Organize: Your Thoughts

(Paper Source)

As part of the EAD series on organization I have thought a lot about organizing the part of me that always seems the biggest mess, my thoughts!  Here are some ideas I have gathered for organizing my own thoughts that you might find come in handy:

- When you keep a personal journal write more than just the date on the top, write the day of the week and the time too.  I have to laugh when I look back at what I wrote in college and all of my entries were written in the middle of the night!  Now they are all on Sunday, the only day I seem to be able to catch my breath.  Without reading a single line I can see changes in myself over time.

- Keep a journal of your hobbies.  You can mark off a section of your personal journal or start a journal just for a specific subject.  It is even possible to find a journal tailored to specific interests.  Entertaining journals help you catalog who came to a specific event and what you ate, great information to have for the next time those same guests come around or if you have to organize a large party last minute.

- Write down each book or movie as you finish it with a rating.  A big help when someone asks you for a recommendation.

- If you can’t seem to find the time to spend hours writing in a personal journal take just a few minutes each week or even month to sum up big events in a few short sentences.  It is amazing how time passes and how much you forget when certain events occurred or how you felt about them

- Most important, pick your journal (or journals) with care!  There is nothing more enjoyable than writing on thick creamy pages (even if you have horrible handwriting like mine) and knowing that you have kept your thoughts organized for generations to come.  I just purchased this journal and absolutely love it.

Here’s to lots of thought organization in the new year!