The Gift Of Time Thanks To #Office365
Disclosure: I am an Office Champion and this is a sponsored post.
I finally got my tree up! I would like to get up and do a little jig but, I'm tired. How exactly did we end up in December already? Didn't I just have a birthday? Wasn't it just March like 15 minutes ago?
Alas, time stops for no Mami. I might not like the idea but I certainly have the tools in place to help me keep up with the things on my plate!
Excel
I might not be Santa but please understand I do have a list and unlike Santa (who I think is a little lazy for this) I check it way more than twice! My Excel spreadsheet lists out those on my nice list along with a gift, a link to where I can get the gift from AND the price. This means I can stay on budget before I buy anything. And if I'm going over the budget? Easy peasy? I can run through and figure out secondary gifts (which I also keep in the spreadsheet). Plug those in and, voila! Budget handled.
And speaking of budgets, not only do I use Excel for my nice list but I use it to keep me from being naughty with a nice detail of expenditures. As a business owner I need to make sure I stay on top of all of that not-so-fun stuff so that I'm not pulling my hair come tax time. My accountant actually provided me with detailed templates that I can keep track of everything I need to make sure I have a headache-free tax season.
Publisher
Yeah...so...let's talk about Christmas cards. Here's a quick hint: you might not get one from me. Well, at least not the one from the photo studio. I can create cards, flyers, gift tags, menus, place cards and certificates of health for one Elf on a Shelf (she touched the elf, long story). Sometimes I feel guilty at how simple it is. But not really because there's just way too much going on and I can use all the help I can get.
OneNote
I don't even know what else to say about OneNote. My new routine is to pull out the MamiTab while I'm drinking my coffee and handwrite my to-do list. I no longer keep a paper notebook. There's absolutely no need. Even when I'm working on the Surface Pro, I have a monitor that I extend my screen to and end up using the Surface as my notebook while I'm happily typing away, answering emails, etc.
The Gift of Time
Yes, it's cool to have all these tools. Yes, it's ahmazing to be able to run a pivot table on my gift giving. But being organized during this time of the year means I get more time for what matters. It's more cuddles with the frog princess, more time to bake pumpkin bread, more movies & popcorn. I'm such a fan of this season primarily because I have such fond memories of being with my loved ones during this time. I want to make sure the frog princess has the same. And with Office 365 I'm given the chance to handle what needs to be done while not forgetting the reason for the season.
Tell me, what tools do you use to get your to do list out of the way so you can spend more time with those that annoy love you?
Disclosure: I am an Office Champion. However, all thoughts, opinions and love of pivot tables are purely my own.