I would appreciate y'alls' "best practices" regarding where and how to keep reference information that family members need acess to, such as practice schedules, lunch menuss, important phone numbers, appt dates, bus routes, dates of events we might attend but have not yet committed, (e.g., school play runs for 3 days, but we don't know which one we will go to), church bulletin, membership cards we share. I have had one pocket on frig for all this and a 12 month calendar with hard landscape items on it that are pertinent to all family. The advantage of the single pocket is that when you look for one item in the pocket you are forced to thumb through the others, resulting in discarding out of date items and cueing of ones of interest but it is time consuming and messy. Further, sometimes a well-intending family person puts in new schedule of events in the pocket (e.g., choir practices) but fails to alert me. Also, what is a good age to start the GTD practices with kids? Ours refuse to put into their "planners" anything but homework and the teachers want due dates for projects, not start dates or benchmark dates. And, the planners the school provides lack weekends! Since the kids have to buy really high powered calculators, maybe they could use Palms with calculator software.
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family-shared paper stuff and related?
- Thread starter Jamie Elis
- Start date
We have a planner with five columns for our family of four. One column for each and one for all. So can anyone enter dates which should be known by everyone at the right place.Jamie Elis said:I would appreciate y'alls' "best practices" regarding where and how to keep reference information that family members need acess to, such as practice schedules, lunch menuss, important phone numbers, appt dates, bus routes, dates of events we might attend but have not yet committed, (e.g., school play runs for 3 days, but we don't know which one we will go to), church bulletin, membership cards we share. I have had one pocket on frig for all this and a 12 month calendar with hard landscape items on it that are pertinent to all family.
Jamie Elis said:The advantage of the single pocket is that when you look for one item in the pocket you are forced to thumb through the others, resulting in discarding out of date items and cueing of ones of interest but it is time consuming and messy. Further, sometimes a well-intending family person puts in new schedule of events in the pocket (e.g., choir practices) but fails to alert me. Also, what is a good age to start the GTD practices with kids? Ours refuse to put into their "planners" anything but homework and the teachers want due dates for projects, not start dates or benchmark dates. And, the planners the school provides lack weekends!
The papers which should be readable for everyone are in my home-GTD-system. They are entered by me after the others have thrown them in my inbox. So I am aware of dates and son on and be able to enter them in the calendar.
Jamie Elis said:Since the kids have to buy really high powered calculators, maybe they could use Palms with calculator software.
Here in school Palms are not allowed in tests, so my sons have to have normal calculators. Nevertheless my elder son has a Palm for training vocabulary and keeping data.
Yours
Alexander
I like your fridge pocket for things like the school play--maybe you just need to incorporate a mini-review of it a couple of times a week where you could toss the things that are out-dated and you would find the new items and decide what to do about them.
For more permanent reference, I try to keep a binder for things like take-out menus and contact lists--things that don't change often.
In our district they don't allow the palms in tests, either, and another point is that the teachers work with the class on the functions of the calculators, so they like everyone to have the same two or three models, so they don't have to stop everything and try to figure out a new calculator with functions or keys they aren't accustomed to. And the kids will occasionally need to borrow a classroom calculator when they lose theirs, or forget it, or if it just stops working, so it's best to go with the calculators the school recommends. This brings back memories of having to run out to get a new calculator when one suddenly went on the blink! My daughter had to have the model with a particular key, and nothing else would do! Thank goodness for 24-hour WalMarts.
Can you get your kids planners with the full week? Like at bookstores they often have college datebooks, or city datebooks, with the entire week. Or you could go to diyplanner.com and download a template, print out your own planners, take them to staples and get them spiral-bound for a couple of dollars.
I never could get my daughter to do any more than the school required, as far as project planning, but the school did give them intermediate due dates and provide a structure of checking on their progress.
For more permanent reference, I try to keep a binder for things like take-out menus and contact lists--things that don't change often.
In our district they don't allow the palms in tests, either, and another point is that the teachers work with the class on the functions of the calculators, so they like everyone to have the same two or three models, so they don't have to stop everything and try to figure out a new calculator with functions or keys they aren't accustomed to. And the kids will occasionally need to borrow a classroom calculator when they lose theirs, or forget it, or if it just stops working, so it's best to go with the calculators the school recommends. This brings back memories of having to run out to get a new calculator when one suddenly went on the blink! My daughter had to have the model with a particular key, and nothing else would do! Thank goodness for 24-hour WalMarts.
Can you get your kids planners with the full week? Like at bookstores they often have college datebooks, or city datebooks, with the entire week. Or you could go to diyplanner.com and download a template, print out your own planners, take them to staples and get them spiral-bound for a couple of dollars.
I never could get my daughter to do any more than the school required, as far as project planning, but the school did give them intermediate due dates and provide a structure of checking on their progress.
We use a three ring binder for reference stuff and emergency stuff. The calendar is in there, along with babysitter's info, emergency phone numbers, police, gas company, POISON CONTROL! directions to the house (happens more often than people think, they get on the phone and are panicked and can't remember exactly so it's easier to just read it off a piece of paper.) It's always in the same place, so everyone knows, they can grab it and get out of the house to safety if needed.
It sounds to me though, like you need a Weekly Review with them. It's not too soon to instill in them the habit of sitting down and looking ahead. Of how little steps lead to big goals. My kids never used their planners either except for the one year the teachers made it part of the course grade to have one up to date when asked.
As others have said, check with the school before getting a Palm for them. Ours wanted one brand, one model of calculator and that was it!
Good luck!
Elena
It sounds to me though, like you need a Weekly Review with them. It's not too soon to instill in them the habit of sitting down and looking ahead. Of how little steps lead to big goals. My kids never used their planners either except for the one year the teachers made it part of the course grade to have one up to date when asked.
As others have said, check with the school before getting a Palm for them. Ours wanted one brand, one model of calculator and that was it!
Good luck!
Elena
W
WebR0ver
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Answers to specific questions
First, I think you need to separate "IN" from "reference". By this I mean that people shouldn't put documents into the folder without it going through some type of inbox so you know something new is there.
Practice schedules or any type of schedule, appointment dates, put the appointments onto the calendar as soon as you can after you get the schedule. You'll immediately see if there are conflicts.
Events you might attend - pencil them (all) onto the family calendar with tentative written next to them. Then when you get closer you can see where you have conflicts and decide which one is real - then erase the others.
Whenever you get phone numbers, put them into a family phone book and into your personal phone book (even if your personal phone book is in your cell phone). (Suggestion, if your personal phone book is electronic, have a paper backup) Don't keep separate sheets of phone lists. Be creative how your enter them - all numbers associated with football practice can go under F or be preceded with Football so you can find them all at once. (For years, all potential babysitters were listed under "B")
What are you keeping the church bulletin for? Phone numbers? - put them in the phone listing. Schedule? Put it on the calendar. Inspiration? Put it somewhere where you'll re-read it.
Those are my suggestions.
First, I think you need to separate "IN" from "reference". By this I mean that people shouldn't put documents into the folder without it going through some type of inbox so you know something new is there.
Practice schedules or any type of schedule, appointment dates, put the appointments onto the calendar as soon as you can after you get the schedule. You'll immediately see if there are conflicts.
Events you might attend - pencil them (all) onto the family calendar with tentative written next to them. Then when you get closer you can see where you have conflicts and decide which one is real - then erase the others.
Whenever you get phone numbers, put them into a family phone book and into your personal phone book (even if your personal phone book is in your cell phone). (Suggestion, if your personal phone book is electronic, have a paper backup) Don't keep separate sheets of phone lists. Be creative how your enter them - all numbers associated with football practice can go under F or be preceded with Football so you can find them all at once. (For years, all potential babysitters were listed under "B")
What are you keeping the church bulletin for? Phone numbers? - put them in the phone listing. Schedule? Put it on the calendar. Inspiration? Put it somewhere where you'll re-read it.
Those are my suggestions.