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Getting Organized with Index Cards
by Maria Gracia

Description: Tips for organizing your time with index cards.

Index cards are wonderful for helping you get organized in so many different areas of your life. And the best thing is, they’re so inexpensive! Here are just a few ideas:

GOAL SETTING: Perhaps you’ve always wanted to take a cruise, or learn a new language, or plant a garden. Goal setting will help you get there. Grab a bunch of index cards and write a specific goal on each--anything you could think of that you really want to do. Then, arrange the cards so that the goals you MOST want to achieve are on top, and the less important goals follow. Then, write deadlines on each of your top three cards, break each goal down into mini-goals, and schedule time to achieve each of them.

CLEANING: Instead of cleaning your home or office all at once, clean a little bit each day. Get some index cards and write a cleaning task down on each. For example: Card 1: Clean the Bathroom, Card 2: Wash Clothes, etc. Then, place all of your cards in a box, and draw one each day--that’s your cleaning task for the day. Be sure to include some FREE DAY cards in your box. If you draw one of them, you don’t have to do any cleaning for the day. Hooray! Be sure to keep the cards that were already drawn in a holding box, until all the cards you inserted have been drawn. Then, simply start over again. This system works great for kids’ chores too!

ORGANIZING A LETTER OR REPORT: Have to write a formal letter or a report? First organize your thoughts on index cards. It’s easier to do this than writing pages upon pages, and then searching for each point you made. Instead, write one thought, idea or suggestion per index card. Then, simply arrange them sequentially, and write your letter or report based on them.

PLANNING AN EVENT: Index cards can be a lifesaver here. Get some index cards and write an event topic on each card. For example, let’s say you were planning a party. You might have one index card for each category. Example:

Card 1: Invitations
Card 2: Food
Card 3: Music

Simply jot down steps to be done on each topic card. If you’re planning a party that other people are helping to organize, perhaps you can give a card to each person. Each person’s responsibilities are on their own individual card!

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