Staying sane in this busy world can be a challenge. There are many demands on our time and attention, and if we don’t stay on top of these demands we can easily find ourselves stressed, burned out, and unable to handle everything that comes our way.

To deal with all of the demands in your life and to stay sane in a busy world, I recommend having a strategy. This strategy consists of the following elements:

• Have a note taking system
• Use an electronic calendar
• Use electronic reminders
• Take action

Have a note taking system

In a busy world it can be easy to forget things you want to remember, especially when you have many roles and responsibilities in your life. This can be a problem, but there is an easy solution: take notes!

When something comes up that you want to remember, take a moment and write it down. Then you can refer to your notes at a later time to see what you wanted to remember. Once you write something down you can stop worrying about it because it is there in your notes and when you later read your notes you will be reminded of the important item that you didn’t want to forget.

How you take notes does not matter. You could use a pen and paper, or you could use an electronic note taking tool, like an app on your phone. What does matter is that it should be an easy to use system that is always available to you. For example, I use the notes app on my phone because I always have my phone with me. Any time I want to remember something I just take out my phone, open the notes app, and record my note. I can then go on with whatever I was doing and I don’t have to worry about forgetting the important item I want to remember because it is now recorded as a note on my phone.

The most important thing you need to do with your note taking system is to actually read your notes. An unread note serves no purpose. If you don’t read your notes you won’t remember what it is that you wrote down, and then you risk forgetting what it is that you need to remember.

Once you start using a note taking system, pick a time every day to review your notes. Reviewing your notes ensures that you will see the reminders that you have created for yourself. Another advantage is that instead of having to remember a multitude of items, all you have to remember is to check your notes and then you will see every item you wanted to remember. Trying to remember multiple items can be challenging. Remembering to review your notes is much easier because it is only one thing to remember.

Your note taking system will primarily be a system of recording reminders so that you don’t forget important items that you need to remember. It can also be a database for recording information that you need to access on a regular basis.

For example, as a Toastmasters club officer there are various pieces of information that I need to remember, including my club number, the names of the currently serving club officers, and the amount we charge for membership fees. Instead of trying to remember this information on my own I keep this information as notes in the notes app on my phone. I can then easily find this information whenever I need to use it. All I have to do is open the notes app on my phone whenever I need access to this information.

Use an electronic calendar

In a busy world it is easy to forget appointments and other commitments you make, but there is a tool available to you to help you remember your appointments. This is the calendar app on your phone. I find the calendar app on my phone to be the ideal solution for helping me to remember meetings and appointments because I always have my phone with me, and the calendar app on my phone gives me an audible alarm to remind me of an appointment at a time of my choosing.

Another advantage of using the calendar app is that it lets me record notes for the appointment or meeting. This allows me to record anything I want to remember to do at the meeting or to bring with me to the meeting. For an online meeting, I can also record the meeting link in the meeting notes.

One example where I found the calendar app especially helpful was when I was scheduled to attend a Toastmasters conference. I added the event to my calendar and then in the notes for the calendar entry I created a list of everything I wanted to pack for my trip to the conference. This ensured I would not forget to bring something with me to the conference and it served as checklist when I was packing my bags when I was getting ready to attend the conference.

One important habit you need to develop once you start using the calendar app on your phone is to schedule a time every day to review your calendar. This can be done at the same time as you review the notes you have made for yourself. Reviewing both your calendar and your notes will remind you of all the important items you recorded in your notes and it will remind you of your upcoming appointments and meetings.

Another advantage of using the calendar app on your phone is that you won’t accidentally double book yourself. When you need to schedule a new appointment, you just open your phone to see the appointments you already have. Then you can pick a time for your new appointment that does not fall within the time of your existing appointments.

Use electronic reminders

In a busy world you may have more than just appointments and meetings you want to remember. Your note taking system can help you to remember these other items, and there is another tool available to you on your phone that can give you an audible alarm when you need to remember something. This is the reminders app on your phone. Note:If your phone does not have a reminders app, you can use the calendar app on your phone as a reminders app.

When you want to remember to do something, you can add a reminder to the reminders app on your phone. This reminder will give you an audible alarm at the time of your choosing. For example, imagine that you want to phone a friend to catch up and you have made a note of this in your note taking system. You can take a further step and create a reminder on your phone for a time when you want to make that phone call. Then, when your phone reminds you to call your friend, you can make that phone call and you will keep the commitment you made to yourself.

One way to make effective use of the reminders app on your phone is to schedule appointments with yourself. For example, in August of this year I was challenged to write 8 blog articles in one month. To achieve this challenge I scheduled reminders for myself for every three days in August. These were reminders to write my next blog article. I treated these reminders as appointments with myself and I treated them the same as I would an appointment with someone else. In other words, I showed up on time for these appointments. This means I wrote my blog articles during August at the times I scheduled and having the reminders on my phone helped me to remember to actually write my blog articles. Having this system of reminders allowed me to successfully publish 8 blog articles during the month of August.

Take action

There is one final step in this strategy for staying sane in a busy world. You need to take action!

What this means is that you need to act on your notes and reminders. Acting on your notes means actually reading your notes and taking action based on those notes. For example, if you record a note saying you want to call a friend, then actually make that call. Acting on your reminders means you need to do the actions that you scheduled for yourself. For example, if you scheduled a time to write a blog article, then actually sit down and write your article when the reminder occurs. Don’t just dismiss the reminder. Act on it instead.

I find the best way to act on my notes is to have a time to review my notes each day and to then schedule reminders for when I have time to act on those notes. When I convert a note into a scheduled reminder I am making a commitment to myself. This commitment is an appointment I am making with myself and I treat these self-appointments the same as I would an appointment with someone else. This means I show up for the appointment on time and I take the actions outlined for that appointment.

For example, as the Vice President of Education for my Toastmasters club I need to send an email every Friday and Monday that shares the agenda for the upcoming club meeting. I use reminders on my phone so I don’t forget to send these emails. When the reminders occur I sit down and send the emails. Sometimes I am proactive and I send these emails before the reminders occur, but often I am busy and I forget about the need to send the emails, but then the reminder occurs on my phone and I then send the emails after I get the audible alarm on my phone.

Conclusion

In conclusion, staying sane in this busy world can be a challenge. There are many demands on our time and attention, and if we don’t stay on top of these demands we can easily find ourselves stressed, burned out, and unable to handle everything that comes our way.

Fortunately, there is a strategy you can follow to help you stay on top of everything that comes your way. This strategy is the following:

• Have a note taking system
• Use an electronic calendar
• Use electronic reminders
• Take action

Using this strategy will help you to sane in a busy world. It will help you to stay organized and it will help you to stay in control of your life and to remember important events and details that you don’t want to forget.