Sheilah, For years I had a gigantic dry-erase board on my desk, in view behind my computer monitor. I tracked appointments, deadlines, school visits, and so forth on it. I was so afraid of missing something or forgetting something.

But every time I sat down to work, there was that ugly thing looming behind my monitor as if to say, “Get busy! See what you have to do?!?” When I redid my office six years ago, the whiteboard was pitched. Now I have all these other “systems” but at least they aren’t ugly.

Lots of people keep a planner as a diary. I also journal (in a separate notebook) but have little record what went on my daily life beyond work and problems. I think your idea is great!

Apparently some people thought this post is funny but I meant it to be a sort of “how-to.” I guess the rest of the world isn’t *quite* as serious as I am about agenda books.

I am really not trying to change anything (though I should be losing weight and exercising)–just keep on top of things. In any creative field, it’s not enough to do 100%. You have to do 110%. I’m hoping to find and make use of that extra 10%!

Atticus is my manager, all right. I may go on strike!

Most people function perfectly well with simple appointment books. And I don’t have children or really much of a real life, so I have very few appointments. I would write down tea/coffee preferences, too, since I don’t drink them.

Organizing has always been perfunctory and a little dreary–black planners with pages of expenses and stuff like that. Why not have color? Why not draw and doodle?

Michael’s has a whole section on storage (where I got my box) with wire baskets, containers, and a very cute planner with sticky-notes! Turquoise, pink, green, and orange! Run, Caroline!

Thanks! Photographing still lifes is not my strong suit–plus everything is paper. Not very exciting.