Your Command Center: Knowledge is Power

Every home needs a Command Center.  Your Command Center:

1. Is one (and only one) centralized location to manage all information (paper and electronic) that enters and leaves your home or business.
2. Is often a part of your Landing/Launch Pad (next blog topic!).  Command Centers are all about information, Landing / Launch Pads are all about stuff.

 Why do you need a Command Center?

• Because life is complicated!  And lack of communication, resources or information complicates it further (“Houston, We Have A Problem”)!
• Command Centers are all about information.  Knowledge is Power.
• A Command Center makes life simpler, easier and better.  It
• • Keeps you informed and guides your actions.  Where to go, what to do, who is going, etc.
  • Keeps you informed as a family, with everyone working off the same information.
  • Keeps you prepared for whatever life may throw your way.
  • Helps you make good and informed decisions.
  • Enables you to act on your action items, like school papers, bills to pay, forms to complete, errands to run, etc.
  • Saves time, money and peace of mind by keeping vital info on your day-to-day life easy to find.

 What belongs on a Command Center? 

• Communication or Message Boards:
  • Contact Lists, like soccer team rosters, phone trees and our permanent one with doctor’s numbers, neighbors, family members, poison control, school, etc. (I have all the info in my phone, but it is nice to have a reference for everyone else!).
  • Lists everyone’s use, like grocery lists, task or chore assignments, homework reminders.
  • Notes to each other:  “Band Practice After School”, “Late Meeting – be home by 7 pm”, etc, keeps things running smoothly around here!
• Calendars
  • Menu plan for the week
  • Travel plans and itineraries
  • Schedules, like Band and sports teams
  • Reminders for upcoming events.  Our event reminders, like invitations or fliers from school, are clipped together in chronological order.  As soon as an event is completed, the reminder comes down and the next event reminder is now on top.
• Paper (just some suggestions here!):
  • Shopping lists
  • Grocery lists
  • Receipts
  • Bills to pay
  • Errands to run (receipts for returns, mail to mail, papers to drop to other people)
  • Other to-dos, like calls to make
  • A folder for current house projects, to collect bids, contact information for contractors, etc.
• Note: Many of my Command Center functions are on my smart phone and laptop in MS Outlook. However, I want other family members to participate, so the same info is also available in my Command Center, accessible and visible to all family members.
  • There are great websites and apps out there, like www.Rememberthemilk.com, TaDalist.com and Todoist.com to manage tasks and schedules, and multiple members can have access.

What does a Command Center look like?

• Let Function dictate your Command Center.  Make sure there is a place for communications, calendar and paper management, and perhaps an inbox or board for each family member.
• Google “Command Center” and see what is available.  There are some ultra cool ideas out there, but resist the Racoon Response (don’t jump at something just because it is shiny and pretty!).
• Surf around, grab some ideas and put together what works best for you.  Make sure your ideas work before investing $$.  Pre-fab or complicated Command Centers are not necessarily better tools, they are just more attractive.
• I spent some time at the www.Post-It.com website, and I could create an awesome Command Center with just their bulletin boards, “calendaring” products and pockets.  Check it out!
• The kitchen or your family entrance are the most successful places to set up your Command Center.  It needs to be centralized and convenient or it won’t get used.
• The refrigerator door seems an obvious place for a Command Center, but beware, magnetic clips can slide down the front if they get overloaded, and strongly shut doors can send everything flying (trust me on this one!).

So, spend a little time this week and think about what you want on your own Command Center, where you want it to be, and who should use it.  Then get creative!