Every year, I nearly miss my beloved Poppy’s MOT date.
One year, I actually did forget. It was only when Dad said “how did she get on in her MOT” and then cracked up at my horrified face, which clearly said “what MOT… oops” that I realised I’d forgotten!!
I have been driving for 14 years and have owned Poppy for 7, with the same garage for 10 of those years. Every single time I have a mad panic in the morning. I rush around trying to find my V5 and various other bits of paperwork.
When I arrive, book her in and hand over my keys, I always wave my file around in case they need to see my paperwork. On the last three occasions, they have patiently explained they don’t need my actual paperwork. The DVLA now collect all data and hold it online.
Gifts for my future self
So I decided to give Future Carla a gift in a year’s time when the next MOT is due.
Five minutes’ extra work and a few sticky notes when re-filing today’s documents back into my filing cabinet mean two things:
Future me now has an actual place for the current, up to date stuff. Plus I can also find the archive/service history stuff if required. On a 15-year-old sports car, this is actually quite important. I need to know when tyres etc were last replaced and when my oil changes are due.
Possibly even more importantly, I have given my future self the gift of not having to worry about taking all the paperwork with me next year. That blue post it on the front that says “You don’t need your V5 or MOT cert at MOT time!” has a date so I know it is relevant. It will save me the massive faff at 6 am on MOT day next year.
I’ve also noted the due date and the same message in my bullet journal future log, so I’ll have it to hand next year *before* I go hunting in the filing cabinet.
And that is what I call magic… the magic of organisation! Generally, it’s not one of my strengths, but every now and again I can see the point of it…
What could you (or do you!) do to give your future self a break?
P.S. Want to get organised for the new term/rest of 2017 / start of 2018? Try our Get Bulleting bullet journal selections!