How does this actually work?

Dear FlyLady,

OK. So this is a little thing, but it absolutely threw me for a loop. I was putting together my control journal. I put the pages in those sheet protectors, but then that extended the pages so far, the dividers didn’t work any more. How does this actually work?

Thanks!

Dear Friend,

We are such perfectionists. I had this happen to me too! Here is what I did first. I made my own dividers out of colored file folders. They were really cute. Then I realized that all I had to do was cut off the three holed edge on the sheet protector and punch holes in it. Then there are also th e sticky tabs you can just put on the sheet protector itself and make a divider out of it with a heavier piece of paper or cardboard in it. Oh well! When all is said and done; it really doesn’t matter how you do it. You just do not need to let your Control Journal get too many pages in it. This is why we only recommend using a one inch binder or smaller. I know how you can want to put everything in your Control Journal, but please stop yourself. I allowed mine to get so big that I could not find my routines in it for all the clutter I had accumulated. Each month you may have to declutter it too. You want to know what happened? I quit looking at it and my home started to fall apart again. I caught myself fast and made my Control Journal with “just the facts Ma’am” then it became the tool that it was intended to be. Oh and I don’t take it with me every where I go! It stays home on my kitchen counter for my family to see and to remind me to check it to see if my routines are still on automatic pilot.

Do you have too much stuff in your Control Journal? If so set your timer and weed out the things that don’t belong in there. You will find that if you keep your Control Journal in a three ring binder that you love you will use it more. Put your favorite picture on the front of it. We had the office in a bag made for our bills and correspondence, not necessarily to put your control journal in. You can if you like it is cute and zips up. I like to keep it simple with just a three ring binder on the counter. My Office-In-A-Bag I actually take with me when I have to sit in waiting rooms and kill time. I keep everything I need in there to pay bills, write letters, send cards and write.

We did put the two together and actually discounted the Control Journal if you purchased them together. So if you need to put together your office in a bag and are having trouble building your Control Journal then you can get the Control Journal Workbook for just 10 dollars. Keep in mind when you look at this picture, that the stuff does not come with it. It is just an example picture, so don’t complain that the Office-in-a-bag did not come with the office stuff. We all have this stuff anyway. We just need to pull it together into one place so we don’t run around the house looking for it. When it gets to be too much trouble; it is just another reason to procrastinate.

You can buy the Office in a Bag at The FlyShop!

- FlyLady