Record keeping

Paperwork has never been one of my favorite things to do but it has a place in keeping the homestead moving in the right direction. The intention has always been to keep track of things like how many eggs the hens lay each day, what I planted & where along with what grew & what didn’t, feed consumption, expenses for the gardens & critters, and livestock production. Some items are tracked in a notebook using pencil & paper while others, like expenses, are tracked on the computer. I also keep a calendar to remind me of special things like fertilizing the blueberry bushes, breeding the rabbits, or placing orders with the state’s coop extension for plants (great prices but I always forget!)

My place is basically a one man show. I expanded this year & found that record keeping took a back seat to everything else with all the extra work. Some of the records are fairly detailed (i.e. # of eggs) while others, such as what was planted & what grew, fall into the ‘my dog ate my homework’ category. I’m wondering if I’m keeping track of the right things or if there is an easier way so I have a few questions:

What to you keep track of?
Do you use your computer to store the information? If so, do you use special software?