Staying Organized: To Do List

One of the biggest problems for day camp directors and especially for this ditzy day camp director is staying organized. It's a hard thing to do! During the planning part of your job before camp starts it's fairly easy to keep things organized and to tidy up but as camp goes along it gets harder and harder to keep things straight. So I thought I'd add another section...staying organized.

So for the first staying organized post I thought I'd give you a hint what my biggest staying organized help is...'to do lists'. I have 'to do lists' everywhere - on the wall, on the fridge, on my mirror, in my phone...everywhere! 'To do lists' can be a great asset - if you use them.

Trust me fello ditzy day camp directors....it's an awesome tool. Use it to remind you of all the things you need to do.

First thing to do...

Yep...write it! You have to write down everything, and I mean EVERYTHING you need to get done.

It might be a really long list, but having it done will help you see what needs to get done. Also writing it down will help you not to forget something you need to do. It's hard to remember all the little things that need to get done if you don't have some kind of reminder telling you what to do.

Now to add the details. Your 'to do list' should include dates. Put down dates of when you are going to do it or when it needs to be done by. This will help you make sure you do priority things first. If you are making a nice one on your computer you could list them according to priority. (On mine I put the due date).

The second thing you should include on your 'to do list' is who is responsible for doing it. If you are the only one doing everything (I'm sorry) but there is no need for you to put down whose doing it...because it's you. But if you are like me and you have a team or an assistant, it's super helpful to include whose responsible for it so that everyone knows what they need to be doing.

The Camp Senda 'to do list' has T's, D's and B's on it. T's for when its my job (Tori), D's for when it's David's job (he's the assistant director) and B's for when we are both going to be doing it.

And don't forget, my favourite part of 'to do lists', crossing things off.

Honestly, crossing things off the list can be so satisfying! It's not only nice to see that things are getting done but it's an instant 'high five you got something done' feeling.

So we did our 'to do list' on a huge piece of cardboard in our office because we thought it would be a helpful reminder like this. But you don't have to do your 'to do list' like this...you could use post it notes, a typed computer version, a day planner, etc. Use whatever works best for you and helps you stay the most organized. :)

So here's to all the 'to do lists' and things we need to get done....

Another day in the life of....

The Ditzy Day Camp Director