low tech solution to hi-tech dilemma

Good morning,

Seriously getting tired of being pleasing, helpful, courteous, dependable....and everything else.  Friday they all will be gone and honestly mouse can't wait.

Somehow through it all she's held tongue and remained nice, she's kept diligently to her rules....and OMG but have those rules come in handy when dealing with all this!  Keeping the focus on Omega has helped to no end in keeping the peace and keeping mouse's head free of all the minutia.  Something happens and it's so much easier to let it go.  Weird.

It's just that mouse has never been that way, she would hold onto anger or frustration and let it gnaw at her until it made her crazy.  Through this whole embracing of the rules mouse has finally gotten it into her head that life is sooooo much easier when she gives up that personal control and leaves it Omega.  He's taken good care of mouse during this time.  Only one small hint of ominous hangs, he did say that Friday night he'd check mouse's scores to see how did overall during the invasion.  Maybe he was joking but mouse has been going through everything back in her mind, trying to decide if there were times she underachieved.

The low tech solution

It's true enough Omega lives by his blackberry, his life is neatly scheduled; his blackberry is so smart it can tell him about conflicts that might arise in his calendar.   We've tried all sort of similar calendars for mouse but none have really worked out.  We've tried him writing daily notes of certain things he wants done but more often than not, there would be a scheduling snafu on mouse's part.  He'd schedule her to do something and something else would take over.  Like a work project.  To collate all that information was too burdensome for Omega.  Which led us to try using a calendar.  The calendar got us part of the way there.  Since mouse doesn't sit at a computer all day long anymore, it's hard to keep everything there.  The same was true with the phone...it's a pain to try to schedule swishing blue stuff into the toilets...yanno?  It was actually too complicated and time consuming for mouse.  She'd be finishing or nearly finishing a task, and then the alarm would be ringing to start the next.  After a while things would be forgotten because it's hard to go back and look.  You can only clearly see still what's ahead.

Then around a month ago, we started this new idea.  A simple small 3x5 notebook that can be carried inside mouse's purse, and a small pocket calendar.  The calendar is just big enough to write down little things like a birthday reminder, or a day off, hair appointment, work appointment, etc.  The notebook then comes into play.  It's there where the daily todo's can be easily jotted down, and crossed off (which gives a huge sense of accomplishment).

For multiple appointments or tasks the daily to-do carries the details.  Shopping lists can easily be jotted down as needed too.  OMG it's sooo efficient for mouse!

If something isn't completed a simple arrow is drawn indicating that it's carried over until the next day.  The todo's are written up the night before for the next day or sometimes a few days in advance, as in the case of meetings. One day, one page is generally how it goes, sometimes more pages are needed.  Meeting notes are actually kept in there as well.  The point is for the most part mouse controls the list.  Omega looks it over, and sometimes will add something to it, but for the most leaves it alone.  The house is tidy (dare mouse say clean?), laundry done...beds changed all in a timely fashion that NEVER worked well for mouse in the past!  The appointments have not once been forgotten.  Everything needed for the appointment is tagged on the previous day, so all that work is done early, notes typed or whatever needs doing is done.

It's remarkable!  It only cost 3 bucks for the notebook and it's brought so much needed organization to mouse's life.  How on earth did she ever function without it?   And why did it take her so long to figure it out?????

Right now the to do list contains everything needed for the first night of Hanukah.   And everything is almost checked off....

See everyone next week.