Floaters

You know what they are - those nearest bits of paper you grab when the phone rings or you've found an important number online that you don't dare trust to your memory. Sure. Because those pieces of paper are going to be there as a permanent record, right? Of course not. They're edges of newspapers that will get thrown away, a bank deposit ticket that ends up as a bookmark, or a grocery receipt that slides nicely under the microwave, not to be seen again for months. These are called FLOATERS, and floaters have been my nemesis.

Here are the notebooks I told you about in an earlier post - the ones I jot notes in in an attempt to break the nasty habit of 'floaters.' I've made one advancement, at least. I try to remember to periodically put the floaters that litter my desk into my notebooks, for then they will at least be contained. I figure it's a step in the right direction.

I homeschooled for twenty-one years. During that time, I was very organized. Long before school started each year, I had created a curriculum guide, a weekly schedule, and a daily schedule for that year. Really! I knew exactly where I was headed each day, each week, etc. In other words, the entire scope and sequence was totally planned out. I knew where every test paper and answer key was, where every supplementary book or video was stored. I loved it. I had it totally nailed down.

Then my thoughtless children grew up and flew the coop. I don't have to make curriculum guides for Bridger and Misty. I don't need a weekly schedule to remember to scoop the litter boxes for Lionel and Tuppence, do the laundry, make meals, or much of anything else I do these days. I am so out of practice at being organized. Don't even ask to see my refrigerator.

The truth is, at this point, I don't need the high level of organization I had when I homeschooled. So why can't there be a lower level of organization - the one I need now, at this stage of my life. There doesn't seem to be any halfway mark. It seems to be one of those all-or-nothing things for me.

Anyway, now that I've got those great notebooks, I'm putting forth a huge effort to actually take notes in them and work toward the goal of saying goodbye to floaters forever.

P.S. Do you know how hard it is to walk into an office supply store and pass up rainbow-colored Post-it Notes? Sigh.

What's your nemesis? C'mon. You can tell me. :-)