Inventory: TeuxDeux
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 8:53AM Happy Tuesday blog world! Today is all about organization and what I use to keep my schedule and deadlines in order. I must preface this discussion by admitting that I am very fickle when it comes to organizational systems, specifically day planners. What I mean is that I will start out one year with a specific system but part of the way through I stop using it and resort to something else. I have been doing this since middle school. My school gave us these large, 8.5x11 sized planners and at first I was all organized by subject, writing all of my assignments with pretty colored pens and drawing flowers and hearts. By the end of the year I was scribbling a few lines on a loose sheet of paper or just mentally taking note of my homework.
The whole point of organization is about creating a system that works for you and helps bring balance to your life. So if you need to change what you've set up in order to better work for you, all the more reason to make the change. But my non-loyalty is still humorous to me. At the beginning of 2011 I was using a Moleskine planner. I loved it, I felt totally organized, everything was mapped out. But sometime around the middle of the year it stopped working for me. I stopped writing down my deadlines and projects. I tried to just remember what was coming up (I got behind on a couple little things because of it). I knew I needed a new system of organization but I also knew the old way wasn't working for me anymore.
My planner in the beginning of the year compared to the end of the year. Just a little bit different.
Not too long ago I was reading the blog of Pip Lincolne Meet Me At Mikes and she had a wonderful post about online organizational tools and apps. She wanted a simple format which essentially acted as an online cross-off, to-do list without all the fancy bells and whistles. She recommended Teux Deux (along with other tools so check out her post for all the details). It looked simple enough and so I headed over to the Teux Deux website to see how the site worked.
The interface and design of the site is so simple and clean which I really like. It was designed by Swiss Miss who definitely took the look of the site into consideration and it shows. Teux Deux really is an online to-do list and you can add tasks by day and just cross them off as you finish them. The tasks that you don't complete will just transfer over to the next day, such a nice feature if you tend to be overly ambitious about what you can accomplish in a day. You can move tasks around and jump into the future to mark upcoming deadlines. I like that the home screen displays the entire week and not just a single day so that I can get a better grasp on my week. There is also a section at the bottom labeled 'Someday' where you can write your general goals that don't necessarily have a deadline.
This is such a simple system but that is why I love it and so far it has been super effective for me. It is all online (free I might add too!) so I just keep my Teux Deux tab open throughout the day and periodically come back to it to check things off (so rewarding to make those checks). There is also a Teux Deux iPhone app which you can download to your phone. It costs $2.99 but that is well worth it to stay organized on the go (a perfect feature for shopping lists).
How do you stay organized? Is it through an online website/program like this or do you still write out everything manually (like I used to do not that long ago)? As I said in the beginning, I am fickle so we'll see how long Teux Deux works for me. It might have staying power though because of the convenience of being online. Also there are no labels or alerts which I kind of love. At one point I tried using Microsoft Outlook and just loathed it. Ugh, there were way too many buttons to click and decisions to make when you created a new task. And you had to open a whole new program...annoying. But my Mom used to love Outlook so like I said, whatever works for you.
What are your organizing tips and tricks? Please share, I can always use new advice.
*I do not receive any compensation for my Inventory posts. My opinions are based solely on my own experience with the product. I blog about these products because I like them and think other crafters could find them useful in their own work. Thanks!
Moleskine, Teux Deux, day planner, inventory, organization, organizing in Inventory 
Reader Comments (5)
This sit is FANTASTIC!!! It's like an organization dream come true!
So helpful, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing. I loved my method of organizing tasks for years (just a simple spiral notebook that I would grid the week out in and have the freedom to make big or small grids depending on busy or not busy weeks) but somehow over the last couple years, I've gotten totally scatterbrained and can never remember where it is. so i have several and it's just not working for me. I'll have to check it out. I love your inventory posts btw. I put the stamp with the little changeable letters on my Christmas list.
So glad you all liked this post and found it helpful. Teux Deux is definitely worth a try.
Mary - I'm so glad you're enjoying my Inventory posts! I am more than willing to share my process and what things I use and love it when other creatives do the same. You are going to love the stamp with the little changeable letters...that purchase was SO worth it, I use it constantly.
Oh Lauren, isn't it fabulous? I posted about it here (http://www.lifeonplanetbaby.com/2010/12/three-brilliant-websites-to-make-your.html) when I found it a year ago. Tina has such a fabulous eye for clean design and it works like a dream. Hard to believe it's free! J x