My calendar

I have always been an organized person, and it comes naturally to me. However, I haven't always used a calendar. I used to be able to just remember what I had to do when, even when my life was a little crazy during High School. In middle school they made us keep an assignment notebook. I used it and it was helpful, but once I moved on, I didn't need to use it anymore. I was a perfectionist and prided myself on getting everything done on time, and I did.

However, once I got into college, life got CRAZY and I used one every day. I love my calendar. I had different colored pens that coordinated with each class and their matching folders/notebooks. I would know what class or activity something was for just by the color I used to write it. I even used the same color to take notes in each class as well. It worked beautifully! Every night I would sit down, pull out a note card, and schedule my day, hour-by-hour, and make sure I had everything I needed for the day.

Then the real world hit. After graduation, my life was much more simple and I didn't need a calendar again. I got married, life was still simple, no calendar was really necessary. We did have one hanging at home and I would write things down on it like docs appointments that we scheduled months in advance, important birthdays, etc. I also used my computer to keep track of bills and when they were due, just as a reminder.

But recently, my life has somehow gotten busier. No kids, no new commitments, maybe I'm just getting older and things that seemed easy to remember aren't anymore? I don't know.

Anyway, I've found a calendar, similar in layout to the one I used in college and made a very cute cover for it! Hopefully I can continue to buy the same calendar every year to fill it up. I usually find something, fall in love with it in every way, and then after I purchase about 1 replacement, it goes off the market. I'm hoping this isn't the case with this calendar. As I couldn't find the exact one I used in school, I'm assuming it has happened already once :(

The cover gives it more stability, pockets, the ability to stay closed, and it is way cuter than the original! I was given a Franklin Planner at work to use. I loved the pockets, but it was way to big for my needs. I don't need a daily page, I don't have that much to remember at work, and I always felt weird about writing personal stuff in it. My personal life is what needs to be organized! Plus the layout was different than the one I loved, and for that reason I was never really comfortable with it. And, seriously Franklin Covey, the majority of the world's population is right-handed, so why on Earth would you make it nearly impossible for us to write comfortably in your planners?



Off the soap box now. I love my calendar. I use it for appointments and the usual, but also to plan meals, shopping trips, keep notes, pay bills, plan my free-time and generally organize my life. I also rescued two large boxes of paper from work that were going to be dumped because they were the wrong color and use them for notes. They are half sheets and fit perfectly in the back pocket. (I gave one box to my mom, have one for myself and used about half of mine to make little recycled notebooks for friends and family last Christmas. The box will probably last me a few years!) I'm me again. I was slipping without it, and now I'm back!