Can Notes for the Next Time Simplify Your Life?

Would you like a helpful habit that will simplify recurring life events?

It started with our annual beach trip.

Having eaten at a few really good restaurants, we wanted a way to remember them for the next trip.

The notes app on a smart phone was opened and in just a few minutes we had a complete list of restaurants to which we wanted to return.

As the miles piled up, so did the list.

By the time we arrived home, we had composed a comprehensive beach trip list.

Our list included details we wanted to remember. Who brought what groceries, what worked and what didn’t, what we wanted to do differently the following year. (Starting with extending the trip!).

The note idea worked so well that, following Thanksgiving dinner, I started a note for the following Thanksgiving.

Fast forward to Christmas. As I zipped through the Christmas season there were a multitude of little details that crossed my mind that could make my life easier at Christmas.

I opened my phone and started a Christmas season note.

Making a note for the next time became a habit.

Mentally, I started calling the habit Notes for the Next Time.

It’s like creating a recipe for recurring events. A note helps you remember all the little details you will forget over time.

Making a note for the next time is a habit that’s easy to adopt.

Make notes as you go.

Start a note on your phone app or stick a piece of paper somewhere it’s easily accessible.

As you think of something, make a note.

Get your thoughts on a note while they are still in your mind.

Because face it, the thought won’t stay in your head for an extended period of time.

After an event take the time to make detailed notes.

Make notes sooner rather than later. The sooner you do it, the more you will remember.

I have sat in the car in the parking lot while I made notes about everything I wanted to remember.

Include what worked.

Why reinvent the wheel? If it worked well once, it’s worth repeating.

Make a note so you will remember the little details that made it work.

My simple Christmas Eve dinner of soup and Nana’s fried bread was such a hit, it will be our new tradition.

Include what didn’t work.

There are things you don’t want to inadvertently do a second time. Make a note.

Although I’m pretty sure I will never forget, I made a note to never again attempt making fresh bread on Christmas day.

What do you want to do differently?

When you are smack in the middle of doing something is when the best ideas for how to do it better the next time will hit. Make a habit of making notes.

Next year, all the bacon for Christmas morning will be fixed ahead of time. No more standing in the kitchen frying bacon on Christmas morning.