DIY 2014 Organizer

Every year it so happens that we make resolutions and all of them are broken over the first few months if not weeks. Every year I maintain a diary and write down almost everything in it, it kind of also becomes my notepad etc but its always fun when years later you read it again. For me the diary I wrote in school is so nostalgic and I believe when ill be old with greyhair and with no work to do ill sit and go through all these diaries and refresh my memory again. This year however I have decided to make an Organizer!!! I believe that even thought I plan to do many things I am not able to achieve all of them, I loose focus or I get involved a lot in one thing and completely ignore the other and that’s where the Organizer comes in picture. I searched a lot online and found these awesome printables from various sites. I figured that as I am a student many of the printables were not applicable for me so I just printed out those parts which I believe will be applicable for me and just downloaded that. ( You can do the same, I am going to put all the links below so just print out whatever you feel is perfect for you. Also I don’t own these printables they are the sole property of whoever made them, I am just sharing them. )

So let me just show you how I have done my Organizer.

1.      Binder/File

So this is the Binder that I have used. You can use just about anything. I figured Filofax are also in great demand these days but I find them not that good for me. So I decided to just use a file or a Binder. You can use anything you feel fit for yourself. You can also just stick the papers on the wall if you find that convenient. It all depends on you really.

2.      ColourPens

I plan on making the organizer fun and colourful, so that it makes me want to come and write in it, so that it keeps me interested but I also don’t want it too messy with lots of colours in a way that the text gets lost in the colours and design. I wanted something where the text and my notes are instantly visible when I open my Organizer and that’s why I decided to use colourful pens to write in and use a simple template/background and so far it has worked great for me.

I just used a simple clear plastic pen pocket and punched it in the start of the file so all the things remain in one place and I don’t have to go search for it everytime I sit down to write. I also plan to put in some Sticky Notes and some Washi Tapes ( I am not able to find any in my locality in Mumbai, so if you know where I can find them please let me know in the comment box below. Thanks J )

3.      A transparent File

I have attached this transparent File/ Paper Holder or whatever it is called at the start of the Organizer, ill use this as a to-do list or something. I will put in any document that I have to read or something that need to do etc, I can also use it to post the post it notes so that I don’t ruin the inside pages. And the day it is empty like it is now means there is no pending work. YAY!

4.      At a Glance Yearly Calender

Needless to say why, it has to be there in an Organizer. This is useful when you just want to quickly checkoutsome dates or need to check out the days you are free or something. It just helps to have the entire calendar laid out in front of you.

5.      Goals of the Year

I have often noticed that every new year we plan somethings for the next year, some of those things are possible to achieve while some are plain unrealistic and sometimes it so happens that the plans you have made for the next year are not relevant due to some changes that your life undergoes. So I use this chart to plan goals month vise. So I know exactly what I have to achieve in this month or the next month. It helps me stay more grounded and more realistic. The thing I love about this particular layout is that it has a lot of columns so you can have goals right from basic to something very important. It helps track your personal as well professional goals.

6.      Weight loss Journal

For a long time now I am dying to loose some weight, and its just not happening. The problem is I absolutely loveee food and I am very lazy to actually workout and thus this is the result. So I am using this just to keep a track and maybe this will motivate me to focus on weight loss more.

7.      Month at a Glance

As I told you earlier I have made this according to my needs, I don’t really think I have so much on my mind that I need to have a daily and a weekly calendar I am able to manage my time with the monthly calendar. So I am just using that. I put in important things that I need to do on a particular day and then just manage my day using my cell phone calendar. But incase you want weekly and daily calendar as well ill put the link down below

8.      Blog Planner

I have this blog for like 5 years now and as you can see that I am not that active. Every year I plan to blog more, read more blogs etc but its not just happening. So this year I used this planner and I am actually that it is kind of helping me be on track. This is like what my 5^th blog in January itself? I am happy and I hope this continues. There is this small space below to write down any blog ideas that you may have and a small inspiration box where you can write in whatever that will inspire you to blog more.

9.      My daily details

This is something I made myself just to keep a track so there are different areas of my life that I want to work on and that’s what I have written in each tab which helps me keep a track on my daily activity.

-          Exercise - As I mentioned above, I have an exercise issue if I may say. So this is not a surprise. This is just to track how much I have worked out (if any)

I use an android app which helps me keep a track of my workouts MyFitness Pal. You can download and see if it works for you.

-          Water -  I also drink very less amount of water than what I actually should. Hence, this tab just to keep me hydrated.

I again use Water My Body android app for this. ( I just think it’s so easy use apps as your phone is always with you and it’s just convenient )

-          Walking -  This will again come under Exercise but I prefer having a separate tag for it.  Obviously I use an app for this as well - Run Keeper

-          Expense – I am not earning now, so I don’t have like a lot of money to manage but whatever little I do have I thought it would be a good idea to start tracking the money that I spend. Because somehow it so happens that I don’t realize when I am spending money on useless things. Maybe this will help me realize where I genuinely need to spend and where I am just wasting it. Android App – Expense Manage

-          Prayer – I am not very religious or a god fearing person, but I have noticed that when you pray your day is just more positive and confident and in this world where everything is so fast and you don’t have time for anything prayer obviously gets very little or no time (atleast for me) and thus this tag to keep some spirituality in me.

-          Read 15pages a day – You cant see that tag here but I have just penned it down later. I have taken the GoodReads.com challenge of reading 50books in a year twice now and have failed both the time. So this year I thought that everyday ill at least read 15pages of a book. So I get a check mark everyday if I read 15pages. I find this nice, as it pushes me to read more even though I am tired.

Well that is all there is as of now, its my first Organizer so maybe I have missed something or have put in some things that wont make much of a difference but let time tell me that. Ill be adding and removing things according to how I feel my needs are or according to what is working or working for me. Lets hope ill be doing a successful Organizer post at the end of this year.

Links –

1.      Binder, Pens and Paper File – Bought it at a local store, you can find it there or on flipkart or ebay.

2.      Year at a glance –  http://itsagingersnap.com/2013/11/2014-binder-printables/

3.      Online Passwords - http://itsagingersnap.com/2013/11/2014-binder-printables/(I haven’t added this above cause I had already written down the passwords so couldn’t upload it here, Sorry!)

4.      Weigh loss chart - http://www.pinterest.com/pin/327988785332785853/

5.      2014 Calender - https://app.box.com/s/2mgg2v4d62ib7w8lyvx0

6.      Blog Information sheet - http://www.blessingsoverflowing.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Blog-Information-Sheet.pdf

7.      Monthly Blog Plans - http://www.awellcraftedparty.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/monthlyblogplanner.pdf

Theatre etc

I am not home but then again I just want to want to post and keep up the challenge and thats the explaination for this rushed up post . So for those who know me, already are aware that I am associated with theatre and generally we hear about things from audience point of view but today ill write of experience from a non audience point of view.
By the time I came in the theatre most of the audience had already reached as I went in casually dressed and without any make up on very little people took notice of me its when the lady guard who checks everyones bag let me go in unchecked and when I directly went in the auditorium no question asked while others were still waiting outside did the people started taking notice of me, heads started turning and some people started wondering if they have seen me in some play. And would take this opportunity to accept that I absolutely love this attention.
And I enter backstage, its the first show so obviously people are tensed, worked up and screaming. I enter to the site of music man abusing his ipod for not being the best. The set designer is present on the stage making some last minute changes. The women are going crazy with all their makeup, clothes, acceosries and shoes. The most chilled out place always is the mens room, youll always find people chilling, having tea and talking about almost everything under the sun.
There is another another ritual that is to have tea before the show like its absolutely necessary. One of the senior actress once told me, "Its more of a psychology or a ritual than actually being a nessecity"
And now that I am talking about theatre I would also like to add that the entire crew takes lots of effort to put up a show, and even though its the same over and over again not once do they take it lightly and just do for the sake of it. I know people who have performed at an evening show even though there was a death in the family in the morning.

The day it all changed

Days were gloomy then, something was not right. The uncle who used to pick her up everyday from school with a smile was standing lately with a straight face. She knew that everyone is upset because her dad was in hospital but she was not old enough to understand the seriousness of it.

Her mother looked old suddenly, she didn't care about her looks or about her clothes anymore. Every night her mother would tell her to pray to god to get her dad home soon.

And then it happened,

A phone call in the middle of the night, she picked up the call, the person on the other end asked her to hand over the phone to her mother. She turned towards her mother, and could see tears in her eyes. Her mother barely heard what the person had to say, hugged her and both started crying. She didn't know why, tears just rolled down her cheek.

She didn’t understand it then, that she had just lost her father.

#VoteForIndia

I saw a video recently on youtube where a person went on asking people of Banglore questions on Politics, though the video didn’t mean any harm and was taken by all in a humorous and non offensive way it just got me wondering about how less the people and especially the Youth of this country know about what is happening in the country.

I am a Journalism Student and I believe its my duty to make the youth around me aware of the fact that their votes are important and that they should atleast be aware of what is happening the country if not take active participation. The youth is not interested in the old school methods, they  need some new ways to catch their attention something that they can relate to, something that they enjoy and can connect to immediately.

When I saw this #VoteForIndia contest on Indiblogger it got me thinking about what I can do to make people around me aware, what can I do to make sure that everyone in my college vote. I called up couple of my friends and we thought of  organising a flash mob appealing everyone to VOTE! We can even conduct general discussions that we will organise in college to make them realise how their one vote can actually help make a huge difference. And for the third and the most important stage we shall use Social Mobile Apps that will help us stay connected all the time so that we can post updates, news etc related to the elections. We can also have a Q&A sessions where we will help solve some doubts or questions about any Candidate or Political Party (obviously with some help from Internet and Professors ) we can also have some group discussions about the current happenings.

I feel that when Elections, Politics etc becomes a part of an individuals daily life only then can they start taking active part in it and be informed. As Social Mobile Apps are something that we use on regular basis and something that is so very connected to the youth, information coming from this source will definitely strike a chord with the youth eventually making them aware as well as interested in Politics. 

2014 Resolutions

2013 passed by in a jiffy, It feels like just yesterday when I was celebrating 31^stDecember 2012.  2013 was Good, Bad, Worse, Awesome and whatever more adjectives you would like to add, but there are something that I hope are left back in 2013 only and there are some new things that I want to bring in 2014.

Resolutions never really worked for me, and I know it has been the same with most of you guys. But this year I have just decided to make sure that I stick to my Resolutions and actually do a happy resolution complete post at the end of this year, and that’s the reason I am doing this post to publicly accept my resolutions so incase I ever do go out of track you guys can remind me and pull me back :D

So My New Year Resolutions Are…

1.      Blog More – This blog is almost 5 yrs old now and though I love it I was not that very in touch with it hence, I have decided that this year it will be one of my priority and will actually make an effort and post here more! Will read a lot many blogs, comment on a lot lot more other blogs and follow many many more blogs :D

2.      Learn Cooking – I have reached a point in my life where I feel that I should actually start learning how to cook. My mom had told me some 3yrs back to learn how to make round rotis ( lets face it, Round Roti’s ARE IMPORTANT ) and now that I have mastered that art ( Though I still can’t roast them that well ) my mom is slightly hinting towards learning how to make basic vegetables and chicken. I have been watching a lot of Sanjeev Kapoor videos off late but its all fun to just watch, I couldn’t take myself to the kitchen and actually make something. So I hope by the end of this year I have atleast mastered 1 recipe.

PS – If anyone of you have any simple yet tasty recipe, please share below!!!

3.      Be Organised -  I have been quite lazy and not so perfect in 2013. And I saw a lot of posts about Home / Life  organizations on Pinterest and fell in love with it immediately. Though many things didn’t apply to me so I made my own little Organizer that will help me manage my life a little bit better as well as give me ample time for myself.  

( I will do a post on the organizer soon also will give links to all the Printables )

4.      Read More Books – For the last 2 years I have been taking the GoodReads Challenge and have failed at it TERRIBLY and I am amazed when I see updates from other people who complete like 100 or 200 books in a year.  Getting inspired from them and keeping tradition going I have once again taken up the target of reading 50 books in 2014 and I hope I achieve it atleast this year. J

5.      Weight Loss – Anddthis is the most common Resolution that girls make. Although I don’t want to be super slim or loose lots of weight, I just plain plan to tone up a bit and be fit. I love curves and I hope that I can continue flaunting that.

6.      Social Media Fanatic – Well not exactly, but just be more active on Social Media. I am a Journalism Student and for me being aware about things around me is very important and this is difficult for me cause I am also a tad bit forgetful when it comes to remembering names or people ( and this is something which won’t help me a bit in my career ) social media is one place which never fails to keep me informed and this year ill try to use to increase my general knowledge.

7.      Pray and Believe – I believe in Sharukh Khan’s Dialogue, “Agar kisi cheez ko pure dil se chaho toh puri kayanath tumhe use milane ki koshish mein lag jaati hai”  I know its filmy but it is true as well. When you think positive and you believe with all your heart its bound to come true. And there are experiences which make me believe in this even more. Last 6 – 7 months was an emotional roller coaster and it is continuing and these are things I have no control upon and yet they continue to make huge huge difference in my life, so my only way out here is to Believe and to Pray!

Husssh… so that’s my resolution. I guess I can completed those. Actually I Hope I complete those ;)

Anyway what about you? What are your resolutions? What did you plan for 2014?