Sharing My To-Do List Method ~ A Version of the Kanban System

My To-Do List ~ It Works

In December I had Sarra Cannon here as a guest blogger, talking about Tips For Success In 2019 As An Indie Author.  Earlier in the year, I'd been to her site and learned about her modified Kanban system.

I've modified the system even more.

You need to make a system work for you, and so I'm showing you in a very personal way what works for me.

Basically, a Kanban board is what you see below.  

To Do, In Progress and Finished. 

I don't have room in my office to place such a board, nor would I enjoy seeing such an in-my-face board, (I think it would be TOO much pressure 😉) so I decided to make a desk-sized book.

The basic idea behind a Kanban is that you list each To-Do item on paper coded by color to the type of task, and put it on the To Do column.  Move it to the Doing column and then Done column

I use the same idea, but leave out the Doing. I use colored adhesive notes so I instantly know what I'm looking at. 
The notes get put on a day page and not in any particular order unless I have a deadline.  I place other not so immediate To-Do's on subsequent pages, after all, there are other things I want to do, not must do, like play the piano or sew or.... :)

As I said above, I don't have an In Progress or Doing List. My note stays on the page or gets moved to the next day if not completed. Most of the time, I can complete the task and when I do, I write in INK that completed task on my page and throw away the To-Do note.

This way, I can easily write notes as the project/job/task pops into my head and stick it on a page. Now I rarely forget to get something done!  How awesome is that? Very!! 

And I get to see the progress I've made and how the day was used for those must-do tasks.

I was using one page for each weekday and one for a combined Saturday/Sunday, but I realized some days only get a few things accomplished. (I do write down what kept me from doing what I needed to do😄) And some days just don't have that much listed. So I start a new day if I can on the same page. 

A couple of important things to note. I learned from Sarra to have a quarterly list in the back of my book where I can place items I know I want to do, but can't focus on during this quarter.  It's a GREAT help because once it is listed, it's out of my brain and I won't forget it.

Second, I love scrapbooking and planners, so I've combined that love in this book. It makes me happy to decorate it after the day has finished, it's like my treat.

So a year and a half has passed since I started this. And it's working like a dream. Now, I've pulled out all the 2018 pages and started a new book. 

I use Create 365 Happy Planner 1/2 sheets (white for me, available at Michaels), their medium-sized rings, and I cut the tabs off their "dashboards" to make the cover and back. I believe these are all "classic" size. I'm going to put links below the post in case you're interested. (yes I'm an Amazon affiliate, so receive a small commission, but there is no extra charge to you)

I buy stickers and washi tape. I created my own "day" stickers, which I print on clear labels and cut with my Cameo. But you can buy day-of-the-week stickers.  Basically, I have fun which makes the entire TO-DO thing a bit easier. 

Next week, I'll write a post on my Action Book. A new and better way to keep my yearly resolution goals in front of me.

Let me know if you have questions about how I created my To-Do List using a modified Kanban system.

~See you later, 

L.A.

Cacao Images From Costa Rica~ See What Prince Of Granola's Characters See

My recent release, Prince Of Granola, is set in Costa Rica on a cacao plantation. As always (and one of the fun parts of this crazy writing career) is doing the research.  But often times, the "behind-the-scenes" work stays just that. That's a shame.

I decided to post some images so you can see what I'm talking about in the book.  

These are cacao pods hanging from the tree in varying degrees of ripeness. They're really quite beautiful.  The rare white bean's pod isn't white, by the way.

Cutting the pod off carefully. The cacaotero can't afford to damage the tree and allow disease to enter. Remember, a super humid climate in Costa Rica. As Roberts says "One hundred and ten percent".

Opened pod. I can't tell for sure, but suspect this was opened with a machete, which is a quicker way to split them and remove the bean/pulp. It's also done with a mallet, more time consuming but with potentially less damage to the bean. 

That's how they harvest in Prince Of Granola.

Costa Rican hillside. Dirt path or road will become treacherous in the rain. 

Very treacherous and gravely affects our characters in Prince Of Granola.

Next: the making of chocolate or what's called "Bean to bar."

~L.A.