Organizing Otte: An Odyssey Into Getting Organized

During early April I wanted to try out bullet journalling inspired by some friends who were using it. I started using an old, tatty, small notebook which I'd been scribbling in earlier but not used up. I wonder if the notebook was too small, but whatever the reason, bullet journalling hasn't really struck a chord with me.

In my attempts to find out what bullet journals were all about, I had gone searching youtube for videos, and while snooping around them I stumbled upon planner videos involving all sorts of fancy planners, and started watching them.

Now, insert an image of a rabbit hole, and you'll get the picture.

I have been struggling with getting some form of structure to my life and everyday. I used to be pretty good at it. But events and circumstances have reduced me to sometimes feeling like a dead leaf which gets blown hither and yon by the wind.

One problem about trying to make plans has been a lousy sense of assessing how long stuff actually takes. Another the ever present perfectionism, though I seem to be better at controlling it. And the obstinate streak in me which rebels at any form of system or framework imposed upon me, even when I'm the one doing it. Another reason I have been failing at staying organized will become apparent when you see the pile of notebooks and pads I have been using through the past 10 or so years of my life trying to bring structure into my life.

It should be fairly obvious why it has impeded me more than it has helped. And that isn't even all the ones which have been used.

Since falling down the rabbit hole, I have been rather more efficient than is my wont, not to mention feeling okay about it. I focused on my calendar which is the spiral-bound book on the top of the pile, and on using it more in my daily life. And I started thinking more about what would and would not work for me, and what I actually wanted to keep tabs on.

I have come to some sort of acceptance, that because of my mental health issues, a certain amount of rigidity and routine is required in my life. It is finding the balance which is going to be the important part.

And instead of rushing out and buying a planner, I've been making do with what I have already, and experimenting a bit. This means I get to use up part of my hoarded stationary items (yeah, I have also been hoarding that sort of stuff). I have already been inspired in several ways to make my own hacks. So while this may be leading me into hoarding more stuff, it is also getting me using stuff I've already hoarded.

And because I still haven't found any inserts I really like, I have started playing around with Word and working on making my own. So far they have been very simple, and there's still a ways to go before I figure out what I really want, but I am gaining experience. I have also been working on making stickers. Planner stickers aren't a bit thing here, and the few I have found have been unappealing, not to mention irrelevant. So I want to make some which I like, and which will work for me and my needs.

 I made a video on youtube a month ago about my state, and will be doing a follow-up this weekend. Summing up what progress I've been making, and what seems to work (yes, I am happy to say there are things which are working). I have also been experimenting with some personal sized 6-ringed binders I discovered up in my attic. Expect more blog posts and videos on my odyssey into becoming a seriously organized cat.

My parents have been rather skeptical whenever I mentioned laying plans. They've come to associate it with emotional outbursts when plans failed. And that it would be better to do stuff, than sit and plan it. But they are changing their minds. They have seen that it does help me (especially when I keep it at a realistic level).

There is still a long way before I will have a full grip on things. But using a planner is proving to be a valuable tool for me on my road. So even though the bullet journalling system which was the reason I got into all this turned out not to be "my thing", it did bring about a lot of good.