Happy New Year! We’ve made it to 2023! Like many others, I like to get a little more organized at the beginning of a year. It helps me feel like I have a fresh slate and that anything is possible! I have a new calendar up on the wall, my desk has been cleaned, and I’ve filed away remaining paperwork from 2022. When I was a court reporter, I had a few more steps to take at the beginning of a new year. Among other things, I would need to update any certificate pages that didn’t automatically update. I organized my jobs in CATalyst by month and then would move them into a year, so at the beginning of the year, I would move the last 12 months into a new folder for last year, and then moved the oldest year off my laptop and onto my external hard drive. I always kept a backup of my full user on an external hard drive, but I kept a second external backup for jobs that were no longer on my laptop so I had it in more than one place.

At the beginning of the year, I also liked to completely empty out my rolling bag so I could repack it and organize it. I would throw away things I didn’t need, such as old Post-its, any garbage, papers that found their way to the bottom, and restock things that were out or running low, such as business cards, paper and binder clips, and emergency granola bars. I liked to test all my cords and cables and inspect them to make sure they were all in good working condition and then neatly wrap them back up and put them in their designated spaces in my bag. As much as I’m a creature of habit, there’s always instances when I would be in a hurry leaving a depo or a judge’s chamber and not put something back where it belongs. And while I knew it would happen eventually, I always felt that a fresh start to the year helped set me up for success. And success is what I wish for each of you in 2023!

Check out this video from Cathy Carpenter as she shows you Stenograph’s Duet bag and what will fit inside. This bag is great for transporting your items and keeping you organized in 2023!

The Duet Wheeled Case https://youtu.be/evugQ_J126U