Actionable paper refers to paper that has an action attached to it.  This could be making an appointment, responding to an invitation, paying bills, planning a vacation, reimbursements, ordering information, prescription refills, coupons, etc.

The actionable paper that we have is what can bog us down.  These are are the things that we have "to do", take action on.  The things that need to be done, and we don't want to stop long enough to do them.  It's all of the things that we and our family need.  

Once you have all of your actionable paper separated from the rest of your paper, what do you do with it all?  It probably is a big to-do list.  So, now you need a system.  A way to organize all of the things you need to do each week. A way to plan out what's next. 

Two Tips:

1. Weekly planning time.  I have a time each week when I look through all the paper and then plan my next week.  Did you know that for every minute you plan, you save 5 minutes?  This means if it takes you 30 minutes to plan your week, you save yourself  2.5 hours of wasted time during your week!   So, weekly planning is essential for me.  I plan when I will run errands, make phone calls, meals, and shopping. This eliminates the "fly by the seat of my pants and hopes I don't forget something" problem.

Every week I look at what has come into my house and then plan what needs to be done.  Paper from kids schools, mail, bills, work, volunteer, social clubs, etc.  Anything that has come into the house get looked at.   THEN, I toss everything I don't need or want.  This eliminates unnecessary papers from hanging around.

2. Take action on the things that are necessary to take care of this week.  Just this week.  The pile of actionable papers includes a whole lot of things that need to be done, but not all of it needs to be done this week.

This is a GAME CHANGER for me.  It allows me to only focus on the things that are "dated".  The things that have a due date.  This frees up my head space to take care of things in smaller increments and allows things to get done!  You won't get overwhelmed by all of the things, and you are able to take care of just what is necessary for this week and I have much more productive this way.  Give it a try!

I have been using the Sunday Basket system for a long time, and I found that for me it works the best. 

I'll be back tomorrow to talk about where to put your actionable paper!  

Grab a friend and gather up your paper. Now, it's time to take some action!

Part 2 in a 5 part series

It's hard to believe that its the middle of May.  The school year will be ending soon and then its full speed ahead towards summer and all the activities that if offers.

When thinking ahead and planning what you will be doing, a good idea is to make a list of all of the things that you might possibly want to do. Ask your family members what things they enjoy and can't wait to do, as well as what they could live without.  There may be activities that kids have out grown as well as things they grow into.  Is there a beach that you have been wanting to visit, a new campground to try out.  How about visiting some museums, hiking, or even lazy afternoons in a hammock.  

All these things sound like fun!  Have you ever reached the end of summer and wished that you had done more of the things that you said you were going to do?  Life still moves on, we only have so much time in a week.  Now is the time to look ahead at the next three months and figure out what activities that you and your family will have time to enjoy.  Planning the next three months and scheduling the various activities now will most likely result in you enjoying more activities than the old "fly by the seat of my pants" routine.  This doesn't usually yield very good results.  

I'm defininitely not talking about over scheduling your summer, but if you don't actually plan specific outings, then the lazy days of summer just might pass you by!

I'm going to suggest that you print our a blank calendars for June, July, and August and plug in the most important activities first.  The things thatlyou don't want to miss, then sprinkle in some more.  Also, allow yourself some lazy days to just enjoy the relaxing pace of summer for back yard barbeques, walks and the park, and fun days at the beach or on a bicycle. 

Planning ahead also gives you peace of mind that you and your family will have opporunities to connect as well as make fun family memories!