When I first retired and started being at home all day with Christine I suggested we needed to have meetings to organise our workload and use the Black Book to record our plans and list our jobs. At work I had used the Black Book for years and had a daily record of my working life going back over 10 years. Sad or organised? Not sure!


Christine, having retired before me and being used to being at home all day didn’t see the need. “I’m your wife, we don’t have meetings” she said and anyone keeping up to date with this blog will know the trials and tribulations of the Black Book. But after six months of retirement, some sort of routine has been applied to our lives.


As you will know, we have a large task to get our house and garden into order following a major extension and refurbishment with a deadline of the 25th June when Alex, David and the Grandkids arrive from The Bahamas for the summer.


So at the end of our normal working day, usually about 4.00pm and often over a glass of wine we have what we call our 'where are we now' session. This is a review of what we have done so far; what's left to be done and in which order it should be tackled. This could of course be a 'Concept Meeting' but we don’t have meetings so it’s not.


Each morning, over breakfast, we plan our day in detail listing what needs to be achieved for that day and lists drawn up of jobs to be done and purchases needed. This could be a 'Detailed Planning Meeting' but we don’t have meeting so it’s not.


At this moment we have a bed on order without a delivery date, carpet fitting estimates to be approved and dates set for laying, a cooker on order with no delivery date, a kitchen to be fitted, floor tiles to be laid to the breakfast room and kitchen, a bed, wardrobe and dressing table still to choose, decorating to complete and only seventeen working days to go till the deadline. So planning and organisation becomes important.


Because of my experience as a Project Manager, I produce a 'Microsoft Project Plan' of the tasks remaining and link them together with dates and create a 'Critical Path' that allows completion by the deadline. I bring this to our evening meeting chat, where it's crumpled up by Christine and put in the bin. She brings out her hand written list of jobs to be done and tells me it was obvious in which order we do them. First one first and so on down the list. Is project management so easy? What have I been doing for ten years. No comments from ex-colleagues please.


But at least we have a list to review and after the meeting I paste the list into the Black Book so we have a record of where we are. The next time Christine wanted the list I told her it was in the Black Book. She was last seen rewriting the list onto paper to keep in her handbag and the book went in the bin – again.


On reflection though I feel that Christine is coming round to my way of thinking, we do organise our days and we have the lists of things to do. It’s only a small step from there to the Black Book.


Mind you Christine would probably say that she has always been organised and always had lists that have enabled her to run the house and finances whilst I spent ten years working away from home. All without the help of a Black Book.


Is it me!