Storing Your Family Plan

The Office Called Home – Part 3

Now that we’ve defined what they are, where are you storing your files, records, data, and precious items?  

In this installment, we get to be a little more practical and add some value to what you are already doing in the area of keeping your “home office”.   

Let’s begin with one of my favorite topics, our family plan.  For almost 10 years, Pamela and I have maintained an annual family plan.  In this binder, we’ve outlined what we plan to accomplish for the year and beyond.  In December, we will close out the 2018 Family Plan binder and open the 2019 Family Plan binder.  This way we’re already moving full speed ahead into the new year.

So to answer the question where do we store our data, files, records, and precious items, we start here because in this binder we house our future plans, our most important plans.  Let’s dig into how we store the contents of this binder.

Paper vs. Digital records.
Our family plan is mostly digital, but we print versions of it for 2 reasons:
1) We like putting our hands on it and being able to see it in front of us.  We keep it in sight so that it’s not out of mind.
2) It’s our primary tool for our daily prayer time.  There’s not a day that goes by that we’re not focusing on some aspect of our plan.  

Two Physical Copies
For our physical copy we use a 3 ring binder.  We have 2 so that Pamela can have one if we need to review them at the same time which we so often do.  The binder contains 8 major sections with dividers. As we think of things for the respective sections, we punch holes and place in the binder.  

The 2 copies differ.  My copy of the binder is a small binder that takes half sheets of paper.  I like to be able to carry the binder as needed and not take up much space.  Pamela’s binder however is standard size with full sheets of paper.

Once we complete our annual preparations of the new year’s binder, which must be completed by New Year’s eve, we are ready to put it to use.  Its first and most primary use is for our annual New Year’s eve prayer ritual. On New Year’s eve we use it to guide us through a prayer time that begins around 11pm and lasts for a couple hours or more; bringing us into the new year.  We cover every detail of the binder in prayer. It’s not until we do this that our plans are ready for execution and our new year can begin.

Digital Storage
We leave the paper copy at home for the most part, but we are able to access the digital copy from anywhere and anytime using a computer or smart device.  We store our digital copy in the cloud using a tool called Microsoft OneNote.  We used to use Evernote, but OneNote has a better way of mimicking an actual binder.
The digital copy using OneNote has the feel of a binder with sections, tabs, and pages.  We can easily make updates and scan pages into our digital copy.  It’s a great companion to having a physical copy because you can make changes and updates on the fly.  
Side-note: technology can be your friend if you find ways that you can embrace it to add value to your life, your home office, your business.

Today is Friday!
The Hybrid Solution
Both a paper and digital copies work best.  I’m a fan of this hybrid solution because it works.  We tried doing it one way versus the other, but have always come back to using both.  You should try what works best for you and your family, your business.

[su_note note_color="#FFFFFF" text_color="#000000"]The Family Plan Binder is available now!

Our team has worked very hard putting it together. We designed it to help you and your family move the needle forward in making your life your business. Find out more about the Family plan here.[/su_note]