Being organized can be hard enough on a daily level, and it’s even more difficult for those going through a life challenge like a New Mexico divorce. If you are a parent, the effect divorce has on your ability to organize is amplified as now you have to handle legal, emotional and logistical shifts that affect your life and the lives of your kids.
As you go through a divorce, keeping logs of all the information relevant to your divorce can help you stay more organized and on top of things, which will reduce stress and the risk of you missing important deadlines or making mistakes. If you have not yet made any logs or feel yours is incomplete, check out the creation and maintenance tips for these types of journals below.
Include a schedule
A detailed divorce log will have more than one section. The schedule log, for example, is where you can enter all the information about any appointments you can’t miss, such as court dates, mediation sessions and attorney office visits. Make sure you include all the upcoming dates in your schedule log but also make a section for your past, specifically for events that you think may be relevant to the divorce case. Record these past events by date and add a description of what you can remember. Should you have any materials, such as texts or emails, that support your recollection, note those as well. Share your past events log with your family law attorney if you are not certain which past events may be useful to your case.
Log all communications
Communicating with your spouse during and after divorce can be tough, especially if you have children together. When you use more than one communication method, it can become even harder to find something when you need it later. Isolate your communication with your spouse to one platform to make your own communication log. When your attorney needs information about your spouse, you’ll be able to find it much faster if all your communication with him or her is in the same place.
Make parenting logs
For parents, you can use two types of logs to your advantage: a parenting time one and an expense one. In the parenting time log, keep track of details such as where the children will be and with whom on given dates, important school or outside-of-school activity dates, the holiday schedule and anything else you need to remember and be able to access quickly. Use the log to prevent confusion over pick-ups, drop-offs, event attendance and other parenting obligations.
Your expense log is where all the costs that are supposed to be shared between you and your co-parent go. If you and your ex get along, you may be able to use a shared platform to keep expenses tracked. If not, you’ll have to create and maintain a log of your own. Each expense you paid should be listed in detail, including the date, amount, what it was for and your percentage of responsibility for it. Keep all proof of payment, such as receipts, with the log.
Having an organized life during and after your divorce is possible, but it will take some effort on your part at first. However, the result is well worth it. With good logs, you will be able to feel more in control and you won’t have to dig through messages, paperwork and other things just to find a bit of information. As you get more used to your post-divorce life, you may find that you’re able to stay more organized with less detailed logs supporting you.