Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Life Planning

Yesterday I bought a new planner. I am not sure why, since I have very little to schedule these days, but I decided to try something different.

In the 1990s I used a planner with great effect for a while, but then I started putting my appointments in MS Outlook, along with tasks and everything else, and found that I really didn't need a pen-and-ink planner anymore.

After watching the days of my life spin around like a top set loose on linoleum for the last year, I spent last month trying to get some oomph and pizazz back into my life (otherwise known as a kick in the ass, I think), and found what I had been using just wasn't working for me at this time.

My days still spun dizzyingly around and while I was working hard on my college classes, everything else seemed to be flying off into infinity and beyond.

So I thought I'd try something different yet a bit familiar. Thus, the planner, even though I have nothing to plan but the rest of my life.

I bought a Daytimer starter kit. I looked at the Franklin Coveys and the Day Runner starter kits, but decided that for the money the Daytimer seemed to suit my needs. They also offer planners now for mixes of home and office use, but they were just too cutesy for me. I like my scheduling to look like I'm all business.

Plus the Daytimer planner cover was a really soft brown leather that felt wonderful in my hands. It smells good, too. But it is not cutesy.

I like the 5 1/2 x 8" size, too. I tried several different ones 20 years ago and that was the size I settled on then, and it is the size I settled on this time, too. Someone told me once that the small planners breed small thinking. The ones that are larger are simply too bulky for me. Like Goldilocks, I need the one that is just right.

Trying to get the planner to work for me - and for me to do the work I want to be doing but keep not doing - will be my focus beginning Monday, when I expect to have this semester under my belt. That'll give me just over a month to have things in hand when I start back to school in June.

Wish me luck, won't you?

3 comments:

  1. I am sitting here laughing my patookus off at you... seriously. This post has me rolling in the aisles.

    Oh, and I like the smell of a new planner too but I have nothing to plan. LOL Woe is me.

    DI

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  2. I have a big calendar in my stucy, an el cheapo pocket planner that I carry around, and ical on the computer. Sometimes I still forget to write things down.

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  3. When I worked I had a Daytimer planner that I used faithfully to keep track of meetings and appointments. When I retired it did not suit my new lifestyle, so I designed my own planner using Excel and printed the pages monthly. I quit using it the first of this year and I notice that I'm not getting as much done. I may need to go back to my home made planner. Good luck with yours.

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