We all have great new things in this new year. Most of us have so many great new things - or kids/husbands/pets with great new things - that we aren't very organized. There are some people out there who are super organized. I praise you. But for the rest of use, organization is a constant struggle.

This hub is intended to give you some ideas of how to stay organized...at least with your time. Considering the constant state of chaos in my home, I shouldn't be giving anyone advice on organization of stuff. But I am very organized and efficient with my time.

So here are my secrets, in hope that you find something that will help you.

 My mother started me on a Franklin Covey planner habit way back when I was 10. She told me that since I was involved in so many activities and doing so much, it would help me to make to do lists and schedule my time each day. She sat down with me each Sunday and we worked out how to schedule the week to get everything in. By sticking to the schedule I got everything in. This started a life-long habit of planning my time and making to-do lists. I have graduated from the paper Franklin Covey planner to the software that integrates with MS Outlook and so integrates with my BlackBerry and PDA.

There are several options for a family, or individual, out on the market today. They range from getting a basic calendar and marking big things on it, to using a planning program like MS Outlook to schedule everything. There are paper planners, electronic planners, and internet based planners. I am going to cover some of the basic ones, and if you like them great. If you have something out there that you use, and I didn't include, let me know.

The Family Calendar

This is the most basic system. You get a 12 (or 18) month calendar and simply write important dates and events on it. A family can post it on the fridge, or in  some visable place. Then everyone can see what everyone else has scheduled. It isn't very advanced, but is very cheap.

Franklin Covey

The Franklin Covey series is great. They have paper planners, software for PDAs and all types of things. I am a HUGE fan of their software that integrates with MS Outlook. Then I can print things off, or sync it with my various electronic planners. You can schedule things to repeat, or only once. The software enables you to keep track of finances, anything you want to make a note on, and gives you color codes for various people. It can be printed to make a monthly calendar for your wall, or pages for your planner. It is somewhat expensive, but I find it work the money. Being able to schedule my time, down to the minute, and to have it sync with everything is extremely valuable to me.

Google Calendar

This is a new calendar, based in the internet. You can create one for your whole family. Google has it set up so that you can schedule tasks, reminders and other events. One of the great things about this is that you can set it to send emails or text reminders to various people. Then the Internet can nag them, instead of you having to constantly remind your kids to go to their dentist appointments, or your spouse to get milk at the store on his way home.

There are various versions of this type of calendar - one I like is in the links section: don't forget the milk. This is a more advanced version of the google calendar that will sync with any iGoogle device (like the google phone). But it won't sync with everything (like MS Outlook). So make sure you know what you need before you use it.

MS Outlook

I expound on the virtues of MS Outlook in my hub listed below (My Love Affair with Microsoft Office). Basically, it integrates with everything and can do almost any task your imagination can come up with. It is fabulous! And it can sync with any device, so that you only have to use one computer program for all your planning needs.

Others

There are more of these "types" of devices out there. But these are the ones I have experience with and have liked.

 The main thing about getting organized is to find a system you like, that works for everyone. You don't  want every member of the family using different types of devices or programs. And you have to stick with it. Make it a life-long habit.

Organized people get more done and are more efficient. Becoming that organized person can take a while, but is totally worth it.

Good luck, and let me know if I can help.