Holiday Checklist

The holiday season is busy—there's no denying it. It's easy to let our to-do list get away from us and all of a sudden Christmas Eve is upon us and we have so much to do and so little time. I'm trying desperately to keep it together this year and not get frazzled at the last minute. 

I am someone who creates list to keep herself in check. Heck, I think I once put "make grocery list" as a bullet on a to-do list. Can you tell what kind of person I am yet? So lists will also be the crux of my holiday planning and execution. From the gift budget, people's wish lists, Christmas card lists, and recipe lists my holiday is looking like an organized one.

But I don't stop at just one list. No, that would be the human thing to do. I have lists in my phone, on my computer, on a pad of paper, on index cards in my bag, and in my planner. It may be a bit overboard; but you know...it gets the job done. My Christmas cards went out in the mail today to everyone on the list. No stragglers. No one to remember later. I got them all!

Next stop is the shopping. This year's shopping list is actually fantastic because I know EXACTLY what I'm getting everyone. I know where am going for these items too. How did I become this beta version of the person I was last year??

<3 Ashley

How do you stay on your game during the holidays?

Packing to Move

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This Saturday will be the long and exciting road trip back to Pittsburgh to kick off my senior year of college. The week leading up to that heavily caffeinated morning will involve appointments, last nights out, cleaning, packing and organizing my life generally--and you can bet that there will be a list for each activity. ;)

Packing for the school year is always a busy and stress full task for me because no matter how many lists I pull together, I somehow manage to panic and forget something. But not this time...no, I have taken organization to a whole new level: I have categorized my packing each day. Today, my kitchen bin is packed. Tomorrow, desk and school supplies will be signed, sealed and delivered. Then I am looking at the last couple days being devoted to laundry and packing up my closet (yes, this needs a few days!)

Here's to hoping this last round of college packing is less stressful!

<3 Ashley

How do you make packing easier?

On Productivitiy

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As a college student I have my studies, on campus job and the stress of applying for a million summer internships until some responds telling me that they are interested in giving me money and responsibility. Fingers crossed on that last one, folks! Anyway, I have a lot on my plate plus my commitment to blogging pretty frequently based on my stress level that week. While I do consider myself to be a well organized and responsible person, I do believe that there is always room for improvement.

This month I committed myself to figuring out ways to get even more organized and stay productive. If my assumptions based on the grades that I have gotten back are correct, I have some pretty squeaky clean grades and need to maintain them for this last month of the semester (read: hell month). I have millions of papers and digital media projects due throughout these next four weeks and need to distribute my attention to all of them somehow.

I have cleaned up my tech and downloaded a few apps to keep me organized as the spring semester draws to an end:

- Emails: As I am sure you do, I have more than one email account. I have decided to make the commitment to one and have linked the others so that all of my other mail can be forwarded to one account. This empties my brain of a few passwords!

- Sunrise Calendar: While I do have access to Google calendar, I have heard a lot about the Sunrise calendar app and have fallen in love with it. It is linked up on both my MacBook and my iPhone. I use this in conjunction with my weekly planner and my desk calendar. That way I am reminded constantly of impending due dates and events.

- EverNote: This is another nifty little app that can be downloaded on both your phone and computer. I like to use it for to-do lists, which I like to use for any tasks I have to do at work, and also grocery lists. It is also where I keep record of my blog content. I have several notes specific to different topics (i.e. recipes, lifestyle, etc).

<3 Ashley

How do you maintain your productivity and keep organized?