When I was pregnant, I once went left a week’s worth of groceries in the car for hours until I finally remembered they were still in the car. I used to leave my garage open for so many hours that my neighbor would come over and remind me to close it. I hardly have any brain cells left after having three children. It has eased up a bit since my girls are now older. However, I still fear that if I don’t write things down they won’t get done. As a result, I’m a list-aholic.

My heart goes out to any other moms that are pulled in many directions and are easily distracted by a potty crisis, catfights over toothpaste, and requests for snacks. Here’s a few of my tricks for keeping all of my ducks in a row even when our schedule is overflowing.

1. I love my cell phone calendar. It reminds me of all of our afterschool activities, birthdays, library book due dates, and pretty much everything else I need to remember in a day. When all three of my kids were on different school schedules I had an alert sound from my phone 15 minutes before they got out of school. I don’t know how many times I admittedly would have missed a pickup because I got engrossed in a project or an errand.

2. I love my notebook. I keep a small spiral notebook in my purse where I jot down ideas and notes and I make my weekly to-do lists. I always bite off more than I can chew in a week, but what doesn’t get done that week will be transferred to the next. I’m always amazed at how much I do get done and I try to focus on that and let the rest go. I also jot down my meal plan for the week and my grocery lists here, too. I always tote my notebook around with me and it’s amazing to me how many times I am glad I have had my meal plan list or grocery list tucked into my notebook when I’m out and about during the day.

3. I love lined sticky notes. On top of my weekly to-do list I paste a sticky note (I love the lined ones, but regular ones work, too) to write down reminders of what I must do that day. It’s handy for last minute things that come up that might not make the weekly to-do list. It also helps me to feel less overwhelmed about what I am trying to accomplish in a day if I can cross items off the short list. There is something really gratifying about crossing items off a list.

4. I love the fridge list. I keep a list of our doctors on our fridge so it’s easy for anyone to access it. It’s amazing how many doctors we have when you put them all on one list. After having a child with severe health problems, I learned that paramedics go the fridge first to look for medical information. They recommend having as much health history written on the sheet as well as medications each person in your home is taking.

Question: What do you do to remember all of the things you have to do in a day?