I want something more than that, though.

I don’t want to have to “recover” from Christmas. I don’t want to start the new year eight pounds heavier. I don’t want my children focused only on the electronic gadgets they hope Santa brings. But everything I don’t want will probably become my reality–unless I take the initiative to implement what I do want.

David Allen’s Natural Planning Model seriously saves my sanity on everything from birthday party planning to creating new programs for my website, so this year, I decided to use the five steps of the Natural Planning Model to create a Christmas experience that is both magical and meaningful.

Step One: Defining Purpose and Principles

For this part, I sat down with my children and gave them the following prompts:

• What’s the purpose of this season?
• What do you want this Christmas to feel like for our family?
• Please finish this sentence: “I would be happy with any Christmas celebration, as long as . . .”

Then I took good notes, and the beauty of their responses continues to amaze me.

Step Two: Outcome Visioning

We did this part on a separate day with an informal breakfast discussion, which basically took our ideas from Step One to a deeper level.

My 11-year-old was the scribe:

We agreed that we want to be well-rested, reasonably-paced, and organized throughout the holiday, and we’re going to continue exercising and eating well so we’ll be in better health by the time the tree comes down.　

We’re all going to be happy with our Christmas gifts–even if we don’t get the “big” stuff that all the kids at school are talking about. We’ll purchase and wrap our presents by the first week of December, shop together for a beautiful tree that will be trimmed with homemade decorations, and focus the majority of our activities and expenses on making others happy.

Just typing these things out gets me so excited about the holiday season. Certainly, there will be days that won’t go as planned (probably most days), and some of us will be whiny or emotional while others will be frustrated or exhausted, but that’s just life. We can still aim high, can’t we?

On to Step Three: Brainstorming

This step is my favorite because it gives us a place to write all the ideas we’ve been cooking up over the past few months.　

We looked carefully at our notes from the first two steps and then gathered as a family one evening to brainstorm around seven areas of focus. Here they are:

• Activities and Outings
• Helping Others
• Uplifting Media
• Christmas Cards
• Gifts
• Meaningful Traditions
• Healthy Food

Then my daughter added an eighth area called, “Unhealthy food.” (She needed a place to include the gingerbread house.)

Photo courtesy of Shawni Pothier

Seeing our areas of focus as clusters on one page helps us to realize that the “all-consuming” holiday planning really is finite. We can create boundaries around our time, we can control our expenditures, and we can make sure our energy is spent on what’s most important.　

In many areas, there’s a clear overlap. Can’t we create meaningful traditions that help others? Can’t healthy Christmas goodies and beautiful music be part of our Christmas-gift giving? Looking at the big picture clarifies everything.

Step Four: Organizing

This part initially feels hard. How am I going to take all these brainstorms and make them manageable?

Simply jump in.

I wrote out all the components and sub-components on little slips of paper.

Then I moved them around and organized them according to priority and sequence.

Here are my three sub-clusters: things to do this week, things to do before December 1st, and things to do in early December.

I noticed that four of these slips contained two-minute tasks, so I quickly accomplished those and then moved onto the next step.

Step Five: Identifying Next Actions

As I was getting all my ideas out onto Post-it Notes, I realized that some things I wrote down were projects, while others were tasks.　

I created a list of Current Christmas Projects,

and then I created two Next Actions Lists: one for immediate Next Actions–things to accomplish within the next week, and one for important Next Actions–things to accomplish as soon as it’s convenient.

Then I simply put these sheets into my inbox to organize during my next Weekly Review.

I’ll create calendar triggers for the Christmas plans that mean the most to me, and then I’ll just do my best with the rest, knowing that ultimately, spontaneous events might replace those I’ve planned, some of these projects might not seem as important three weeks from now, and what really matters is how this holiday feels.

Your family’s Christmas planning will likely be much different than ours. There’s no one “right” way to do this, but I hope that this exercise using the Natural Planning Model will help you to create a wonderful Christmas for you and the ones you love.

April Perry is the mother of four children and Co-Director of The Power of Moms.

Tackling a 5th-Grade Science Project

My 11-year-old daughter came home with a huge packet of science project information a few weeks ago, and the entire family started feeling the stress.  Before the world of computers and fancy tri-fold poster board, science projects were a cinch.  I remember hunkering down at my dining room table with construction paper, some magic markers, and a simple sheet of white poster board.  But today’s children have a lot more pressure.  They need charts and graphs, digital photographs, and well-written hypotheses.  It’s enough to overwhelm the children and the parents.

Instead of letting the stress get to me, I decided to apply the principles I learned from Getting Things Done and show my daughter that projects don’t have to give us headaches.  Here’s what we did:

Step 1: We read through the packet of information and made a list of tasks based on context. 

My daughter got out a little sticky-note pad, and she divided her tasks into the following categories:

• On My Own
• With Mom @ Home, and
• Errands

Step 2: Each day we started checking things off the list, depending on our energy level, schedule, etc.  When we were out at the mall one evening, my daughter said, “Since we’re running errands, can we pick up the poster board and notebook I need from the art store?”  Fifteen minutes later, it was done.

When I was helping the other children with their homework after school, my daughter did the typing and research she’d already determined she could do on her own.  Even though she was a little timid at first, it turned out great.

On the days we didn’t have anything planned, we looked at the list of things we needed to do together.  Her project was to see what would happen to a loaf of bread when one of four ingredients was left out.  So one day, I stayed in my pajamas until noon while we mixed up five different little loaves of bread, including the “control” loaf.  Then we ate the tasty ones for lunch.

The greatest part was that whenever my daughter would say, “Mom, I don’t want to do the Science Fair,” I would say, “Don’t think about the whole project.  Just think about your next action.  What is the next, specific thing you need to do?”  Since she’d already taken the time to identify each task, it only took a second for her to figure out the next action.  She became much more calm and confident as the project progressed.

Step 3: We set a date on the calendar for when we would put the entire project together.  Prepping each component of the project wasn’t too difficult, but we knew we needed an entire evening to print and assemble everything onto the poster board.  Our little three-year-old LIVES for projects like this, and we were sure that involving him would spell “catastrophe.”

When my other daughter and husband bought tickets to attend the Daddy-Daughter Dance at school one Friday night, we decided that would be the perfect time to have our own party, science-fair style. We put it on the calendar and didn’t worry about the details one bit.  We tucked the three-year-old in bed and had such a fun time cutting our print-outs, chatting, gluing, and enjoying our work together.  We even learned to make photo collages together using Picasa, and she was so excited to make the background purple.

Tackling the Science Fair together strengthened our relationship, gave me a chance to teach my daughter about project planning, and even provided a tasty lunch along the way.  The smile on her face when we finished that project was priceless, and now we’re already brainstorming for next year.

April Perry is the mother of four children and the Co-Director of The Power of Moms.

I’m the mom at the toy store on December 23rd with a cart full of car tracks, dolls, sports equipment, and art supplies my children may or may not like. I’m also the mom paying overnight shipping charges to send hastily-assembled photo albums to Grandma. I stay up late the night before school gets out for Winter Break, making bread for the teachers (mainly because I can’t think of anything else to get them). Our Christmas cards usually get sent out after New Year’s . . . if they get sent out at all. My neighbors don’t get plates of cookies from us, our mail lady never gets a card, and my husband gets only a big hug and a kiss. All the while, I’m feeling frustrated and overwhelmed with the holiday season–wishing I could pull things together.

This year, I decided to plan out my Christmas festivities using GTD. It works for my business, my family, and my personal life. Now I’ve made it work for my gift-giving. Here are the steps that have made this year’s holiday season a breeze:

Step 1: I sat down with my family and brainstormed all the people we want to remember this season–teachers, family members, friends, neighbors, etc.

Step 2: We identified inexpensive but fun gifts we can give them, and then we wrote our Next Actions on a sheet of paper organized by context (errands, computer, stuff to do at home). On the errands list, I included each store we need to visit. When I get to those stores, I’ll reference my gift list, which has very specific items on it. On the computer list, I wrote down each item that can easily be purchased online. Those can quickly be ordered weeks before Christmas. On the “stuff to do at home” list, I wrote down all the things my children can help me do–like pick out photos for Grandma and draw cards for the teachers.

Step 3: I noted deadlines on my calendar so I wouldn’t forget to deliver any gifts. My sisters all got together for a wedding at the end of November, so I delivered their homemade earrings then. Check! We dropped off little advent calendars to some friends before December 1st so they wouldn’t miss a day of chocolate. Check! We wrapped the teacher gifts (Christmas kitchen towels) weeks before Christmas so they could enjoy them throughout the month, and we started making the toy store rounds early enough that I wouldn’t end up buying random presents I’d only have to return later. Check, check!

I can’t even explain how great it feels to be on top of things this Christmas. Because I have things organized, I’ve been able to do some extra special things for families in need. I’ve been able to sit around with my children in the evenings, reading Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol.” We’ve been able to discuss the reason why we celebrate Christmas, and we’ve had a much more peaceful feeling in our home.

We’ve also decided that there are several things we won’t be doing this Christmas. Because my Routines and Responsibilities list is quite full this month, we’re not going to worry about Christmas cards. We’re not going to go to a ton of parties. We’re not going to travel. This Christmas, we’re keeping things simple, sharing love for the special people in our lives, reaching out to help those who are less fortunate, and truly experiencing Peace on Earth.

April Perry is the mother of four children and the Co-Director of www.powerofmoms.com.

A friend of mine came to visit when my first child was three months old.  Noticing I was still actively using my day planner, she joked, “What do you write on your task list, ‘Cook and Clean?’”

She wasn’t trying to hurt my feelings, but her question reflected an assumption that many people have about those who spend the majority of their waking hours taking care of little ones…that they’re not actually “doing” anything.

I’ve spent 10 years as a full-time mom, and let me assure you that taking care of a family is a huge responsibility.  It’s a party some days, a train wreck other days, but it’s the most important thing I’ve ever done.  I’ve created a Mom-and-Dad-friendly “Trigger List” to help parents see what types of things they can organize with GTD. 

Let the fun begin:

• Books to read together as a family
• Holiday traditions to create more unity
• Recipes that can be made with lots of “help”
• Lullabies to learn on the guitar
• Parent/Child date night ideas
• Promises I’ve made to my children
• Promises I’ve made to my spouse
• Family service projects
• Neighbors we’d like to know better
• Family Vacations
• “Quiet Time,” family-friendly websites
• Free community events
• Family day-trips
• Errands to run when I’m by myself
• Errands to run when I’ve got lots of company
• Volunteer opportunities with the PTA
• Birthday party gifts to keep on hand
• Fun birthday party games and ideas
• Good behavior incentive programs for my children
• Job charts/housework plans
• Shopping lists (pre-printed, organized by store)
• Sports for my children
• Home de-junking plans
• Cultural experiences to calendar
• Great mentors for my children
• Items to discuss with my children’s school teachers
• Holes in the wall to repair
• Family fitness goals
• Clothing to mend
• Clothing needs (did they grow out of that already?)
• Ideas to make nap time happen regularly
• Parenting books to read or classes to take
• Journal entries to record (so I don’t forget how cute my children are)
• Doctor and dental appointments to make
• Character traits I want to develop as a parent
• Character traits I want my children to develop
• Home decor ideas
• Play date ideas
• Crafts that won’t leave my kitchen sparkling with glitter
• Family memories to create so my children will always remember how much I loved them

The list can go on and on, but way I see it, I have two options:

Option 1:  When my children turn two, I can say, “Look, Honey!  This is called a TV.  It’s going to take care of you for the next 16 years!”

or

Option 2:  I can be an involved parent.  I’ll certainly take time, occasionally, to watch great programs on television, but I want more than that for my children. 

I want to be the kind of parent who thinks big.  I want to bring inspiring books into our home, bake 23 different kinds of bread, visit historical landmarks, tour the world’s museums, help families living in poverty, teach my children about history and politics, create a family of incredible photographers, and bike 12 miles together on Saturdays. 

All of this used to overwhelm me.  Of course I can’t do everything I imagine, but I can do a lot of those things–if I’m organized. 

Getting Things Done isn’t just about “things.”  It’s about people, about relationships, and about creating a lifestyle that most people think they can’t achieve. 

Our family has improved dramatically since I implemented GTD into my life–not just because I’m less stressed about running my business and managing the home, but because I now see a clear path to turning my dreams of a strong, healthy family into my reality. 

April Perry is the mother of four children and co-director of www.powerofmoms.com. She is a regular contributor to GTD Times.

A Community Contribution from April Perry

The first day of school started out great.  My three oldest children dressed in their new clothes, laced up their new shoes, ate a healthy breakfast, and then headed off to school with homemade sack lunches and brightly-colored, fully-stocked pencil cases.  I felt like a wonderful mom.

They returned home seven hours later, happy but tired, toting folders overflowing with paperwork, and that’s when MY work started (I mean…continued).  As I shuffled through more than 50 sheets of fliers, forms, and date-specific notices, I started to feel a little dizzy.  The pile on my counter harbored a LOT of information, most of which needed my attention right that minute.  I was tempted to break into tears or bury my head in a carton of Rocky Road, but then I thought, “Wait a minute.  I’ve been trained in GTD.  I was MADE for situations like this.”  

Within 30 minutes, the papers were completely processed, and I was ready to move on with our evening.  And since I had such a glorious experience with my paper party, I thought I’d share some ideas that might help other moms manage the near-constant influx of papers that comes flying from their children’s backpacks.

Shall we begin?

Step #1: I did a quick initial sort, pulling everything out of the pile that belonged in the trash.  That was actually half the pile, since all three of my children received identical copies of each handout (maybe they’ll go digital someday?).  By removing the trash at the beginning, the remaining stack looked much less daunting.

Step #2: I went through the stack again and processed everything that would take two minutes or less.  I typed the teachers’ email addresses into my Contacts list, noted the date of the school’s 5K, and recorded all of the holiday breaks onto my calendar.  That eliminated seven or eight more sheets of paper.

Step #3: I gathered all the sheets I wanted to keep for reference (bell schedules, classroom rules, details about the school exercise program, etc.) and put them immediately into my filing cabinet in a clearly-labeled folder…just in case I need to find them quickly in the future.

Step #4: I made a decision on the school picture order form and then wrote a reminder on the next day’s calendar page to order the photos online (doing so enabled me to receive a few extra photos free of charge.  Wasn’t that a nice of them?).

Step #5: I got out my Next Actions list and recorded the three extra school supplies my daughter needed in the “Errands” context.

Step #6: I spread out all nine of the emergency cards and a few extra forms on the table, and my children and I filled them out together.  They wrote their names, address, phone number, etc., and then I added a few additional pieces of information and my signature.

That was it!  Piece of cake, right?  There’s no need to stress when you’re a “black-belt” at paper processing.

There was one little boy in my daughter’s Kindergarten class a few years ago whose mother NEVER emptied his backpack.  I’m serious.  Every morning, he came to school with a bulging backpack–full of paperwork that had been piling up for months.  I knew his mom a little bit, and I don’t think she was trying to be neglectful.  I think she just felt overwhelmed with her own paperwork and problems, and unzipping a backpack of “stuff” would have thrown her over the edge.

I feel like part of my mission in life is to help the moms of the world to get organized.  It takes some work, but it’s not that complicated, and the basic ideas presented in Getting Things Done have the power to make life much, much easier–whether it’s the first day of school or simply the first day of the rest of your life.

April Perry is the mother of four children and co-director of www.powerofmoms.com. She is a regular contributor to GTD Times.

A Community Contribution from April Perry

Just about every mother I know has a refrigerator that is completely covered with party invitations, handouts for school assignments, reminders for community events, coupons, and about 50 other things calling out, “Me! Me! Me!”  We’re so afraid of the “out of mind, out of sight” rule, that we want to keep everything that needs our attention smack dab in the middle of the kitchen.

Although this tactic might help us feel slightly organized, the drawbacks greatly outnumber the benefits.  For example, how are moms supposed to calmly make it through the dinner hour when every time they turn around, they’re reminded of all the things they’re not doing?  How are they going to remember which items have associated computer work or which ones require a run to the grocery store?  What happens if an important notice gets buried under alphabet magnets–or stolen by a toddler looking for something to color?  It just doesn’t work.

That’s where the Tickler File comes in.  It saved my life.  I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before, but it’s brilliant.  You just put items that need your attention into date-specific folders, and you “mail” them to yourself.  My stress level has literally been cut in half since I implemented the GTD Tickler system, and as I’ve introduced the idea to my friends (who also have colorfully-decorated refrigerators), their eyes have lit up with excitement at the possibility of finally having a system to keep track of all their madness.

Here are a few Tickler ideas that have worked for me and lots of other moms out there:

(1) Simply take 12 folders and label them January through December.  The “official” way to build a Tickler involves 43 files–31 for days, 12 for months, but some moms feel overwhelmed by such a large number of folders, and they’re so busy dancing from breakfast to clean-up to carpool, that they won’t get around to checking their tickler until everything in it is out of date.  Maybe we’ll try this gain once the children have grown up….

(2) Make sure that everything in your Tickler is referenced on your calendar.  Because moms may not be checking their Tickler every day, they want to be sure to note all “tickled” items on their calendars (which they will be checking every day).  A small capital T with a circle around it is a simple symbol to use.  That way, if the middle school is hosting a holiday dance in December, and if they’ve sent home an order form for photographs at the event, you know exactly what to do with it.  You record the dance time and date on your calendar, put a “Tickler Symbol” next to the event, and place the order form in your December Tickler.  Voila!  No more rushing out the door with keys and corsage–screaming, “How much money do I need to send for photos?”  Sounds nice, doesn’t it?

(3) Use your Tickler to create the family of your dreams.  It’s true…the Tickler has this power.  You know all those ideas you get at the absolute wrong time of year?  The holiday decorations you discover in July?  The summer activities you read about in October?  The New Years’ traditions you dream up on February 27th?  You don’t have to waste those “light bulb moments” anymore.  Write them down, put them in the appropriate month’s Tickler, and write a little trigger on your calendar to “Check Tickler for GREAT ideas.”

The Tickler File works.  It will be one of your best friends.  (And as an added benefit, “Tickler” is fun to say!)  Thank you, David Allen.

April Perry is the mother of four children and co-director of www.powerofmoms.com. She is a regular contributor to GTD Times.

Mothers need Getting Things Done as much as (or more than!) any other group.  Why?  Let me show you a glimpse into my life “pre-GTD.”

My 7-year-old son, Ethan: Mom, want to see this cool toy lizard I got as a prize today?

Me: Yep.  Ooh.  That’s neat.  (Then in my head)  I need to buy paper towels, we have ants in the bathroom, it’s my niece’s birthday Friday, there’s a permission slip form somewhere around here I need to sign…

Ethan:  Mom, you’re not even looking!

Me:  Sorry.  Okay.  Yes, I really do like that lizard.  What’s his name?  I didn’t even exercise today.  I’ll remember tomorrow.  Don’t I need a sitter for Friday night?  How’s the laundry doing?  If I could just get that laundry room organized, I would feel so much better.  Where’s that book I was reading?  I need to remember to get some chocolate chips at the store.  The carpet needs to be vacuumed.  Where’s the baby?

Ethan:  Look, Mom!  Right here.  The lizard has cool eyes that pop out when I squeeze his neck.

By this point, I’m so frustrated with the dialogue in my head that I just ask Ethan to show me his toy later (which won’t happen), and I head off to find the baby and then make some progress (any progress) on my continually-growing list of “to do’s.”

Scenarios like the one above have a familiar ring to every mother out there.  I wish the hospital would include a copy of Getting Things Done in every take-home diaper bag, but I don’t think the world in general understands how incredibly overwhelmed mothers are.  We’re struggling every day to handle the PTA newsletters, the little feet that keep growing out of shoes, the fishy cracker crumbs on the couch, and the band-aids stuck to the inside of the dryer.  We try to use our talents, nurture our minds, and save the world, but we end up discouraged when we realize there’s no way we can “do it all.”   Mothers love their children and want to have a handle on all the “stuff” of life, so we can enjoy moments like the photo above.

No one likes living with stress, but many mothers simply don’t know there’s another option.   Once they find out about Getting Things Done, their lives will change.

Here’s what Getting Things Done has done for me:

• It has enabled me to REALLY enjoy my family.  I like to be with them now because every “open loop” is captured in a trusted system.   I’m not always worried about my task list, so I can savor our time together.  That alone is worth the time it takes to implement the system, don’t you think?
• It’s narrowed my daily focus to a simple calendar and an organized Next Actions List.  When ten minutes open up while the spaghetti is cooking, I have specific, effective ways to use that time.

It has given me the energy and “brain space” to move rapidly toward my

• goals while maintaining balance in my life.  A friend of mine said, “If you could create a program to show women how to succeed in business while balancing a family, every single woman I know would buy it.”  Well, David Allen’s already done that.  It’s called Getting Things Done.
• One final thing I’ll mention is that I’ve learned that organization is not about a perfect house—it’s a state of mind.  I used to spend HOURS cleaning and organizing my house because that was the only means to feeling “in control.”  Now we keep things generally clean and organized, but I’m so excited about life that the toys, fingerprints, and all the messes associated with raising a family don’t even phase me.  My home is bliss.

If you’re a mother, and you want this same experience in your life, here are a few ideas to make it work:

(1)  Read Getting Things Done.  Order it online, check it out at the library, or borrow it from a friend.  Just skip TV-watching for a couple of nights and read the book cover to cover.

(2)  Translate it into your “language.”  Don’t feel like you can’t use the system when you hear about people who take READING materials on airplanes while you’re packing fruit snacks and finger puppets.  The principles of GTD will work for anyone…even you. (And I bet your plane rides are much more exciting anyway!)

(3)  Invest an hour a day implementing the process.  Most mothers don’t have huge chunks of time to get organized, but the bite-sized pieces will add up eventually, leaving you calm, happy, and excited about the possibilities ahead.

If you want to give the mothers in your life a GREAT gift, Getting Things Done is a wonderful option—because it’s more than a book, it’s a key to stress-free motherhood.

April Perry is the mother of four children and co-director of www.powerofmoms.com.