Today I'll provide you with some examples on staying organized. I know from stories from other people that it is very important.
The first, and most important thing, is to make your schedule ahead of time. To make mine I just create a table in Pages, but I'm sure it would be the same in any other word processor!
(I know I mentioned this in the Food And Schedules post but thought I'd go into more detail.)
First I create a table with three columns. One has the time, one has the thing I am going to do, and one has extra space to type in notes. For example, if you have a special run time, you could put the models you want to buy in the notes.
I also fill in the times at this point. I do it in advances of 15 minutes, but it really doesn't matter. My schedule is going to be pretty tight, so I wanted to have things more exact. If you aren't doing a lot, you could time slots of 30 minutes or even every hour.
Next I start to fill in all the time slots! At this point, since we don't have the official schedule, you just put in the main things you want to do. Once the program comes out you can add in any show times or events you want. Here's a portion of my Friday schedule...
(enjoy my witty comments on the NPOD...)
Basically, just do the same thing for all three days. Take the schedule for that day to the park with you so you always know where you are gonna be!
Your non-hobby traveling companions will also appreciate this. My mom likes to know what we are doing each day so she knows what's going on and when she can sit and hang out.
It's also nice to involve non hobbyists coming with you with making your schedule. There's not much they can do about your Special Run times and whatnot, but when the program comes out let them pick a few things to do. My mom really likes meeting the real horses and watching the shows, so she gets to pick out a couple to go watch!
Overall your schedule is very, very important. If you don't plan ahead of time you might miss the things you wanted to see, and that's no fun.
The next thing isn't as important but it helps me keep track of models I've bought.
First I create another table with 4 columns as shown. Make where you would type it (pro table terminology here) larger then you normally would, as you'll be writing in this by hand as you buy things, and you'll need room. Especially if your handwriting is messy like mine!
Next, just add the amount of slots you think you will need.
I did a total of twenty slots. I probably won't need that many, but just in case!
The last thing is to make a wish list! This is very self explanatory. One one side of my wishlist I have the random models I want. On the other I have the official Breyerfest models I want. I also have the max price I will pay for it. Of course I'll try and haggle down a bit, but I wouldn't be upset paying these prices!
For the special runs if the price is over $65, I might not buy them. But who knows!
Having a wishlist is great for your non hobby travelers, too! If you are shopping with them, they can point out a horse you want if they see it. If you are going with hobby friends this is good too, because then you know to look out for each other's horses.
I have seen people in the Clarion with there wishlist taped to the back of their shirt so people can let them know if they have something they want. If you do this, be sure to take the prices off! If you don't, someone might see that you would pay $30, even if the model they are selling is priced at $15.
Thanks for reading, hopefully you can take some of these tips and use them!
-Emma
