Positive Focus Thursday - End of the Decade, Start of Something New

There have been a few mentions on vlogs I watch about the end of 2019 also brings the end of a decade. Regardless of the year, I, for one, am feeling pretty good about where I am now - on several fronts.

One of the things I have set up to help me move forward, not only through the final months of this year but onward, is a kanban board. 

If you don't know about kanban boards, they are a method of project workflow board. One of the best vlogs on the set-up and use of a kanban board is Sarra Cannon of Heart Breathings. Another YouTuber I recently watched setting up her kanban board is Hildie McQueen.

Since I am waiting for a couple more weeks to order my Hobonichi planners for 2020, I got the itch to set up my own board. And wanted (needed) to set it up as cheaply as possible.



I found this piece of poster board for $2.99 at Staples and liked the border design. I did get some clips to hang it from, but they are a failure and will be going back to the store. 

I already had set out some things I wanted to get accomplished by the end of the year. I divided the board into 3 project areas - Finances, Creative, and Personal. The 'creative' area is divided into Writing and Creative after thinking about it a bit.

The top third of the board is for your projects and tasks. With NaNoWriMo coming up in November, I have some very definite steps already in place.

The center area is for tasks currently being worked on. For example, under the Personal area, I have Weekly Meal Planning with checkboxes for the day of the week I want to do it on. The other item is a note to order my Hobonichi Planners on 01 November (like I would forget!).

Under Creative is 'finish baby blanket 10/31'. I have a baby shower on 02 November, so it's a definite 'get-on-with-it'.

Finance tasks I am currently working on is a task to draw up my November paycheck-by-paycheck budget sheets. Also, to track expenses by category. This is so I can set a figure for what I expect to spend in the coming months on areas like food, gas and entertainment. There is also a reminder to order the Budget Workbook on 01 November. 

The bottom section of the kanban board is to put completed tasks sticky notes in. Hopefully, by the end of December, most of the top will be empty and the bottom will be filled. 

One idea I am using from Heart Breathings is to put the completed sticky notes into a jar so I can have a visual reference as to what I have accomplished.

I am very pleased with my board and the plans it is currently holding. Now to move forward and move those sticky notes around!