Moving to a New Planner

Planners Vary by Color and Design

Pablo Picasso said "Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act.  There is no other route to success."

Every January it is time for me to move into a new planner.  I know, many of you have gone completely digital, but let me just share my experiences with that.  I own a smartphone.  But it isn't that smart.  My first smartphone inconveniently forgot how a touch screen works.  No touch screen, no smartphone.  Smartphone #2 had battery issues.  It wouldn't do anything except phone or text.  No battery function, no smartphone.  I am now on a new incarnation of phone and battery, but I have trust issues at this point.  Being slightly negligent in the back-up department, I am reluctant to trust too much information to that phone of mine.  Paper planners may be dated, but they have NEVER let me down!  So, if you are all digital, good for you!  I am, however, completing my January ritual of moving in to a fresh, new planner.

Plain, but practical.

Planners are personal.  And I believe I have to like my planner or I won't use it.  I am not a slave to my planner.  I easily leave large blank areas in all my planners, but when I need to track a lot of details, my planner is invaluable.  This is my 2013 planner.  It is pale purple.  It wasn't my first choice based on appearance, but it had the features I wanted.  First, it isn't too thick, and it fits into my purse.

A Monthly View

Secondly, I have to have a monthly view in a planner.  I do most of my calendering, tracking, planning, etc. on this page, so it is important to me.  Many calendars just have a weekly view, but I often don't use the weekly pages, so those planners do not work well for me.

Family organizer

Time of life impacts planner usage as well.  When I used these family-style planners, keeping grocery lists and planning menus were as important to the function of our busy family as all of the sporting events and music lessons.  This planner had sidebars dedicated to those two things.  Life has altered a bit now, and I have abandoned the thick family organizer for a slimmer model.  Although I am a casual planner, I find I get more done when I commit it to paper.

Weekly View

My new planner has weekly pages behind the monthly view.  I paper clip the month page to the current week and can find my plans quickly and easily.  I preferred the artistic design of a couple other planners the day I bought mine, but they lacked other features.  This planner has January 2014 in it, always a plus.  It also includes planning pages, contact pages, and a few blank pages for note taking.  This additional capability and versatility made me choose the "plainer planner."  Function over form, in this case.  

There is something hopeful about moving into a new planner.  I choose which things to carry over from the previous year.  I can let the disappointments go, and not move them in to my fresh, new pages.  Each new planner is a fresh start. I can do better this year.  I can put in the plans that really matter to me.  I find this annual ritual to be an act of optimism!

Planning or dreaming?

Despite my best intentions to plan, blank pages exist frequently in my planners, old and new.  Are the blanks lost opportunities?  Could I have done more if I filled them in?  Maybe.  But maybe the blank spaces are where the dreams hatch.  I liked this quote by Gloria Steinhem:  "Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities.  Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning."

What type of planner do you use?  What helps you accomplish things in your life?  I wish you the excitement of possibilities this year as you plan and dream!

Another Year, Another Adventure!

Last year I was writing about the Magic of One Year, and the possibilities that year could hold.  Now, on the other side of that 365 days, it is time to evaluate a bit!  I am actually more organized than I was a year ago, and I tried some new things (like birding!).  Overall, I would say I am happier, and that 2012 was a good year.  I even rolled with being derailed by breast cancer.  Although cancer has dominated the last six months, I refuse to let it have all my time and attention!  I am proud of the things I have been able to do in spite of it.

The end of this year found me reading a couple of great books that have got me thinking about plans for this New Year.  The first is called "The End of Your Life Book Club" by Will Schwalbe.  I confess, it is a bit strange reading a book where someone is dying of cancer when battling cancer yourself, but if nothing else, it made me reflect a little more deeply.  This is NOT, however, a depressing book, but a book by and for people who love books.  "The End of Your Life Book Club" is a poignant memoir of a mother and son who share two years of books and in-depth talks as she fights pancreatic cancer.    Author Will Schwalbe and his mother, Mary Anne, are voracious readers.  They consume novels at a rapid rate, and devour new books as well as old, familiar titles.  Mary Anne is a long time advocate for refugees and has traveled extensively throughout the world.  Even in her seventies with terminal cancer, it is hard for her to slow down.  Throughout the book, she continues working toward getting a library system set up in Kabul, Afghanistan.  Mary Anne realizes the value of the written word in educating us to common, human experiences.
The scope of literature mentioned in this book is tremendous.  I found several books here that I want to read, several I am unfamiliar with, and thankfully, a few that I have actually read.  This book made me want to be not only a better reader, but a better person.
In Will's conversations with his mother, he learns more about her, and also about himself.  At one point he observes "I don't like being interrupted either--but I interrupt other people.  I often forget that other people's stories aren't simply introductions to my own more engaging, more dramatic, more relevant, and better-told tales; but rather ends in themselves, tales I can learn from or repeat or dissect or savor.  Mom, on the other hand, rarely interrupted other people and wasn't given to topping other people's tales.  She would listen and then ask questions...."  What a beautiful woman!  I find myself waiting for my moment to interrupt, and have decided that being a better listener, and asking some questions, is a good goal for myself this year.

Night in Napili

Mother and son find themselves connecting often over books that involve the importance of writing and sharing the written word.  Many books speak of our need to connect with each other, Schwalbe observes, while discussing "The Lizard Cage," with his mom.
Near the end of the book, as Mary Anne's illness progresses, Will says "I just feel guilty that I'm not doing more in the world."  They are reading  "Suite Francaise" at the time, a book which graces my own shelf.  His mother gently reminds him "Of course you could do more--you can always do more, and you should do more--but still, the important thing is to do what you can, whenever you can.  You just do your best, and that's all you can do."  Mary Anne Schwalbe's best was amazing.  This book made me want to do and be better, and the next book I read gave me some clues as to how to do just that.

In "My Year with Eleanor," celebrity blogger Noelle Hancock loses her job, and finds she has lost her way in life.  She finds a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt about doing something that scares you everyday, and embarks on a year of facing her fears.  With her shrink, and a supportive group of friends, Noelle decides to start on her 29th birthday, and spend exactly one year doing what scares her.   She is hung up on the little things that affect many of us (not wanting to make that phone call, for example), but also bigger things, like a fear of heights.  Undaunted, Noelle takes trapeze classes, does stand up comedy, sings karoake, dog fights in a jet, and more in her year of exploration.  Along the way, she researches Eleanor Roosevelt, and learns more about this amazing lady who overcame her own fears to make a difference in the world.  Hancock inserts quotes from Eleanor throughout the book. This was one of my favorites.

"Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run is easier.  We do not have to become heroes overnight.  Just a step at a time, meeting each thing as it comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down."  --Eleanor Roosevelt

There is always another bridge to cross!

  

Hancock learns, as I think most of us would, that facing fears regularly actually builds courage.  In my own year, I faced some things that really scared me, but having just finished chemotherapy, I can honestly say, I am not as scared any more.  Facing fears really does build courage, and you find you are tougher than you thought.

So, with all this in mind, what are my plans for this year?  Some are similar to last year...I would like to be more organized (but am enjoying the 2 rooms I got completed!)  Others are new...like I am going to read more books.  I am going to be a better listener, and I will continue to stretch out of my comfort zone to try new things.  Sounds like a good year to me. What will your year bring to you?  Let the adventure begin!

Adventure awaits!

The Magic of One Year - What Will Your Journey Be?

Artwife takes a hike - Grand Wash, Capitol Reef, Utah

I have read many books about people accomplishing a big goal, and have noticed that they often take an entire year to do it.  Is there magic in one year?  Perhaps smaller goals more easily completed don't merit a book contract.  But could there be more to it than that?  I have never been big on New Year's resolutions.  The most successful ones I have kept have been slightly tongue-in-cheek, like the year I resolved to watch more Cary Grant movies.  (Incidentally, I have never been sorry I made or kept that one!)  But maybe this year I should reach for something more.

Dr. Edwin Locke researched goals and motivation.  His work is the foundation for goal-setting theory today.  He found that people perform better on their goals if they are both specific and difficult.  Maybe the time frame of one year allows someone to accomplish something difficult (thus staying motivated), while the time limit of a year is just long enough, but not too long.

January is a great time to reflect on what you would like to accomplish in the upcoming year.  At the end of this year, what would you like to be?  More fit?  More social?  More well-educated?  More gainfully employed?  More financially stable? More creative?  More happy?  In her book, One Year to an Organized Life,  Regina Leeds asserts:  "Given the parameter of one year, anyone can gradually learn the necessary skills and make the time to achieve transformation."  Perhaps there is magic in one year.

Fortunately for readers and moviegoers, many adventuresome souls have documented their one-year journeys, and if you don't want to take your own journey at this time, maybe you'll enjoy sharing in theirs.  Here are some titles I have enjoyed about one-year accomplishments:

One Year Off, by David Cohen, chronicles his journey around the world with his wife and small children.  If you have ever wondered what it would be like to leave your home and job and set off around the world, reading this book is a very safe way to check it out.  The book is very entertaining, and Mr. Cohen details things they learned along the way, and also what they would do differently (take less luggage).  The descriptions of exotic locations and experiences are great for any fan of travel narratives.

Long Distance, by Bill McKibben, follows the author as he spends a year working out as an elite athlete to see how well he can perform in cross country skiing.  It is an interesting story, and the author gains a better understanding of the training an elite athlete does to prepare for international competition. He pushes himself to his physical limits, and also copes with his father's illness.  The author effectively expresses how this emotional journey with his father impacts his perspective on his physical training and racing.  

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.  I love this book because the author was satisfied with her life overall. She did not make any drastic changes (like selling her home and leaving the country), but instead broke down her ultimate goal of achieving more happiness into manageable, monthly projects.  Reading this book can give you ideas of things you might want to tackle in your own life.  The author candidly, and with humor, relates her successes and failures in her one year experiment.  She also has thoroughly researched happiness for you!  The author encourages you to start your own happiness project, and provides suggestions and a website to help you do just that.

Julie and Julia:  I admit I just watched the movie on this one!  This is the story of Julie Powell and her goal to cook all of Julia Child's 524 recipes from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in 365 days.  She does this all from her tiny apartment kitchen. The movie version, starring Amy Adams as Julie Powell and Meryl Streep as Julia Child, is entertaining.  I also loved watching someone else do the cooking!  This is a great example of someone exploring their creative self while remaining in their existing life, and the movie is a lot of fun.

If I were to vote for my top choice for a goal this year, it would definitely be One Year Off!  However, I think  I may end up working more on One Year to an Organized Life.  Meanwhile, I will look to the dreamers and goal-achievers I have mentioned above for encouragement and inspiration.  Happy reading, and Happy New Year!