-week stretch (the 1^st and 5^th “weeks” being whatever portion of a week the beginning and end of the month fall into).  Each week, on your cleaning day(s), you would complete any monthly or seasonal tasks that fall into that zone.  Another method is to group tasks by type – all the carpet steamcleaning, all the silver polishing, all the closet straightening, etc. – and each cleaning day of the month you do one set throughout the house, rotating when you finish everything.  The third way is to randomly assign these infrequent chores to cleaning days and go from there.

Gather all your recurrent, infrequent (less often than weekly) chores and tasks from your master list.  Decide whether you will group by zone, chore type, or some other way.  Insert them into your Panel however you have decided to incorporate recurrent tasks.  Add cards to your file, set up reminders in Outlook, make zone cleaning reference lists for your notebook, etc.  When you’re done with today’s work, you should have every task from your master list assigned a frequency and appearing in your Control Panel to “pop up” when it’s needed.  Yay!

It’s been a while since I covered this topic, so it’s time to get moving again.  I will be posting regularly (and much more frequently) this year, honest.

Now that supplies are gathered and plans are set, as much as possible collect any and all information related to your Routines and Schedules that you already have – calendars, school sheets, scribbled notes, organization paperwork, computer files, etc. – in one central place.  Make it someplace comfortable, where you can work and access any part of your Control Panel as necessary.  For many of us, this will be a desk.  Some may use a kitchen table, a corner of a dining room, or a craft area.  Wherever you feel you will concentrate best is where you should find your Control Panel.  My Control Panel is my “office”, which consists of a worktable in the dining room and some plastic drawers to house files, tools, and craft supplies, among other things.  So, get together anything you think might be useful in creating this part of your Panel, and we’ll start next!

I think I got myself a little out of order.  Sorry if I’ve caused any confusion.  Previous posts available here.

Chances are, there are several items on your master task list that are designated weekly.  Or perhaps two or three times weekly, but not quite daily.  These are the items to schedule now.  On your weekly plan you should have at least one day designated for cleaning.  If you only have one, today will be pretty easy.  If you have more than one, a deep cleaning and a sprucing up, for example, you’ll need to sort a little.

Find all those tasks to fit into your weekly plan around your existing schedule and daily routines.  Determine which day of the week these should be done.  Cleaning out the refrigerator, for example, can go on your cleaning day or in conjunction with your shopping day or the day you put your trash out.  If your laundry is not a daily task, pick one or more days to do it as your circumstances warrant.  Anything related to paperwork, bills, computer work would go on the office day.  Make sure when you’re done that the only items on your task list not addressed are those less frequent than once a week.  We’ll get to those later.

Previous posts here.

Today’s the day to put everything down in the manner in which you’ve chosen to access your routines and tasks tomorrow and every day to come.  Take your notes and cross-referenced lists and make pretty and permanent versions for your notebooks, planners, card files; type ‘em up, write ‘em out, do whatever it takes so they are usable.  Personally I’m using computer files and programs for nearly everything now but there is still a place for hard-copy notes and files.

Don’t stress overmuch over color-coding or matching pen styles, it’s better to have it imperfectly on paper than perfectly in your head – because memory is also imperfect as we all know, or we wouldn’t be here.

Previous posts here.

Chances are, many of the items you wrote down on your Task List are not automatic for you.  If they were, you probably wouldn’t be here.  Wouldn’t it be nice, though, if your daily chores, like vacuuming and dishes and laundry (if you want to do it every day; I do) were automatic?  They’d go faster, you’d notice them less, and they’d be over before you knew it so you could get on with the rest of your day.  Sound good?  Then let’s add those daily chores to our routines.

Look over your master task list and locate all the chores you marked as Daily.  Remember, this is how often you want to be doing the task, not how often you’re already (not) doing it.  Now compare this set of tasks to your routines and find a place for each of them.  You will only be acting on one new routine item at a time, so don’t feel overwhelmed at the number of additions you’re making today.

If you want to add a whole new routine for these cleaning items, go for it.  Or, take one or two to add to each of your existing routines.  Whichever works for you, as long as – eventually – everything is getting done every day.   Also remember that your daily routines may vary slightly based on your weekly plan, and take that into account.  I don’t expect that would happen as often with cleaning tasks as with personal, as the dusting doesn’t really care whether you’re leaving the house or not, but I’ll not rule out the possibility.

Previous posts here.

Daily tasks generally come in two categories: automatic, and not automatic.  The key is to move as many as possible into the first category.  And the only way to do that is to practice, practice, practice.  In order to get that practice, we need to know what it is we want to accomplish every day.  That’s where basic daily routines come in.  Generally, we have a morning routine, from the time we get up to the time we’re ready to face the day; an evening routine, from whatever time we choose to the time we go to bed; and one or more daytime routines, covering the rest of our daily tasks.  The last is usually more flexible, more general.  It can be a loose list of things to accomplish anytime between breakfast and dinner, a lunchtime routine, an after work routine, a 3:00pm routine, or a combination.  Depending on your schedule, you may have more than one, or different ones for different days of the week.  The constant is that every day there are certain things to be done.

The easy part is first: write down all the things that are already automatic for you.  I’m talking about things like get up, get dressed (to shoes, if you’re a Flybaby), feeding pets, taking kids to school, etc.  This is partly for the sake of completeness, and partly for that sense of accomplishment when you’ll have those things done every day before you even begin.  I’m all for taking it where I can get it.

Next, list everything you *want* to get done every day, that you may or may not be getting done now on a regular basis.  Just the personal items, not housekeeping chores.  Those will come tomorrow.

Break these down into daily routines; morning, evening, mid-day, after work, after school, whatever time of day seems logical to you.  Starting tomorrow (or today if it’s early enough), start practicing your routines – only those items that are already automatic, plus one.  Add the next task after a week or two, however long it takes to get comfortable with the last addition.  Gradual introduction reduces the risk of burnout and increases the likelihood of permanent retention.

Previous posts here.

I went back and forth for some time, struggling with the decision to start with daily routines or a weekly plan.  It makes sense on the surface to start with the things you do every day, but if you’re anything like me, your “daily” routine probably varies at least a little depending on the day of the week.  So it seemed prudent to start with a general weekly schedule.

First we’ll do the most basic of daily routines.  Then we’ll take the task lists and expand those routines.  Next we’ll fill in the rest of the week with the weekly tasks from the list.  Then we’ll make the physical manifestations of all our recurrent tasks; the card files, routine notebooks, recurring reminders on the computer, whatever.  Last I’ll touch on exceptions and less frequent obligations, and we’ll be ready to move on.

First things first: get a piece of paper and list the days of the week, the only thing about today that will be the same for all of us.  We learned ‘em decades ago and they haven’t changed since.  Lol  Seriously. . . .now fill in those things in your schedule that are time sensitive and/or you can’t change.  Class and work schedules, team practices, church and other organizational meetings or obligations – as long as they are regular and weekly.  A once a month book club reading is an exception, not a rule.  Make sure you note not only your own responsibilities but everyone’s in your household, as I’ll wager that their schedules impact yours in some way.

If you or your significant other has an irregular schedule, or a 3 days on 3 days off kind of arrangement, you’ll have to be a little more creative and flexible with your routines.  Instead of labeling by the days of the week, perhaps ‘work day 1, 2, 3, off day 1, 2, 3’ would be helpful.

Now that you have the skeleton of the week laid out, you’ll need to decide where the flexible elements belong:

• An office day – for all your paper or computer-related tasks, paying bills, writing letters, updating your website, making menus and grocery lists, etc.
• An errand day – shopping, post office, library, wherever
• A cleaning day – beyond the daily pick-up and surface cleaning
• A clutter-busting day – closets, attics, file cabinets, and garages, the ‘pits’ in our homes, can all be dealt with a little at a time
• A spruce-up day – get all the surface spiffing done at once
• A cooking day – save time later in the day by cooking ahead; boiling eggs, making jello, cooking a few pounds of hamburger, make a big roast for planned leftovers, cook a couple of complete meals to freeze for later, bake desserts or bread for the week, whatever floats your boat
• A family day – to spend time with the ones you love
• A spiritual renewal day – attend church, walk in the woods, write in a journal, seek out a sunset, anything that helps you recharge
• A day off – with routines in place you can *and should* afford to take a day off from chores
• A hobby day – you love to do it but it takes more time than you can squeeze out of every day, so take a block of time for it each week
• Date night – make an appointment with your significant other to charge your relationship

Yes, I realize there are more days there than there are days in a week.  But one or two may not apply to everyone, and most don’t actually require a full day’s attention.  Depending on your circumstances, you may only need to spend an hour on one or two of these, two to four hours is likely for some, and you may well want to devote an entire day to a couple.  Combine a few, if that works for you.  Your hobby may be renewing for you, and a day devoted to scrapbooks or gardening may be relaxing enough to consider it a day off, for example.

Balance in life is key.  Balance what you have to do for others, your home, and yourself with what you want to do, and you’ll be happier and more productive.  Don’t over schedule your obligations and chores at the expense of yourself and your sanity.  But do get all your responsibilities mapped out into a regular weekly schedule.

More in the Control Panel series here.

In order to build a Control Panel you will need to gather the physical supplies to do so.  Look over the structures you’ve decided to employ.  What you pick determines much of what you’ll need.  I give you the list below to get you started.  You’ll not need everything on my list; I’m trying to cover all the bases.  Obviously if you’re not having a card file you won’t need the index cards, and so on.  Make a list of what you’re missing so you’ll be prepared when you can get to the store.

Index cards (3×5, 4×6, larger, colored?)

Index card file (the box they go in, make sure it’s the right size)

Index card dividers (A-Z, 1-31, blank, Sun-Sat?)

Binder(s) (what size?)

Paper (lined, printer, card stock, colors?)

Hole-punch

Printer ink/toner

Tab dividers (pre-printed, plain, insert, stick-on?)

Sheet protectors

PDA/Smartphone

Software

File folders (hanging, manila, colored?)

File labels

Pen (something you like to write with, maybe colors?)

Calendar (wall, desk, book?)

Planner (binder, master package, inserts, tabs?)

Anything else you’ve decided to incorporate – if it’s interesting or unusual, please share!

*originally created September 2, 2004

More of the Control Panel series here.

Before you can break chores out into routines or regularly recurring tasks, you need to know what needs to be done.  To figure this out you can use your computer, but you might find it easier to have a pad or piece of paper you can carry throughout your home.  Go to every room or area of your home, inside and out, and take a good look around.  Try to look past the things you don’t really see anymore because they’re always there.  Write down everything you need to do to make the room look the way you want it to.  Don’t worry (yet) about how often you’d need to dust or clean the windowsill to keep it looking that way, just write down each and every task.  Look for the structure of the room (windows, baseboards, door jams), permanent furnishings (ceiling fans, dressers, tables), and contents of the room (books, clothes, toys).  Everything you see needs something for maintenance – wipe it, pick it up, wash it, put it away, change it, etc.  And don’t forget your yard, car, driveway, outside storage, etc.

After you have a complete list, then go back and determine how often you think each task should be done.  To paraphrase Pam & Peggy, don’t worry about how often you are doing something, you’re not doing everything or you wouldn’t be reading this.  They also suggest putting a time estimate with every task.  If that’s something you’d like to track, knock yourself out.    When we get to routines and schedules, you’ll be parsing all this information out to the correct intervals.  For right now, take a break and relax.  That was a lot to do; congratulations are due for a job well done.

*originally created September 1, 2004

More of the Control Panel series here.

Ultimate Lo-Tech

The very minimum requirement, in my opinion, for any household is some kind of calendar and a task/to-do list.  A wall calendar is great for centrality and getting everything in one place.  A pocket calendar is better for portability if that’s an issue important to you.  Having both works too, if you are diligent at keeping them synchronized.  And a task list is as basic as a piece of paper.

I suspect, however, that if this type of system were working for you, you wouldn’t be reading this.

Other

Some subjects may contribute so much material that none of the previous methods works for you.  While your Control Panel isn’t intended exactly as a complete storage and filing system, some very active files may be a part of yours.  A variation on the card file can easily be done with file folders in a drawer, allowing for larger and more papers to be filed for easy retrieval at a future date.  Bills work well this way.  Also, document files on a computer can be a backup or replacement for a binder system.  If you have unusual circumstances in your home and routine, you may have come up with a unique solution.  Please share!

Go over the layouts presented previously (here, here, and here) and see what speaks to you.  It is likely that no one option will answer all of your needs.  Consider all your family requirements.  Consider which categories would fit which method and vice versa, the space and money you have available, and your own personal preferences.

At the risk of influencing anyone else’s choices, I offer the following opinions: I find that binders are best for reference, card files are excellent for repeating tasks, and my computer keeps a better calendar than I ever could on paper.  Portability options are more and more available for nearly anything.

*originally created August 31, 2004