“What am I going to do TODAY?”. 

I’m all about taking it one day at a time – especially in this phase. So, what I had been doing was consulting my wunderlist each night after the kids were in bed. I’d scan my various lists and start my to-do list for the next day, but suddenly I felt unmotivated. Almost overwhelmed. Then I remembered I had written down a few to-do’s while sitting in the carpool line. Those were more important tasks that should get done immediately. And because motherhood is my ultimate job, with the blog taking a back seat, while sitting in carpool I also realized I wasn’t sure what I would blog about tomorrow (if I had time to blog, that is). Oh, and don’t forget to call that school to set up a tour!

*deep breath*

When things get overwhelming, visuals calm me down. I decided before the lists really get to me that I should look into something visual to hang in the office. But since I’m currently living in a rental house, the idea of hammering nails into a wall isn’t going to work.

I set off to browse my pinterest boards. With all of the organization-related pins, surely I’d find some inspiration there. This cute little goal list has been on my organization board for months and thought it was genius when I first laid eyes on it…

I think that version is great on a small scale, but am keeping track of several areas so I needed something a little bigger.

I love this version from Alejandra…

But don’t have quite as much to stay on top of as she does.

Then I remembered an e-mail I received a few weeks ago from a big chain office supply store. Turns out post-it is now selling their popular sticky notes in an enlarged version. When I say enlarged, think BIG…

Yes, this 11″ x 11″ pad is pretty big…

And while that is super cool, think even BIGGER. Think post-it’s on human growth hormone or steroids…

Yes, friends. 22″ x 22″ of post-it note beauty. You can see here just how big these post-it’s are compared to their standard size…

I grabbed both large pads, excited to get a few sheets up on the wall and put them to work for me….

After looking over my lists and lists and even more lists, I decided (for now) to break down my sections into home / move and blog. Then added 2 side notes – one for today to-do’s and the other for tomorrow’s tasks. I view at the “tomorrow” section as my staging area.

I may end up adding a 3rd side area titled “weekend” just so we have something to look forward to. Kinda like my dangling carrot. We’ll see.

And that’s the beauty of this system – because these are temporary adhesive pages hanging on the wall, they can be easily changed. Without nails!

For the time being I’ve structured this system in a way that makes me feel successful. Not overwhelmed! It’s set up as a weekly system. Here’s how it works:

* Anything hanging on the blue post-it are tasks that need to be accomplished within the next 5-7 days. I can add more during the week as they pop into mind, arrive via e-mail, or come home in backpacks.

* Each night I will grab a few things to do the next day. It will be a mix – things that must get done and maybe 1 or 2 things from my long lingering to-do lists, like making those nutrition copies for my son’s therapist. That task has been on my list since I took him to see a nutritionist, but because this isn’t something mandatory and is something nice I offered to do for her files, it’s not on the top of my priority list.

*I’ve told promised myself a limit of 5 to-do’s each day – a mix of things that must get done and things hanging around the to-do list. This will ensure I won’t feel burned out and stressed. Instead I will feel accomplished and successful!

* I can also put a few things on the tomorrow section so I have an idea of what to prepare for tomorrow.

Easy.

This section is much fuller now that I had a few e-mail exchanges with our real estate agent, but here is the home / move section up close…

And I love this little blog section…

I’ve added to this section ONLY the topics I’ll be working on over the next week. This is not my hopes, dreams and goals for the blog. Too overwhelming. Remember, one week at a time here!

Yes, a few have been blurred out…I have to keep some surprises…

It’s hanging right above my desk where I can see it and feel motivated…

The supply of smaller sized post-it’s, flags and a pen are sitting in a tin bucket below the wall system ($1 from the target dollar section)…

Here is what I did today…

Feeling accomplished and less-stressed already. 🙂

This is a great permanent or temporary solution – whether you own a home or are renting. I’m personally excited about this because we’re renting and didn’t want to bang up the walls with a new system. If you are looking for a to-do visual of your own, hope this simple idea is useful!

Have a great weekend!