I look at a personal vision statement as a concise description of the kind of person I want to become written as if I have already achieved my goals for growth. The mission statement gives us a guiding hand of what kind of person you want to become. The vision statement helps us visualize who we want to be.

The second step, after developing a personal mission statement is to get in touch with your spiritual center, and verify that you really want to become the person you hope to become. Reading of scripture, books, prayer, and meditation are all tools which can be used to get in touch with your spiritual self.

The third step in creating a vision statement is to compress your verified goals, hopes, dreams, and desires into a few targeted sentences, written from the perspective of having achieved them.

An example of a vision statement would be, “I am a person who listens to the spirit, is loving, and seeks to build others up.”

Creating a vision statement becomes a way to remember who you want to be. You can keep it in your head, and use it to help guide your actions, and decisions. You are well on your way to establishing your personal identity.

Like the mission statement is a work in progress which changes as you grow and learn, a vision statement should grow and change as you do. Remember to review your mission statement regularly to keep it in your mind. Give yourself time to ponder changes. Use it in your weekly and daily planning activities.

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Related posts:

1. Developing a Personal Mission Statement – Personal Identity
2. Me, Myself and I: Visually Speaking That is, Creating a Personal Logo – Personal Identity

Many people wonder at the expense of time in developing a mission statement for themselves. After all life moves fast, and there is so much to do. The minutia of life, the endless things which need to be done scream for attention, and if left unchecked will consume our lives.

One way to keep what is important to ourselves is to create a mission statement, which is a summary of our values, goals, relationships, and what we would like to accomplish with our lives. I believe that life is like a jar full of rocks, pebbles, sand, and water. If the rocks do not go in first, then they will never fit. If the pebbles do not go in next then they will never fit. If the sand does not go in last, then it will never fit. If the water goes in first it will be displaced as other things call for our attention. Finding balance is the key to finding success.

A mission statement is composed of values. A value is a personality trait which you posses or you desire to cultivate. One way to discover values that are important to you are to meditate or pray. Tapping into your spiritual core is a great way to discover what is important to you. Listen to your inner voice which inspires you. Some common values which lead to mission statements are honesty, integrity, inspiration, and hard work.

The next step in developing a mission statement is to take your values, and write out a sentence defining clearly what your values mean to you.

Now that your values are clearly defined put them together in a mission statement. As every person is unique, every mission statement should be unique as well. I suggest that if you feel like you are copying someone else’s mission statement, that you need to go back and connect with yourself to have a mission statement which will drive and motivate you.

Mission statements should never be considered finished. As you discover new things about yourself, your mission statement should change and develop. Revisit your statement regularly for guidance, and to make sure it is still connects with you.

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Related posts:

1. Developing a Personal Vision Statement – Personal Identity
2. Me, Myself and I: Visually Speaking That is, Creating a Personal Logo – Personal Identity

As you can see from the first photograph, my kit has three parts: a 9-signature planning book, and two single signature sub-notebooks: a Weekly Diabetes Tracker (containing 6 weeks of data) and an address book. I also keep a stash of index cards inside the kit, when I need them.

Before you set about to create your own kit, I suggest you read the following articles:

• innowen’s Intro to Bookbinding 101 article. It teaches you bookbinding vocabulary and gives you an idea of the tools you’ll need.
• Michael Shannon’s Make Your Own Moleskine-Like-Notebook post. Use the instructions and techniques in this 5-page guide to bind the main book together.
• innowen’s Intro to Bookbinding 101: Your First Book article. This guides you through the process of making single signature books (handy if you want to create sub-notebooks).

Designing the Planner Guts

The first thing to do is put together the signatures for your book. Take some time to think about what forms you like and would want to use on a daily basis. I created several custom forms:

• Mission Statement
• Vision Statement
• Middle Way Method Flow Chart
• Middle Way Weeks
• One Month to a Page
• Diabetes Weekly Workbook (single signature booklet creation)
• A 2010 2011 Yearly Calendar, from the Dynamic Templates

From the Core D*I*Y Planner systems I used:

• hPDA edition Project cards (kept in the back pocket of my planner)
• Personal Information
• Important Numbers
• Contact Sheets (these make up the pages of my single signature address book)

Once you have an idea of all the forms you’ll want to use, the next step is to figure out what order you want to put them in. This is the order your signatures will be built in. My planner design uses 9 signatures, with 4 sheets of letter sized (8.5″ x 11″) banana paper. Remember, you’ll want to use both sides of the page (front and back) when constructing your planner signatures. To help me figure out the book’s flow, and where to put the forms, I folded up a signature, and wrote the names of each form on it. This helped me visualize the planner pages in order. I used a vector graphics program to do all the planner page layout and used my printer to print out each form (front and back) once I was satisfied with how everything turned out. However, if you’d like to use a book exactly like the one I’m using, I have linked to my Signature Files at the bottom of the page, as well as various zip files which I believe will be helpful. Hopefully, this will speed the creation process up for you. If you decide to try and make your own set of signatures with your own software and planning pages, I recommend setting the page margins to: .25″ on the top, bottom, and outer edges, and .5″ for the inner edges.

Sewing the Planner Signatures Together
When you completed the computer design of your signatures, the next step is to print out all the pages and then fold them and make your signatures. Follow the instructions at Shannon’s Make Your Own Moleskine-Like-Notebook post. Use the step-by-step instructions on using Coptic stitch binding techniques to sew the main book together. If you just want to make a few single signature books, you can follow innowen’s instructions instead. I have included a PDF file of the places to punch your signatures for both Shannon’s coptic stitching, and innowen’s stitch-style. When you are done constructing the inside, come back over here to read the steps on creating a custom cover with a flap. I have attached a PDF file at the end which has punching templates for both the main book, and the one signature books.

Making a Custom Fabric Three-Flap Cover, and Attaching a Book Block

When you are done sewing all the signatures together, follow these steps to flesh out the cover:

1. Glue two pieces of card stock paper to the first signature and the very last signature page. Doing so creates end papers for your book and it also turns those signatures into a book block.
2. Figure out how you want to make the cover. For my kit, I used an old board game board. I was able to find an old game at a thrift store for less than $2.00. I made my covers 5.5″ x 8.5″, because I wanted this notebook to be as close as possible to the size of the pages. My kit even includes a flap. So I cut an additional flap at 5.5″ x 8.5″ as well. I also cut two more pieces at 1″ (or the width of my spine) by 8.5″. One of the one inch pieces became the spine of the book, and the other one went between the cover, and the flap.
3. Find and select a piece of fabric for the cover. You’ll need a square approximately 30 inches wide, and 10 inches tall. This will allow for a full covering of the boards on the outside with about 1/4″ fold over, and some extra so the pattern can be aligned correctly. I received help from my wife for this part of the project, and I found the extra set of hands very helpful. My cover uses a nice plaid, tartan-looking piece of fabric from my wife’s fabric scraps.
4. Cover the fabric in fusible webbing. Fusible webbing is an adhesive which is double sided and activated by heat and pressure. I laid the webbing out over the fabric, and ironed it onto the fabric.
5. Cut the excess webbing off the fabric.
6. Remove the paper covering the other side of the fusible webbing. You will know if you have a bond or not by how the paper, and any webbing (if any), pulls up.
7. Use the iron to attach the boards to the cloth. I tried ironing through the boards, but it did not take fully, so I laid the fabric over the first cover (5.5″ x 8.5″) measuring out its position on the fabric. I ironed the cloth to the board, and laid out the spine (1″x 8.5″), giving a 1/4″ gap between the two pieces, and ironed it down. Then I laid out the next cover, with a 1/4″ gap and ironed it down. Next I laid out a spine piece and ironed it out, and then I laid out the cover piece, and ironed it down. Something I learned about fusible webbing is that you need to match the webbing to the thickness of the cloth, so that the webbing does not bleed through and mess with the cover design.
8. Cut down the excess, if any fabric to a size between 1/4″ and 1/2″, be sure to leave enough to cover interior of the flap completely.
9. Scallop the corners of the cloth, which is wider than the boards.
10. Fold the excess cloth over the edges of the covers, and spine, and iron it in place. When it comes to the flap, you will want the interior of the cover completely covered, so I suggest making an incision in the fabric at the far edge of the flap, cutting the height of the material down to just covering the folded over from the outside material, and ironing it in place to completely cover the boards.
11. Glue a piece of material (or ribbon) 1″ thick to the interior of the spine. This piece should be at least be 8.5″ tall. If you double the length, you will end up with a nice bookmark.
12. Glue a piece of elastic to the planer’s back cover on the top and bottom with the elastic folded on the outside of the book. When the end paper is glued into place, and it is dry this will allow the book to stay closed, like a Moleskine notebook.
13. Glue the book block spine to the fabric, or ribbon and spine board.
14. Glue the endpapers to the front and back cover.
15. Let the book dry overnight to make sure everything has a chance to bond.
16. Optionally, you can add a pocket for index cards. I went ahead and attached one on the inside of my back cover. I made the pocket by folding a piece of card stock until I had a pocket. Then I used fusible webbing to attach cloth to the front. I folded some of the same cover fabric over the top and bottom to hide the cardboard color. The fabric was also fused in place. I then folded the cloth over the sides of the paper to create the edges of the pocket. I attached my pocket to the outer end paper of the back cover. Once again you’ll want to let the glue dry completely before using it.
17. Take some time to admire your new planner.

There are some things which I really like about doing my planner this way, like a small width. My pages are protected. I can create and insert books to add things, like an address book to the kit quickly and easily. Of course, the potential drawback to using a bound system is that you can’t remove and interchange pages on a whim. But I believe that with a little planning you can create a custom system with everything you need. Next month, I’ll give you some tips and tricks for using the Middle Way Method and your newly minted kit together. Until then, have fun with this project!

Attachnments

• AddressBook.pdf – Address Book Pages in PDF Format
• DiabetesTracking6Weeks.pdf – Six Week Diabetes Tracker in PDF Format
• PunchingGuide.pdf – Punching Guide for Both Stitches Used.
• MiddleWaySVGFiles_0.zip – Pages in SVG Format.
• CompleteSig1.pdf – Signature 1 in PDF Format
• CompleteSig2.pdf – Signature 2 in PDF Format
• CompleteSig3.pdf – Signature 3 in PDF Format
• CompleteSig4.pdf – Signature 4 in PDF Format
• CompleteSig5.pdf – Signature 5 in PDF Format
• CompleteSig6.pdf – Signature 6 in PDF Format
• CompleteSig7.pdf – Signature 7 in PDF Format
• CompleteSig8.pdf – Signature 8 in PDF Format
• CompleteSig9.pdf – Signature 9 in PDF Format

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Related posts:

1. Introduction to the Middle Way Method
2. Introducing the Middle Way Method

The Original article can be found atD*I*Y Planner.
I want to introduce you to The Middle Way Method, an organizational system I created and have been using to keep me and my projects on task. In 2006, I decided to learn how to be more effective with planning. I had tried a few planning systems, and while they all had something I found useful, not fit my lifestyle or personality perfectly. An Internet search about making planner pages brought me to D*I*Y Planner. Here I found I was not alone in needing and creating custom planning systems. D*I*Y Planner also introduced me to a whole slew of planning methodologies.

From studying all these planning systems, I noticed that they fell into two categories: Top Down or Bottom Up. The first is Top Down Planning, and the Franklin Covey methodology provides a great example of this type, which says “Know who you are, and work from there to become who you want to be.” The second type is Bottom Up Planning, and Getting Things Done (GTD) system, follows this methodology. GTD is designed to clear all of the “Stuff” in your life, and process it effectively. However, I found that neither of these systems really work best for me. Over time, I kept track of what worked for me from each system, and I used that to create my own system, called The Middle Way Method.

I choose the name, The Middle Way Method, because I was inspired by the story of how the Buddha reached enlightenment. I see this system bridging the gap between Top Down and Bottom Up systems. The Middle Way Method encourages me to uncover who I am, who I want to be, and how to become who I want to be, while being able to handle everything that is thrown my way. In the past, I’ve had issues where the planning systems break down on me. A crisis or a change, and I need a complete new system. The Middle Way Method helps me to create a new system utilizing this same methodology. This enables me to quickly create a new system for my changed circumstances, because I do not have to work out the method all over again, and I am no longer bouncing between top down or bottom up. I feel that this approach gives a balance between the important things of life and the daily grind.

The first step in using The Middle Way Method is to determine your personal mission and vision. There is a difference between mission statements and vision statements. I believe that a mission statement should answer the question of “who am I and how do I fit into the world?” while a vision statement describes who you will be when you achieve your goals.

For an overview of creating a mission statement, I recommend you look at innowen and Doug’s articles here at D*I*Y Planner. Steven Covey’s books, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and First Things First both have great sections on crafting mission statements. You might also find spiritual advisers, prayer or meditation, and scripture useful sources for information/inspiration. Most importantly though, listen to the inner voice, which guides you. This is not a do once, and it is done part of this system. Mission and Vision statements are an integral key of the Middle Way Method and you will find yourself reviewing and updating your statements as your life changes and growth occurs.

Once you have your Mission/Vision Statement prepared then you can move into the meat of The Middle Way Method. The bulk of this system relies heavily on weekly and daily reviews. The next section talks about the various reviews in-depth.

Weekly Reviews
During the Weekly review, you will spend time reviewing your mission and vision statements, past week, current roles (family relationships, work relationships, friendships, and self), goals, and your action items or to-do lists.

Mission and Vision Statement Review
First, read over and think about your mission and vision statements. Do they still inspire you? Do they still feel true to you and what you want to accomplish? If so great, if not take some time now, and revise them. Keep the mission and vision accurate, inspiring, and right for you.

Past Week Review
The next step is to review your previous week. What goals did you achieve? What goals did you not achieve? Why did you succeed or fail? What were your challenges? How did you overcome them? Why did they overcome you? This is a great way to keep a weekly journal. You can then go back, and look at your life again, and see how far you have come and reflect on what you’ve done and make any adjustments you may need for the upcoming week.

Review and Select Your Roles
Decide on which roles, you will act on for the coming week. Roles can include Husband/Wife, Father/Mother, Boyfriend/Girlfriend, Partner, Friend, Son/Daughter, Employer/Employee. I recommend that you do not confine your roles to this list, because you may have unique roles that you may want to include on this list. Write down your roles on a piece of paper.

Identify Weekly Goals
Now you’ll identify any Physical, Mental, Spiritual, or Social goals you may have. What goals do you have set to accomplish for the week? Record these in your system for the coming week. I suggest setting at least one goal in each area, even if it is small, and easily done. This will help you to find balance in your life.

Process In-boxes
Like in GTD gather all of your loose papers, notes, what is in your head, on your lists, on your calenders, your Action, or To-Do items, and process your in-boxes. At this point who you are, and who you want to become should be fresh on your mind. This helps us determine if something in an inbox is important, or not.

Review and Create Projects
At this point, you have a good idea of what is going on for the week. Now with all of our “stuff” out in front of us, organize, create, update and delete any projects. This will let you know how you are progressing on any long term, or multi-step projects.

Select Actions for the Week
Now that you know what roles, personal goals, projects, and actions for the coming week record those in your system.

Daily Reviews
Use the time in your daily reviews, to look over your calendar and incorporate any incomplete action items for the week. Next prioritize action items for the day, and make plans to achieve them. Some people will prefer to do this step at night for the next day, and some will prefer to accomplish this at the start of the day. I believe that this is a place where personal preference is necessary. The key to the daily review being successful, is to have a quiet place and time you can think, and feel about the next day you are planning. I suggest trying multiple times/places, to find the best place and time for you.

Preview Calendars
Use this daily review session to focus on your calendar. Review the appointments, meetings, and activities you scheduled for that day and any following days. If you do not use a calendar regularly, you might find it handy to begin doing so now. Make sure every appointment and any other “busy” times are recorded. Now familiarize yourself with every time commitment you have made for the day, and determine if you can reasonably accomplish everything based around the time you have during that day.

Prioritize Action Items
Use the Prioritize Action Items session to think about everything you want to accomplish in a day. List them on paper and then break those items down into manageable chunks. Once you have these items broken down you can then prioritize them so that they become achievable. How you choose to accomplish daily action items, and goals, is really to pick the way that works best for you.

There are a few ways to achieve daily goals. The first is to simply label each Action item for the day with A, B, or C. A items are must be accomplished today, while B items should be accomplished, and C items do not need to be accomplished, but can be. Then give each alphabetical label a numeric value starting with one. Therefore all your A items will be numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. next to them, the B items will be numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc., and C items will be numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. next to them. First complete the A list then the B list, and finally as much of the C list as possible.

Another way to accomplish action items is to group them by context, like GTD. Then when you find yourself in one context you work on those contexts. For example, when I am at my telephone making a telephone call, I can look at my telephone context actions, and use the context to make all of my telephone calls before moving to another context. Some possible contexts are: Computer, Work, Home, Telephone, or Car. The idea is to have contexts which are useful to you. Each person’s full list of contexts should be somewhat unique.

The last way to make decisions on accomplishing tasks is to utilize the quadrant approach. In the quadrant approach, you divide a page into fourths, or you can use the Actions Quadrant template located in the D*I*Y Planner kits. Begin by placing items in one of the quadrants, with Unimportant / Important on one axis, and Urgent / Not Urgent on the other axis. Then complete the Urgent/Important actions first, followed by the Not Urgent/Important actions, followed by the Urgent/Not Important, and lastly the Not Urgent Not Important approach. In the quadrant approach the goal is to work out of the Not Urgent/Important quadrant as much as possible.

Next month, I will show you the kit I created for use with The Middle Way Method and how you can create your own. However, I do want to share the two-page custom Weekly form I created. I used existing forms and designs from the D*I*Y Planner kits, so they can be easily integrated into this or other systems. This form allows the system to work from one set of pages for each week. I have included both a blank PDF form you can simply print and fill in, and a SVG graphic file which you can use to fill in the dates, and add your own quotes. This template has four features:

1. Actions section. The Actions section is for your Actions/To-Dos. Populate this from your in-boxes each week, and then determine how you will prioritize them each day, so that everything gets done.
2. Harmony section. The Harmony section is useful for completing Steps three and four, deciding on your actions for your roles, and goals for your physical, social, mental, and spiritual growth. It has a section where you can list a little about your coming week, to set the vision for your week, and space for three roles.
3. Weekly appointments/work space planner, starting on Monday. The Week section is next, here you layout your schedule. I have left the space clear of hours, so that you can customize the space for your own purposes.
4. Quote of the Week area, where you can add your own personalized quote. The quote section is above Thursday, and gives you about 255 characters in 2 lines. I used Google to search for short uplifting quotes.

Using The Middle Way Method draws on the strengths of the top down, and bottom up approach. From the top down approach we inherit a knowledge of who we are, and where we want to go. Then we are able to apply this knowledge to our every day grind. From the bottom down approach we inherit the ability to manage information, projects, and tasks. One of my favourite aspects of the system is actually the weekly review. It is a time where I can be honest with myself, and recommit to moving forward. I also believe that the weekly review is ideal for journaling in a meaningful way. Please remember the Middle Way Methodology stands on the shoulders of giants. Pull what you can use from either top down, or bottom up, and then customize the rest to fit how you work. This is a methodology, not a system. I envision the methodology giving rise to unique customized systems. I do not envision any two systems being entirely identical. Next month I will show I’ll take you through the process of putting a planner together to work with The Middle Way Method.

Attachnments

• OneWeek.zip – Weekly Sheet in SVG Format
• OneWeek.pdf – Weekly Sheet in PDF Format
• Workflow.pdf – Middle Way Workflow in 5.5″ x 8.5″ size
• Workflow-card.pdf – Middle Way Workflow in 3″ x 5″ size

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Related posts:

1. Introducing the Middle Way Method
2. Building a Custom Middle Way Planner
3. Developing a Personal Vision Statement – Personal Identity

Communicating visually has been an important part of human history. Dynastic Egypt used a symbol known as a Serekh. A Serekh was created for Royalty. These rectangular hieroglyphs were used to distinguish each ruling family apart. Egyptians placed the god Horus on the top, the name of the reining King in the middle, and the palace of the rule on the bottom. Serekhs were used to relay the necessary message of royal power. Later versions added an epithet within each glyph.

Army units of the Roman Empire painted their shields (also known as a Scutum) distinctive colors and shapes. These colors and shapes made it possible to tell the different military units apart. In Europe, and various other parts of the world, where there has been European influence Arms have been used to identify people, and in some cultures families visually for centuries. Mon, monsh, mondokoro, and kamon are Japanese heraldic symbols. Each family would have a kamon, and the designs were always circular, and involved plants, or abstract designs.

To help people develop their own logo I have created the Logo Development Sheet. This design contains two pages and you can use the link at the end of this article to download the files to your computer. Use Page one to brainstorm ideas for what you want your logo to contain. Use Page two to sketch and draw a rough idea of your logo. In addition, I found the book D.I.Y.: Design It Yourself an enormous help in learning good design techniques.

A logo can be designed in many different ways. You can use text, images or abstract scribblings to create a logo. I suggest that you design your logo in black and white as well as color. Doing so makes your logo more versatile. You might want to design it at the smallest size you think you’ll use your logo at, as well. This allows you to make sure that all essential elements are visible.

When I designed my logo, I kept it simple by choosing a few elements that were important to me.

1. Computer: I like computers, radios, and technology.
2. My initials: To remind my audience of who I am.
3. My Scottish Clan Tartan: I am proud of my Scottish heritage and wanted to show this connection. Therefore, in the larger (and color) versions of my logo, I added the tartan to it as well.

I also took my own advice and kept my initial logo in a black and white design because I wanted something simple. I added the color design of my Scottish tartan later. As as result, my logo is very versatile. It’s on my website, as well as in the header of my resume. I also added it to any printed materials like my business cards and brochures. I’ve even used my logo for a QSL card to allow other Ham Radio Operators know who I am.

What you see when you look at my logo? Do you have one of your own? If you have one of your own, what design principles did you use? Feel free to share your designs and thoughts with the rest of us.

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Related posts:

1. Me, Myself and I: Visually Speaking That is
2. Developing a Personal Mission Statement – Personal Identity
3. Developing a Personal Vision Statement – Personal Identity

Jack limped along the dirt track, grumbling to himself about the cost of every needful thing. He muttered about how cold his house was, that the peat was to hard to dig, and wood was to expensive. He grumbled about the children who stared in awe and fear as they looked at him. They made his life miserable when he went to the village, teasing him, mocking him, and calling him names. Jack stopped and thought for a minute. He did not really care for one other person in the whole planet. Sometimes this worried Jack. The town priest, who read scriptures, always said that you should love your neighbors, implying that everyone was a neighbor. “Bah,” thought Jack, “I know I care nothing for anyone or anything, but that does not make me bad.”

Jack saw the devil preparing to create a ruckus in town. Jack knew the woods, very well, and he could move silently.
“I’m going to scare that devil right into a tree,” Jack thought. He crept closer, and closer, until he got right behind, Old Lucifer, and gave the devil a scare like he had never known. The devil jumped into a tree, and Jack quickly made certain that he was trapped.

“I’m not letting you out of the tree until you make me a promise,” said Jack.

“You are one mean little man,” responded the devil. “But go ahead, I am listening.”

“Never take my soul to hell,” Jack said.

“Done,” agreed the devil. And Jack sprung him from the trap. A few years later Jack, after making one problem too many, found himself facing the Gates of Hell. You see, Jack really had not been a good person. Now he stood facing those gates, his mind full of the memories of all the good things he could have done in live, but instead choose to make bad decisions.

The devil peered at Jack through the gates, “Well, Jack, I promised not to take your soul to Hell, but I never promised you would go to Heaven.”

“Where shall I go?”

“You will wander the Earth until the end of time,” responded the devil. Then he tossed Jack a cinder from the Fires of Hell. “Use this cinder to light your way in the dark world, Jack,” he suggested. Jack took the ember, then carved a lantern from a turnip, and put the ember inside. And this is how Jack became the Jack of the Lantern or Jack-o-Lantern.

One aspect of fall/winter holidays, which I personally like is the remembrance of ancestors and family. Many religions and traditions celebrate this aspect. Mexicans celebrate El Día de los Muertos on November first, with brightly colored altars and marigolds, sugar skulls, and favorite foods of the deceased. These items are placed on their graves as gifts that honor their memories. Some modern neopagans consider Halloween a time to celebrate the lives of those who have passed on. They create rituals that pay respect to their ancestors, family members, friends, or pets who have passed away. Sometimes, the spirits of the departed are invited to join in on the festivities.

As a special Halloween treat, I have created two forms you can use to track your family history in your planner. Genealogists use similar forms for tracing family histories. The zip file at the end of this post contains both a PDF and an Open Office file.

Pedigree Chart. A pedigree chart tracks a person and all of their known ancestors. Use this form to record personal histories for each of your family members. The version I provide shows up to three generations. This is one person, their parents, and their grandparents. If you want to see more, you can use the Open Office form to create more generations. Also, depending on the size of paper you use to print out the form, you may be able to fit more charts.

Family Group. A family group sheet records relevant information about a single family unit. A family unit in this case is a father, mother, and their children. The form I created shows various information on a single family. Use this sheet to record important dates (birth, marriage, and death) as well as the locations of each event on every family member in a single unit. You can modify this sheet to include extended family members or other information about the core family using the Open Office form.

I believe that this time of the year is perfect for reflecting on our family, and the family history, so that we can evaluate where we are going. Only by understanding the past can we intelligently look to the future. Now you can use this time of the year to uncover and reflect upon where you and your family members have come from as well.

Attachment

FamilyHistory.zip – Pedigree Chart, and Family Group Sheet in PDF form for the D*I*Y Planning System

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Related posts:

1. Happy Halloween, Remembering Your Family
2. Me, Myself and I: Visually Speaking That is, Creating a Personal Logo – Personal Identity

bookmark to:

Related posts:

1. Introduction to the Middle Way Method
2. Building a Custom Middle Way Planner

bookmark to:

Related posts:

1. Happy Halloween, Remembering Your Family

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Related posts:

1. Me, Myself and I: Visually Speaking That is, Creating a Personal Logo – Personal Identity

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Related posts:

1. Keep it Simple Financial Planning (Part Three)
2. Keep-It-Simple Financial Planning (Part Two)
3. Keep-It-Simple Financial Planning (Part One)