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By Geralin Thomas

On your home planner, add an ABC section for each day of the week:

A = Action

Action is your to-do list of goals for the day: running errands (e.g., bank, dry cleaners, gas station), paying bills, doing laundry, keeping appointments, etc.

B = Buy

Buy reminds you of necessary purchases for the day: groceries, stamps, school pictures or yearbooks, etc.

C = Call

Call is for the telephone calls you need to make – handyman, landscaper, babysitter, colleagues and friends, doctor and dental appointments, etc. – when e-mail and text messaging won’t always work. Cascade your calls by making them quickly one after the other. Try to get into the habit of making all your phone calls at the same time each day (twice daily if necessary) to manage that time most efficiently.

D = Dinner

Dinner reminds you to plan ahead for the evening meal with a grocery list, recipe search, prepping vegetables, or a reach inside the freezer. Self care (food, exercise, and sleep) are critical to time management. Focus a few minutes each day and write down what you are having for dinner. Even if it’s a bowl of cereal, frozen pizza or a hard-boiled egg and toast, try to be mindful of healthy fuel that you and your family need each day.

E = E-mail

E-mail is for correspondence with teachers, your child at school, friends, work-mates and long-distance chats where phone conversations aren’t always necessary. Bundle all your e-mails together and respond to e-mails a maximum of three times per day; once a day is best. As with telephone calls, responding at the same time each day is an efficient way to organize your time.

F = Future and File

Future is about jotting down the things you need or want to do, such as a project, or goal, or a dream idea, so that you can free up your thinking space for current activities and not get bogged down with repeating thoughts in your head several times a day about what you need to do later.

File reminds you to put away loose papers, bills, written correspondence, children’s schoolwork, and to organize stray items that are cluttering your home. Yes, you can "file away" pairs of shoes, old newspapers and magazines, homework and school supply items, etc.