The MomPDA™ System. Bringing the Kwality direct to you and cutting out the middlewoman.

As you know, I have no memory. Thank god for this blog, because without it I would have no idea what I did yesterday. Remember that movie “Memento”? Yes, I was one missed appointment away from tattooing shit on my arms.

So I embarked on a quest.

A quest to find the appropriate gadgetry with which to outfit myself and thereby end the misery of forgetting that it’s our turn to bring snack to preschool AGAIN. fuck.

I checked out Treos, BlackBerrys, software for my computer, fancy cell phones, and hiring a serf. I was willing to suck it up and spend the money, but it turns out that all these options would have driven me crazy.

Pre-kids I loved figuring out electronic gizmos, tinkering and fiddling them to get everything set up the way I wanted it, writing scripts to integrate them into my calendar, databases, excel spreadsheets.

But now my brain is retired.

Since having kids I have no spare mental energy, and just the thought of all that work is enough to make me scream and realize that I’d end up driving over my BlackBerry with my minivan on my way to first drop off the boys at gymnastics and then go “Thelma and Louise” off a cliff.

So I was back to square one.

I started thinking about non-technical solutions, and then I did one of my favorite things in the world. I went to one of those huge office supply stores and just wandered around for over an hour. I am a total dork, and this is somthing I LOVE to do.

I looked at every paper-clip holder, desk storage unit, tabbed paper folder, colored marker set, and binder with 7 pockets that they had.

And then I invented the MomPDA.

It is so simple that even I can use it. All you need are half-sized index cards, a pen that fits in your pocket,

mompda.jpg

calendar.jpgand a wall calendar that has ample room in the square for each day. (This month we were all sick, so our schedule was very minimal. But the large squares really help in busier months!)

That’s it. Every morning I put a half-index card and the pen in my pocket. During the day I write down things I need to remember to do and ideas I have. When I change out of my clothes at night, I write it all on my calendar.

Every morning I glance at my calendar to see what is going on that day. Every night I cross out that day and check what is coming for the next couple of days.

The pen I like is the Fisher Bullet Space Pen, because it is small, smooth, and feels great in my hand. Mine is purple, but I suppose it would work if you chose a different color. In fact, Mr. Plain thought this was a pretty decent idea as well, and so I also present to you…

The DadPDA™

dadpda.jpg

Now if you can’t find half-index cards, you could either cut or fold regular ones. But I love the smaller sized ones because they aren’t lumpy in my pocket.

I’ve been doing this since November, and I figure with the cost of electronic gadgets this trick has saved me hundreds of dollars. I hope you find it useful too!


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6 responses to “The MomPDA™ System. Bringing the Kwality direct to you and cutting out the middlewoman.”

  1. Oh, The Joys Avatar

    I think we were separated at birth. Can you come on gmail and we can just chat for hours about the best systems to organize our motherhood, our schedules and the whole mom thing? Right now I’m going to get the big calendar because outlook on two different computers just isn’t cutting it. Also, I’m thinking “stickers” — there needs to be some kind of sticker system going on with the calendar too…

  2. Plain Jane Mom Avatar

    Jessica, the stickers would be great for stuff my kids need to see too — like their birthdays. So they’d stop constantly asking me when they are!

    We have almost the same birthday as I recall, and I’ll have to get my mom to find a picture of me in my yellow LIW bonnet ;)

    Do you have a favorite foot? If so, is it your left one?

    Just checking…

  3. Maria P. Avatar

    I am so glad Im not the only one who likes to wander around office supply stores!

    I have to say I love my smartphone though and I dislike paper a lot, I’m always loosing it.

    Also I set up appointments in my hotmail calendar and set them to text message me a reminder. You could do that to any phone I suppose.

    I DO like those tiny index cards…. I have whole bunch of them in different colors but I don’t use them unless I run out of post its. I love office supplies.

  4. Lisa Avatar

    You know, I’ve tried all the gadgets too. Planners and the electronic organizers just didn’t work. Notebook and cool pen? Perfect. I put a calendar on the refrigerator – one month at a time – and even our girls can’t stop themselves from writing stuff on it (even if it’s, “We went to Target today!”). I am actually saving them too – maybe someday I’ll actually do something with them…besides throw them away.

    Speaking of planners, another blogger mentioned some planner on her blog that I was curious about. I’m afraid to put the name of it, because I have a feeling that the woman who owns the company Googles the name at least twice a day. I don’t know how she got my e-mail, but at least twice a week she e-mails me how great HER planner is and why I should buy it. It’s like $50! Don’t be surprised if she shows up here to give you some organization pointers. :)

  5. MammaLoves Avatar

    “Hired a serf…” Hy-sterical!!

    Now see I’m a recent Blackberry convert and I think every mom should have one. Hubs and I send each other meeting invites through outlook to keep everything straight. I’ve got my calendar, my tasks, my contacts, my email, my notes, my phone and the internet all in one place. Now let’s just pray I never lose it!!!

    That said, I think your system is fairly genius.

  6. […] The background of my blog, the pen that lives in my pocket, the walls of my bedroom… […]

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