A very simple tip but sanity saving tip for you brides planning your wedding, and especially to those brides having a budget and needing to plan a wedding on a budget. The idea here is not money saving, but to keep you organized and sane.
Make sure you have my free wedding checklist (you can get from my website), a day planner, a wall calendar, and the "swap space" notebook.
A great day planner option is Google Docs. Google Calendar is a great calendar option too. And visually a pin up wall calendar will be helpful.
I really like Google Docs because you can share them with each other and your wedding planner if you have one. Everyone can see what's going on up to the minute, and it's easy for anyone to update it. The Google Calendar has similar benefits. You can put your appointments into your Google Calendar and it will show up on everyone else's Google calendar as well. It's even more convenient if you have smart phones that can access the Google calendar wherever you are. And finally visually it is always helpful to see a pin up wall calendar to visually see the dates progress.
And for my important tip, the swap space notebook. This last one is something I picked up from a computer friend.
Whenever a computer is doing a task, it loads all the information it needs into its memory, or RAM. While it seems like computers do a lot of things at once, in reality they do one thing at a time, even if you have a lot of programs running at the same time. Computers make this work by loading any information they're not currently using (any information not related to the one task they're doing at the moment) into what's called "virtual memory" or "swap space". That information stays in swap space until it's needed, at which point the computer loads it back into memory.
In some ways, people are like computers.
We cannot work on more than one task at a time. It sometimes seems that way but we are focusing only on one task at a time. What we are not working on stays in our (conscious memory). What we are not working on gets swapped out to our virtual memory (subconscious memory).
And yet, people are not like computers (thankfully!)
We may be good at moving information into our swap space, but we're not so good at bringing it back to memory. Just think of the times you have a name or word on the tip of your tongue but just can't think of it. How about when you hear a song but just cannot recall the name? Then the name will come to you sometime later, but too late to help you. Humans are imperfect when it comes to recalling information from our swap space.
To avoid moments like this in your wedding planning, you need a Swap Space Notebook.
Take a notebook EVERYWHERE! And a pen! Just like the old days. Anytime you have something you need to remember jot it down. There does not need to be any organization or order to the notebook. Just jot it down. The idea is to not spend any time on this task. That's why my friend doesn't use any type of "notes" option on a cell phone. Paper and Pen are quicker.
Once you're ready to focus on it, go back to the Notebook and see what's there. You'll feel better knowing that your brilliant flash of inspiration or recollection is recorded somewhere, so your brain doesn't have to keep tabs on it. You don't have to worry about forgetting, because it's in the Notebook.
You'll find this to be useful because inspiration strikes at any time. You never know when you'll suddenly think of the best wedding favor, the most perfect first dance song, the most entertaining game for your wedding reception, or those three important questions you want to ask the reception venue. But it'll happen, so be prepared! Write it down and keep those elusive important bits of information with you.
That will help you stay sane. Congratulations and good luck with the wedding planning!
About the Author:Make sure you have my free wedding checklist (you can get from my website), a day planner, a wall calendar, and the "swap space" notebook.
A great day planner option is Google Docs. Google Calendar is a great calendar option too. And visually a pin up wall calendar will be helpful.
I really like Google Docs because you can share them with each other and your wedding planner if you have one. Everyone can see what's going on up to the minute, and it's easy for anyone to update it. The Google Calendar has similar benefits. You can put your appointments into your Google Calendar and it will show up on everyone else's Google calendar as well. It's even more convenient if you have smart phones that can access the Google calendar wherever you are. And finally visually it is always helpful to see a pin up wall calendar to visually see the dates progress.
And for my important tip, the swap space notebook. This last one is something I picked up from a computer friend.
Whenever a computer is doing a task, it loads all the information it needs into its memory, or RAM. While it seems like computers do a lot of things at once, in reality they do one thing at a time, even if you have a lot of programs running at the same time. Computers make this work by loading any information they're not currently using (any information not related to the one task they're doing at the moment) into what's called "virtual memory" or "swap space". That information stays in swap space until it's needed, at which point the computer loads it back into memory.
In some ways, people are like computers.
We cannot work on more than one task at a time. It sometimes seems that way but we are focusing only on one task at a time. What we are not working on stays in our (conscious memory). What we are not working on gets swapped out to our virtual memory (subconscious memory).
And yet, people are not like computers (thankfully!)
We may be good at moving information into our swap space, but we're not so good at bringing it back to memory. Just think of the times you have a name or word on the tip of your tongue but just can't think of it. How about when you hear a song but just cannot recall the name? Then the name will come to you sometime later, but too late to help you. Humans are imperfect when it comes to recalling information from our swap space.
To avoid moments like this in your wedding planning, you need a Swap Space Notebook.
Take a notebook EVERYWHERE! And a pen! Just like the old days. Anytime you have something you need to remember jot it down. There does not need to be any organization or order to the notebook. Just jot it down. The idea is to not spend any time on this task. That's why my friend doesn't use any type of "notes" option on a cell phone. Paper and Pen are quicker.
Once you're ready to focus on it, go back to the Notebook and see what's there. You'll feel better knowing that your brilliant flash of inspiration or recollection is recorded somewhere, so your brain doesn't have to keep tabs on it. You don't have to worry about forgetting, because it's in the Notebook.
You'll find this to be useful because inspiration strikes at any time. You never know when you'll suddenly think of the best wedding favor, the most perfect first dance song, the most entertaining game for your wedding reception, or those three important questions you want to ask the reception venue. But it'll happen, so be prepared! Write it down and keep those elusive important bits of information with you.
That will help you stay sane. Congratulations and good luck with the wedding planning!
Check out Kennly Yakamoto's HubPages Hubs: Inexpensive Wedding Dresses and Planning A Cheap Wedding Reception for more great wedding planning tips!
