Trying to reason with organization season ...

Is there such a thing as too organized? 

Most of my friends and colleagues will tell you that I am one of the most organized people they know. I am definitely a good planner and can create a great itinerary. I don't disagree with people who say I'm organized because I do try to perform some key organizational ideas: touch a paper once, everything has its place, put it in your calendar, etc.

My first time down the rabbit hole of organization was when I was trained  in the time management system known as the Franklin Covey Planner in around 1998. It was one of the best training sessions I ever attended. For years, I marked my planner following the treatise put forth in the Covey planner. Then, digital came about and I bought the digital piece with the CD-Rom software for the FC system. Then, Palm Pilots came around. I tried to be digital but really just got unfocused. Then, Google Calendar came about.

We were using the Google Apps before they were a true suite regularly at Sheridan Elementary when I was the principal. We were early adopters and were able to communicate in our calendars and via Google Docs. We had a great system going. Then, I discovered the Moleskine Planner system around 2008. I decided to combine my planning on the Google Calendar with a modified Franklin Covey system within the Moleskine. It worked for a few years, then I started printing my own calendars using a template in InDesign. Basically, I have kept a digital and analog calendar for several years. I just operate better that way.

Recently, I discovered the Bullet Journal. The Bullet Journal allows me to do some things that I don't think I had incorporated well. It has the Future Planner, where you can write events and to-dos from upcoming months. It also has an index, where you can keep track of people and events and "index" them. I haven't done that previously. As I learned about the Bullet Journal, I also learned about the Daily Plan Bar, which I incorporate into my Bullet Journal. I have a "rough draft" Bullet Journal right now. I'm getting my feet wet and learning the system. I bought the actual Leuchtturm1917 Bullet Journal at JenniBick in Washington, D.C. when we visited in July.

I continue to try to learn how to be organized. So much research is out there, and I have condensed it into a system that I think will work for me. It's so key in the world in which I work to be able to have things in order as well as be able to communicate information.

On a side note, a couple of months ago, I said to Lori, "Let me show you the system I've been working on."

She said, "Rick, I think you have a problem." Then she said a couple things about OCD and some other acronyms I think she's learned in her counseling program at Western Michigan University!

I ... don't ... think ... she ... was ... serious ...