Guest Blog By Nikki Sacks, Co-Founder of PodKeeper, a Charlotte resident, full-time working mom of 2 energetic boys.
We all do our best to keep organized. It’s hard. I know I certainly enjoy those fleeting moments when my house appears to be orderly. But no matter how organized our “stuff” is, I can never truly feel organized if my calendar and activities aren’t in order.
What does a disorganized calendar result in? Frustration and panic!
Frustration comes with the whirl of reply-all emails when planning a class party, or from spending too much time digging through emails trying to find what field your child is supposed to be playing on. Panic comes when you forget it’s your turn to bring the snacks for your child’s little league or not realizing the location of the scout troop meeting was moved.
Here are 4 helpful hints to eliminate, or at least minimize, those moments of frustration and panic:
- Plan ahead. This is truly one of the best pieces of advice – do whatever you can in advance. Figure out dinners for the whole week. Set up carpool schedules. Get the backpacks ready the night before school. While after the kids go to bed all we want to do is sit down with a glass of wine and a mindless TV show, taking the extra time in advance is always worth the effort.
- Use technology. There are some great online solutions designed to keep your life organized. For example, for groups (school classes, soccer, little league, scouts, PTA / PTO, etc.), PodKeeper helps you easily communicate with the other members of the group, see all your upcoming events, and helps you maintain all important information in one easily-accessible place.
- Keep it all together. Nothing wastes time like having to search for information, so have a central location to keep all relevant information. You can also go old school and use a paper planner or bulletin board. Or PodKeeper is again a good option for this – create a “Pod” for each group in your life. It will become the dashboard of your parenting life with all necessary information for all the activities your kids are involved in, just a click away. Whatever you do, find a solution that works for you.
- “Once and done”. Another time waster is a “later” pile. When papers pass through your hands, act on it (put it on your calendar, respond to a request, etc.) – then file it or toss it right away. Saving it for later means spending double the time on the task.
Take a little time at the outset to set up a “system” that works for you using these hints. For every minute spent up front, you will be saving many, many more down the road. Think of all that saved time you’ll be able to spend accomplishing something productive and spending more time with your kids on what really matters.
About Nikki Sacks and PodKeeper
PodKeeper is a free online group calendar and family organizer app for any mom or dad who manages a youth sports team, scout troop, PTA org or is a room parent for a school class. As an online organizer, PodKeeper allows parents to seamlessly schedule events, create sign up lists, store files and photos, and provide reminders and important last minute updates. PodKeeper was co-founded by Nikki Sacks and Steven Sacks, two successful executives-turned-entrepreneurs who are committed to providing “usable technology” that helps parents keep organized with minimal effort. PodKeeper is completely free and available at http://www.podkeeper.com
