Staying organized while planning an event is not an option, it's a necessity! It's especially so when life is super full and I'm working on several events simultaneously. I tend to operate best when I don't have to keep everything in my head. Seriously, things can really get lost and forgotten in there! However lists, notes, to-dos and ideas can get scattered so how do I keep myself organized and on track?
My notebook is my life.
I have a three ring binder that I use to keep not only my events but my life organized. My notebook has lined paper and a calendar then tabs for the multiple parts of my life that I need to keep organized:
personal - household chores, menus, personal shopping lists, etc,
events - at the moment I have a tabs for Beloved & the Mother-Daughter Tea
sewing - my current sewing projects
sewing for others - current commissions or gifts for friends
job - tasks related to my business
Each Event tab contains inspiration pics, budgets, receipts, decorating outlines, notes, invitations and such. I love to keep it all in one place so I don't lose anything. I take my notebook wherever I go so I always have the info I need to reference when I'm in a meeting, while shopping or get an unexpected phone call while I'm out.
If I need to decorate a space for an event I frequently use a sheet that I created to note all decorations and their location so I don't overlook anything. This is super helpful for brainstorming in the beginning of the planning process, especially when it's a space I haven't been in before, as well as when I start making packing lists.
To keep all my lists in one place I create a master list for each category using a template of notebook paper divided into 3-4 squares. Each square is titled with a category and any item, task or question go in its appropriate square. Every event has slightly different categories but ones I tend to use over and over again are People, Venue, Decorations, Food, Misc, and Shopping. As I finish tasks I cross them out, re-writing the whole list when it gets full or too messy.
Keeping a master list like this has really helped me to be much more focused and able to stay on top of things. I use the same template for each of the tabs in my notebook. It's particularly helpful to have all my shopping lists in one place so when I'm out and about I can save a lot of time visiting the same stores for different projects.
It can be also be helpful to reference the various squares in all my squares and create a daily, weekly or monthly to-do list that covers everything I have going on. When I bother that is.