The next thing I want to talk about in organisation is an address book, I gave up keeping proper address book years ago as I got fed up with all the crosses out when people moved house or changed their email address or phone number… my pretty address book soon looked a mess! Instead I now use a page for each person in my Home Organiser Planner, if any data changes I can just rip the page out and start again. The advantage of using an A4 page is you can add extra information, instead of just Name, Address, Email, Phone Number, you can now add Mobile Numbers, Websites, Birthdays, Spouses or Children’s Names, and of course a Notes section to include information like allergies or favourite food for dinner parties or gifts.

All the guides I have read online encourage you to include more than just friends and family’s details, at first I thought it was a little odd including the number of the local restaurant or take away place, but when you stop to think how many times you look this up in the year it soon adds up, using a folder also means you can attach the menu – so you don’t have to hunt around for that too, When those menus and vouchers get posted through the door file them away in your address book. I have also started adding “notes” to these, listing our favourite dishes or things we hated – useful when recommending a restaurant.

I also keep a digital copy (in Outlook) of my friends and families addresses, the benefits of a digital copy are numerous, you can use mail merge for your Christmas cards (you will be amazed at how much time this can save), most people email change of address or phone numbers details so you can copy and paste the details over. With nearly everyone owning a Smartphone these days you can also sync computer based address book with your phone and suddenly you always have everyone’s details with you always – handy if you have to send a last minute card.

Further Reading:

Tags: ,

Comments Off