Classic Chaos: Small Integrated Planner
Designed to be a homemakers companion, this small planner is powerful. It is a dated two page per week format with the schedule all on one page and a task list, notes, and project list opposite. There is also a section to plan evenings seperate from the daily schedule--thus allowing for scheduled family time or a night of comfort or romance with the spouce.
Also included:
Monthly tabs with calanders which track holidays, special days, and monthly tasks.
Menu Tabs plan everyday lunches and dinners by the week or gatherings by the event.
Classic Chaos is smaller than the original, Chaos Contained. It is more portable while still managing to fufill all the functionality required by a busy household.
This is designed to be printed front and back onto 5.5x8.5" paper. I usually cut computer paper in half then print on the smaller sheets.
I use the left hand sheet to schedule my appointments.
The right sheet tracks all of the necessary tasks for the day and week. I can make a list of all my weekly projects (craft, cleaning, child education, etc...) or else use it as a shopping list in the upper right column. I often use the note section to remember special needs of family members and friends and my children's homework focus for the week.
I enjoy the evening planning section because it allows me to plan a movie, game, or talk with my spouce. I also plan runnover projects (alone time) or note evenings when I'll be out.
The menus are useful in two ways. First, I can plan out the week in advance and follow it. Or, I can just write down everything we eat for a week and THEN it becomes a menu. This is an invaluable tool for tracking what we 'really' eat. The leftover section can be used to note what needs to be eaten that week OR what leftovers will be comming from that week. I find it more useful to see what needs to be eaten, but I do have some menus that tell me what is likely to be leftover for the next week. Don't throw out full menu pages. Save them and recycle the week at a later time.
The formal menu section is useful for planning gatherings or nice family dinners. We try to have at least one NICE meal a month. This helps me to make sure the table is set and that the meal is perfect for the occasion.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Classic Chaos.xls | 676.5 KB |
Great template! (making it more work-centric)
I am just planning on using the weekly section, but as an ADHD adjunct instructor (juggling 2 colleges, 5 preps, plus a play rehearsal) who is horrible with avoiding "crisis mode" for everything (especially around the house), the collection of checklists is perfect. Here's how I've adapted it (since I'm not a mom.)
In the *daily* checklist part, my list is:
Laundry
Living/Dining 10min
Bath/Hall 10min
Office/bags 10min
Library - 10min
Techne 10 min
Email - each inbox
PCs-synch/sort
Axia - req'd posts
Lightbox
Workout
(Techne is a long term project that I tend to ignore, since I live in Crisis Mode, but I really need to make progress on it. Axia is an online college, so certain posts are required each day.)
I put the "10 min" right in the checklist because otherwise I may get intimidated and do nothing (as I usually do).
Instead of the "evenings" thing (since for me, that's covered in the left-page calendar), I replaced that header with "Due to me/ from me" -- again, so I remember my obligation to the students - what will they turn in, and when will I aim to return it.
For my weekly checklist, I will replace "room" with a different one each week before I print (cycling through them all) , so it will get more than the 10 minutes from above. Also adding in the recurring parts of my work stuff, so I can again try to be less crisis focused.
Weekly Tasks
Meds bar refill
room - pickedup
room - party-cleaned
room - sorted
room - future plans
Empty trashcans
Axia - chkpts - 48h
Axia Assignments/FB
Axia- launch week
UMBC - Bb current
UMBC - papers back
UMBC - prep/copying
Schedule Next Week
I know it sounds like a lot of adaptation, but really, I'm just playing with the specific tasks, because the "shape" of your calendar/planner is great! It just feels "right" to me.
Thanks so much for sharing!
I'm so glad that you like
I'm so glad that you like the design. Planners are like ready-made clothing: they are never going to fit right without some major tailoring. Adaptation is the key to everything--you have to customize to fit your needs.
As for the ignoring long term projects---I know what you mean. I usually try to use a project sheet with broken down due dates. If I'm writing, it might include such things as character or chapter outlines, background info, or research. Craft projects (home business and pleasure) track gathering materials, starting and completing just one part. I find that breaking any project up into chunks and setting an actual due date invaluable. I tend to procrastinate and nothing would get done otherwise.
I dig it!
Hey, I think this is pretty awesome. I especially like the fact that it was so easy for me to adjust the start date, as I wanted it to begin in October. Great formatting!
Chaos
THis is AWESOME! Do you have one for 2010 or do you have a weekly version? This will fit great in my Moleskine.
Classic Chaos is just as great as the original letter size!
Just wanted to say BIG THANKS!...for posting/sharing this! I absolutely love it! It's so easy to modify it to fit anyones needs and changing the year/dates is a snap. THANKS SO MUCH!
J-
Changing the dates
Hi I can't figure out how to change the dates. I also tried in your regular Chaos Contained and I could not figure it out unless I wen in every single date box and change it manually. Could someone tell me how?