Productivity Series #5: Misc. and Odds and Ends

Before I say anything else….How stunning is this sunrise picture I took yesterday morning?? ❤❤❤

I love it.

Now on to my final day in the Productivity Series, Day 5.

Today I really just want to touch briefly on a few other misc. productivity “tools” I currently use, mostly in the name of completeness. 🙂

Misc. Productivity Tools I Use:

Apple Notes:

I use the Notes feature on my iPhone sporadically but fairly frequently. I do not generally use it for my main ongoing lists (I use Google Tasks for that). But I do use it for a few specific purposes, as well as just being a “catch all” place if I’m out somewhere and need to remember something!

Hot tub: I’m currently keeping an ongoing “Hot Tub Maintenance” chart in Apple Notes. I record when I add different chemicals, how the water tested, etc. so I can keep it straight.

Christmas: I also have a note for Christmas ideas. Again, my phone is a handy place for this when things pop into my head.

Blog: I have a note for blog post ideas. I was keeping a notebook in my office, but things tend to just “come to me” at random moments (being the creative genius that I am….HA. LOL 🤣). I’m finding my phone is the best place for this, too.

Misc.: Finally, I have a note called “Stuff to Get Rid Of.” As I see (larger) things around the house/basement we eventually need to dispose of (ex. an old toddler bed headboard in the storage room..), I list them here.

Goodreads:

Books: Goodreads.com is my MAIN home for any book related stuff. This is where my master “Want to Read” list is. I love being able to just quickly add a book to the list from my desktop or the phone app. I also track all of my books read here. I don’t generally write reviews (occasionally I will), but I do make sure to include the date I finished a book.

I also have a “Books Read in 2020” list in my accessory notebook. I mostly really just like Goodreads for keeping my “Want to Read” list all in one place. I found it tricky to maintain on paper since I have dozens and dozens of books on my list.

Evernote:

Recipes: I wrote a post recently about how I’m using Evernote for Recipe storage. So far, so good with this!! I haven’t gone through yet and added big batches of my old recipes, but as I use any/ find new ones I have been adding them here and am loving the system.

I also use Evernote to store lists/ notes about long term things I need to remember and want easy access to from my phone or computer:

Medical Care: For example, I have a Medical Care notebook where I have listed all of our doctors, phone numbers, info, etc. I also record here when we visit the doctor/dentist/eye doctor and when we are next due for checkups, vaccine boosters, and appointment notes. This is probably my most used Evernote notebook.

Household: I also have a Household notebook where I made sub-notebooks about our Kitchen Remodel (contractor names/ info/ etc.), another for the Piano (keeping track of tuning dates/ the tuner’s contact info.) and a Christmas Card Address List! (I started this one last year after being frustrated with needing to brainstorm the list and find the addresses every year!!)

Work:

Again, for the sake of completeness, I’ll mention work. I don’t use many productivity “systems” for my work organization. I use Outlook for work email but it’s pretty bare bones for me. I use the Outlook calendar ONLY for work related meetings/ appointments (which I don’t have many of). I look at it daily and update our team shared calendar if I’ll be out/on vacation but that’s about it. Anything important (i.e. meetings) I generally also write in my main personal planner so I don’t accidentally miss it.

I do keep track of some specific work tasks/ progress and mostly use Excel spreadsheets for all of that kind of thing.

This concludes my 5 day Productivity Series! Let me know what you thought in the comments! 🙂

Daily Gratitude:

I am grateful for falling asleep by the fireplace. I did it intentionally last night, knowing I’d have to get up and move to my bed eventually, but I didn’t care. It felt soooo good.