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Dear FlyLady,
I have been reading the FlyLady emails for a long time now. I keep them coming because you never know when I'll need the motivation and a good kick in the pants.
Two months ago I kicked myself in the pants and bought a FlyLady calendar from the website. "What do I have to lose?" I thought, "My planner refills cost almost twice as much as her 17-month calendar!"
Now, this is a HUGE departure for me. For over 15 years (when a wise piano teacher saw how crazy busy I was and told me to buy a "good" planner -- exactly like hers) I have used a very well-known and pricey personal calendar. I was proud of the fact that I used it and spent a pretty penny on "systems" over the years.
I have to admit I beat myself up a little bit every time it wasn't used quite "exactly" right as described in the user manual. Many days (OK, months and for a two years during college) I simply did not have time to make so many lists and it was more stressful knowing I wasn't doing it "right" than to just not do it at all! I needed Anti-Procrastination days, routines and space to make my schedule "mine".
So here I am, a mother of two, working part-time outside the home and teaching music students inside the home. Every day has "something" in it. Thanks to this awesome calendar, my whole family knows what is going on.
There is enough space to write down 4 schedules, all my students' lesson times, plus stickers and my dinner plan for the night. Because I have routines morning and night I find I don't need my "To Do" list on my calendar. This is more my style. It's not glamorous, but it is WORKING.
One thought I had was, "Oh, it won't be portable and I won't be able to bring it with me to all my meetings." You know what? I don't miss dragging my (expensive) huge planner everywhere I go AT ALL. Two months of having a "HOME BASE" calendar, and my life is an open book to my loved ones and to myself.
This calendar is easy to find since it's BIG -- so it doesn't get lost in hot spots around the house and I can find it quickly when I get a phone call. Thank you for such an excellent design. I usually hate spending money, but this was an awesome decision and saves me money and stress. That is worth a lot to me. What a great resource for all of us.
I am so glad someone in this world understands how my mind works! Many thanks from California,
FlyBaby fighting Huntington's Disease
FlyLady here: Calendar Tip: For help in scheduling appointments while you are away from home; decide on a day you like to have appointments. I like them on a Wednesday. Take a picture of your calendar with your phone; maybe two or three months. This way you can pull the picture up if you need to refer to it when you make the appointment. Now isn't that brilliant. A FlyBaby thought of that one. Y'all are amazing.
I have purchased every type of calendar to try to get organized. Nothing worked for me because I didn't know how to use it. It wasn't until I had a calendar that was in my face that I started to use it.
I really want to see a picture of your calendar wall. Please send them to me; FlyLady@flylady.net with HOME BASE in the subject line!
Dear FlyLady,
Here are the Reasons I love my FlyLady Calendar.
1. Big spaces. You really do have room to write down everything that is going on in a busy family.
2. I can write with whatever I want. I used to use those freebie photo calendars you get from the bank, the insurance company, etc. but they were always printed on shiny, slippery paper. Pencil marks wouldn’t show up on the shiny paper, so you had to use ballpoint pen, which meant no erasing. Also, highlighter ink usually wouldn’t work on shiny paper as it would bead up and smear. With the paper that the FlyLady calendar is printed on, you can write with anything--pencils, pens, markers, gel pens, even colored pencils if you like to color-code things. I mostly use pencil so I can make changes easily and I love being able to use highlighters on it.
3. The pocket sleeve in the back. Whenever the kids come home with some kind of schedule or order form or permission slip that can’t be dealt with now but will need to be referred to in the near future, it goes in the pocket in the back. Then I know just where to find it. Flyers and invitations for upcoming events that we MAY attend (but haven’t decided for sure) go there also. Tickets for events we will attend can also be found there. It keeps that stuff off the “Hot Spot” that is my kitchen table. I police the pocket regularly so it doesn’t become a “Hot Spot” of its own! Every so often I pull out everything and discard what is no longer needed.
4. It helps me keep on top of our bills. Whenever I get a bill, I open it immediately and write “electric bill due” (or whatever) on the calendar IN RED. We use red only for bills. Then the bill goes in the “bills-to-be-paid” file. When the bill is paid we mark a line through our note on the calendar so we know it’s paid. A couple of years ago, I had an “A-ha” moment when I realized that many of our bills were due on the same calendar day every month. For example the credit card bill is always due the 9th, the car payment is always due the 23rd, etc. So now when I get a new calendar I write down those recurring due dates on every month for the whole year at once.
I am glad to support the FlyLady. I suppose I could get a cheaper calendar somewhere else, but FlyLady is worth every penny. She is always there for me, FOR FREE, whenever I need some encouragement and hope. Between her website and her emails, I always have someone to turn to when I’m overwhelmed. She is both philosophical and practical. If I’m feeling down, I can open up one of her emails and she reminds me to love myself and be kind to me. She also (lovingly) reminds me to get off my Franny, lace up my shoes, and shine my sink!
Thank you for a great calendar and for all you do,
Flybaby in Nebraska
FlyLady here: Thank you for all your love and support!
Get your calendar today! Use coupon code STAYREADY to save 40%!
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