Are you excited? A debrief on how to approach Get It Together
I know, I'm a geek when it comes to this financial stuff. When I got my first copy of Get It Together, I got all excited... here was a chance to put everything in one place, so that if (when) something happens to me, I've thought ahead to reduce the amount of scrambling. As I mentioned before, I'm revisiting the Get It Together package and you get to come along with me. Welcome!
To get started, I downloaded the digital book file to my Remarkable tablet so I can make notes and highlight. If you have an e-reader or a way to mark up a PDF file, you might want to consider downloading to a format where you can make notes and go back to areas that you may have skipped. If you're a paper person, you can order the printed copy of the book at NOLO.com; note that NOLO almost always offers online coupon codes, so search for a current offer before you order.
I know that some of you already have good systems to organize this information. You might use this process to add some new details, or maybe reconsider your storage method, or update your communication to family. Others may be considering this process for the first time. Either way, I'm hoping that even engaging just a little bit with this process is helpful to you.
Once you're ready to dive in, you can start by taking in what this project is about and why you're doing it.
Did you read the "Your Get It Together Companion" page? Quite honestly, I felt like the page heading was... understated. In one page, the author reviews her goals for starting this process, and her passion for sharing the approach. If you skipped it (like you might the "Prologue" of a nonfiction book), consider sitting down with it for a minute or two.
The next section, "Completing Your Personal Planner", gives you important guidance on how you'll approach this project. It starts with "Who Needs a Planner" and then "How it Works". I'm fine reading through all of that, easy!!! I found that the "Seven Steps to Preparing Your Planner" is where I got slightly anxious and my heart started beating a bit faster, and this isn't the first time I've read through it! Maybe I'll double back to the "Companion" page to calm myself down. I also know that the system is well organized, and once the pieces are together, just require periodic maintenance.
Steps 1 through 4 address how to complete your planner pages and store your planner.
I'll give you an idea of how I have my planner organized and stored.
I love technology and computers, but I also love paper. I decided to use the eForms for easy updating, and I have a 3" binder with binder tabs. My eForms are stored on my computer with a cloud backup, and the digital forms are password protected. My binder is in my home office, because it's easy to keep updates top of mind; but after re-reading this section I realize I need to relocate it to our fireproof locking box, and I'll add a task to my personal calendar to make sure I review it at least annually. Steps 2 through 4 walk you through these and other options for setting up your planner pages and storage. They end with a "Caution" to "Stop right there". To be clear, you can keep reading this section, just make sure you make the decisions in steps 1 through 4 before starting to organize your pages.
You'll notice in Step 5 that there are two outlines for completing the planner: one for "If time is short" and the other for the entire project. May I suggest that if you're only partially committed to the process that you start with the "If time is short" path, just to make sure the most important documents are in place, then you can fill in as you complete the entire path. You may also find that you have most of those items or they need to be reviewed and updated,
And finally, can I offer a tip? Don't skip over the "Tips" offered in the book - they get to some of the details that might otherwise stop you in your tracks. My favorite tip for this part of the book is "Don't read this book!", found on page IX. Remember how I mentioned 401 pages? See, you don't have to read them all!!
So, what's next? A couple of questions for you:
- Are you in? Ready to tackle this project?
- And if so, have you decided how you'll complete and store your planner?
In my next post, I'll discuss my process through the "If Time is Short" topics. In future posts, I'll return to the "Standard" outline, so if that's the path you're following, go ahead and get started on the "Simple Topics" list.