I have found my five year journal good for seeing when something was on my mind in the past but those more hard-won life lessons are harder to keep top of mind.
We do this for all family trips as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I really like the idea of jotting down these sorts of things for other things. It also helps jog my memories of things that went well and what didn't without the pressure of journaling. My husband and I log these in a shared Apple Notes folder so we can both reflect on them.
I saw someone on Instagram also uses this type of thing to keep track of takeout orders for everyone in the family, which I think is a smart idea unless your family members tend to get creative / try new things each time.
I do this with recipes all the time by making a note in the cookbook or a printed copy. I’ll note if something needs to cook longer than called for in the recipe or to cut the salt in half, for example. It’s great for remembering what went well (and what didn’t) last time!
This is absolutley brilliant and I wish I'd started this years ago! I've been repeating the same mistakes with family trips because I never wrote down which hotels had the advantage of being close to attractions vs which ones just looked nice online. Now I'm creating my own notes file and already added reminders about wich restaurants to avoid next time we visit my parents.
This was so perfectly timed for me. My favorite Thai restaurant closed recently. I’ve been trying to figure out which places do specific dishes I like best but we order infrequently so I have trouble remembering what I liked where. I lamented just last night that grub hub doesn’t have a notes function. Now I’ll dedicate a section of my notes to next time to this quest!
Such a relatable article. I've been doing this for a few years regarding the lead up to Christmas; what should I have started earlier etc. One of my hobbies is quilting and often a project gets partially done and then put away...sometimes for months. I've taken another quilter's suggestion of putting a note to "my future self" about where I am in the project, what the particular pieces are about. The note is in the top of the container, staring a me when I open it. It's been hugely helpful, even if the time between is not that long. You think you'll remember....but I don't. :)
As a college professor, I’ve learned to take “next time” notes directly on the most recent syllabus for the class. I add notes in red like “don’t assign this again, didn’t work” or “do two class periods on this rather than one.” I often go a few semesters or even years between teaching a course. But I know that the first thing future me will do when I teach it next is go to the syllabus document. So I make sure my next time notes are in that space.
I keep a Holiday folder that spans from mid November through New Year's Day. What worked / didn't / menus / guest lists / gifts and amounts spent for family, friends, service people / supplies needed for the next year / activities we liked, didn't, or want to do / etc. It's invaluable! Great idea to have a Notes to Next Time list for those you listed too. My brain is crowded enough. If it's written down, I don't need to remember it anymore!
@Christine - definitely good to keep track of gifts - partly so I don't give the exact same thing again (I mean, it was so perfect for them when I thought of it last time...)
Excellent advice and I will definitely be using your " notes to next time" title in my notes app!
I've noticed that the app I use wants to add schedule reminders to line items but it is intuitively choosing the due date, not the date I need to start the task. I need to add a start date reminder.
@Eva - yep, this is a major breakthrough - due dates are helpful, but only if you see them a ways ahead of time. It's often wise to flag on a calendar when you need to think about something (which might be a little bit before).
I started to this for Christmas - what we did, what not to do again etc and it really helped
I have found my five year journal good for seeing when something was on my mind in the past but those more hard-won life lessons are harder to keep top of mind.
We do this for all family trips as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I really like the idea of jotting down these sorts of things for other things. It also helps jog my memories of things that went well and what didn't without the pressure of journaling. My husband and I log these in a shared Apple Notes folder so we can both reflect on them.
I saw someone on Instagram also uses this type of thing to keep track of takeout orders for everyone in the family, which I think is a smart idea unless your family members tend to get creative / try new things each time.
I have a good memory but I need to do this for work travel.
I do this with recipes all the time by making a note in the cookbook or a printed copy. I’ll note if something needs to cook longer than called for in the recipe or to cut the salt in half, for example. It’s great for remembering what went well (and what didn’t) last time!
This is absolutley brilliant and I wish I'd started this years ago! I've been repeating the same mistakes with family trips because I never wrote down which hotels had the advantage of being close to attractions vs which ones just looked nice online. Now I'm creating my own notes file and already added reminders about wich restaurants to avoid next time we visit my parents.
This was so perfectly timed for me. My favorite Thai restaurant closed recently. I’ve been trying to figure out which places do specific dishes I like best but we order infrequently so I have trouble remembering what I liked where. I lamented just last night that grub hub doesn’t have a notes function. Now I’ll dedicate a section of my notes to next time to this quest!
I do a version of this for Thanksgiving, and recording a new album!
Such a relatable article. I've been doing this for a few years regarding the lead up to Christmas; what should I have started earlier etc. One of my hobbies is quilting and often a project gets partially done and then put away...sometimes for months. I've taken another quilter's suggestion of putting a note to "my future self" about where I am in the project, what the particular pieces are about. The note is in the top of the container, staring a me when I open it. It's been hugely helpful, even if the time between is not that long. You think you'll remember....but I don't. :)
As a college professor, I’ve learned to take “next time” notes directly on the most recent syllabus for the class. I add notes in red like “don’t assign this again, didn’t work” or “do two class periods on this rather than one.” I often go a few semesters or even years between teaching a course. But I know that the first thing future me will do when I teach it next is go to the syllabus document. So I make sure my next time notes are in that space.
@Cara - this is smart, because "two lessons, not one" is the kind of thing that's almost impossible to remember after a year or two...
Funny, I started a list like this one two years ago when I noticed I’d order the same thing over and over again because I forgot it was awful lol
@Stella - absolutely - I actually *don't* like the dragon roll!
I keep a Holiday folder that spans from mid November through New Year's Day. What worked / didn't / menus / guest lists / gifts and amounts spent for family, friends, service people / supplies needed for the next year / activities we liked, didn't, or want to do / etc. It's invaluable! Great idea to have a Notes to Next Time list for those you listed too. My brain is crowded enough. If it's written down, I don't need to remember it anymore!
@Christine - definitely good to keep track of gifts - partly so I don't give the exact same thing again (I mean, it was so perfect for them when I thought of it last time...)
Excellent advice and I will definitely be using your " notes to next time" title in my notes app!
I've noticed that the app I use wants to add schedule reminders to line items but it is intuitively choosing the due date, not the date I need to start the task. I need to add a start date reminder.
@Eva - yep, this is a major breakthrough - due dates are helpful, but only if you see them a ways ahead of time. It's often wise to flag on a calendar when you need to think about something (which might be a little bit before).