You might be surprised to learn that I hate budgets; and I’m a business student. Or maybe that’s not a surprise, given I’m a converted English major and my specialization is Entrepreneurship. Regardless, it is now the year of the overhaul in my books, and it’s time to get strategic. Marketing strategies I can handle, ditto with presentations and group work, but what about every day things?

I’m a big fan of lists, huge fan you might even say. My planner is filled with Post-Its detailing tasks to accomplish this week, books to read, songs to download, writing topics, everything you can imagine finds its way onto a list somewhere in there. Strategy though? Not so much.

I run into this problem every time I have to pack a suitcase as well – I’m a notorious over-packer. I’ve been charged for extra bags more times than I’d like to admit (hint: this gets really expensive on international flights. Beware!). I frequently get in trouble at airports for having bags that are too heavy or at customs for losing track of how much I actually bought.

I’ve decided that my days of extra bag charges are over, and I have a new strategy:

1. Pack a bag.
2. Find a bag that will only fit half of what the first bag can hold.
3. Re-pack the second bag, leaving half of the items from the first bag at home

I’m looking for feedback for more helpful strategies; which activities require them? What is the best way to implement them?

creative commons image courtesy of rich115