This is a question for any of you who used to be disorganised/flaky and are now organised and sorted. I have been like this for so long and I drive myself and everyone around me crackers. I'm unbelievably forgetful, I am late a lot and I'm rubbish with finances. I'm so fed up of cringing because I'm so bloody rubbish and make stupid mistakes all the time! 
I've got an 8mth DS and a 10yo DD and while I've always had disorganised tendencies, since I had DS, it's gone from bad to ridiculous and I feel like I am constantly trying to catch up with myself.
I'm self employed (which is for the best as even I'd have sacked me by now) and have somehow managed to run my businesses haphazardly over the last ten years without fucking up too massively. Well, not often anyway... 
Well, no more, I've had enough. I am using the New Year to kick me up the arse and I need your help.
If you used to be crap and are now brilliant and incredibly organised, please, please tell me how you did it. What changed in your mind and where the hell did you start?
AIBU?
to ask how you become organised and together? Seriously how??
inatrance · 01/01/2012 23:17
This reply has been deleted
Withdrawn at poster's request.
To be honest, I think I'd rather dh didn't help. He does his bit, but there's certain things that I need to do myself to make sure 1. That they are done, 2.That they are done properly!
If I'm going to get organised I will do it better without him!
This is just me mind! Can't speak for everyone! 
My DH is already organised (a librarian, I'm seeing a theme there.. ) and despairs of me sometimes...
Though since being inspired by some of the advice on here (I am in awe of you all, I have to say) today I have set loads of reminders for myself on my phone, cleared the bathroom drawers, put away Xmas presents , cleared my dressing table, put away Xmas tree and decs, got DD to tidy her room, got DH to reinstall windows on my laptop, sorted my jewellery, done a meal planner and wrote several lists!
That looks like loads written down! I feel so much better and will keep referring to this thread to keep me inspired.
I have to say this thread is BRILLIANT! I really, really need to get a filing system in order for paperwork - I tend to shove bank statements, utility statements etc into piles (usually on the shelf under the coffee table), then when the piles get too big I put them into plastic bags and hide in the spare room. I consequently have numerous a few plastic bags full of statements etc going back years in my spare room that need sorting out . I like the idea of a ring binder for each year that someone above mentioned, so think I might do that.
It's weird because at work I'm very organised, with daily lists, folders for every job I have ongoing, reminders set up on outlook etc. It's just at home that I fall down.
I'm crap at keeping on top of housework too. I'm the world's worst procrastinator and if I can put off hoovering or dusting until tomorrow, then I will. I need to get some sort of schedule sorted out I think. But think I'll put it off until tomorrow .
Hmm personally I feel like there is no substitute for paper diaries - mine is A4 academic year week-at-a-glance which is necessary because as a lecturer I work in weekly chunks.
Went through today and diarised every seminar and lecture I have to give till April, also what preparation will need doing when and when I have marking bottlenecks and need to block off the weekends to work. I have a colleague who planned her spring term last August.
Now I am going to go back through and pencil in all my gym sessions till March on nights when it looks like I won't be frantic. (DP thinks I am nuts.)
Sioga I use a paper diary still as I found that clients would call and I'd be fiddling about with speaker calls so I could look at my phone diary or always calling them back. The intention is to sync it with my iPad when I get it so my diary work will be done on the iPad. I use erasable pens so I don't cross things out. Oh and they're purple so any child with a purple pen has been thieving from my desk .
Every Sunday night I sit down with the family calendar and my diary and write the magnetic planner. DH puts the children to bed while I do it. I shout upstairs about kits that are needed and he packs them. I enter our appointments, meals, who is cooking, doing school runs, guides run, rugby run, etc (there are five columns on mine). Then DH comes downstairs and we go through the next four to six weeks looking for clashes, days when he needs to work at home (currently his main client is 250 miles away and he does two days a week on site with them), appointments, events, school dates etc and plan those in. I write notes in my diary and we have our phones to hand so we can text babysitters, book taxis etc. It takes about two hours which sounds like a huge investment of time but it makes the rest of the week run like clockwork.
When I get my iPad I plan to use it as the family calendar as well. I have a large recipe stand on the island unit so I hope it will sit on that and everyone can update it with their stuff. I guess this will work until my five year old discovers angry birds!
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