Planning


I am sort of a tea addict. I structure my day by cups of tea.
-S.T. Joshi

Include joy
when making plans
big enough to shift worlds.

Or risk
building a windowless castle
whose stones keep out the air.






Notes from the Real World: Ah, the day after Christmas, when my thoughts turn to… decorating! Decorating a fresh new planner that is. For the last few years, I’ve been trying to be consistent with keeping up some sort of planning system. I think I’ve finally found one that I love (thank you BenebellWen for creating a kick-ass planner for the metaphysically minded, even if you did take out the “Books Read” page on this year’s model). Though it took watching a planning video by Vlogger Jessi Huntenberg to really crystalize what it was I’ve been after by keeping up this practice.

At its worst, a planner is a glorified to-do list (a to-do list with lots of washi tape, stickers, and gel pen doodles in my case). And that’s not a terrible thing, because it’s harder to lose a planner than a list scribbled on the back of some junk mail (my favored organizational system in my 20’s). But it’s kind of a waste of money if that’s all it is.

It’s a place you thoughtfully figure out what it is that’s really important to you, so you can structure your actions to support that. It’s not just for keeping track of how busy you can be, but for noticing the natural way your days (weeks, months) flow and respecting your limits, especially when you actually can see when you peruse its pages that you are in danger of being overwhelmed or losing yourself in activities that don’t support the goals you set for yourself (you can in fact schedule your down time – and put all the cute stickers you want on the page to make a note of it). Because one of the worst feelings in the world, for me at least, is finding out you’ve been working like a fiend in a way that takes you farther from your goals rather than closer.

Moving ahead with my writing is clearly going to be one of my biggest goals of 2019. As I sit surrounded by ribbons and glitter pens the rest of this week, I’m going to be figuring out what S.M.A.R.T. steps I can take so when I’m sitting down again on Dec 26, 2019 I’ll know where my time went, how I used it to get better, where I missed the mark, and how to fix it.

Also I will be editing one page to make it a “Books Read” page and another for “Teas Tasted”. Because it’s important to make time for the sweet little pleasures. And also because I can. So there.


Because of course I chose the kitsune image for my planner cover.

8 comments:

  1. I got two lovely daytimers for Christmas -- a large one for home and a small one for my purse. I'm looking forward to getting them set up and running too with my notes and reminders.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have the first stage of planning mostly done (my holidays, the family holidays, birthdays, and known trips/ vacation plans, etc.) Now comes the tough part, which requires journaling, meditation, and lots and lots of good tea.

      Delete
  2. I just spent about 15 minutes watching planning videos. I hope you are pleased with yourself. I am. I have The Terry Pratchett Diary (are you surprised?), which I've yet to write on. I think I will use that one just for reading. Then I have the Awake in the Wild journal (the one I'm pretty sure we stole by accident at BookCon), which I want to use to journal my walks outside. That means... OMGs! I need a new planner. Okay, two, like Debra said--one for my purse and one for the house. No, I don't care that I have enough blank journals to open a shop, I want planners. Which we all know are completely different. And yes, I get to blame all of that on you. Life is good.

    Now that all the rambling is done, let me say that I love how smooth your poem reads. I swear that I can almost see you exude zen(iness), hit a gong, and sip tea before reaching for your planner and your sparkly arsenal. I love that. The poem is pure truth--if we want to delight in what we do, we must take pleasure in all the steps. So, let the planning begin!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I still want to use that Awake in the Wild Journal for poetry inspiration. LOL, I think I shall put it on my main planner as a goal for January to start working it in :D

      Delete
  3. I love the quote, I plan my day around cups of coffee.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm fairly sure my husband plans his the same way.

      Delete
  4. I love those planner books! They are great! I love the cover of your's Rommy! Gorgeous! Here's to a well planned, fun, 2019! Big Hugs!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I saw that she had a kitsune as an option for the planner cover last year and was so excited she brought it back again for this year.

      Delete