Happy New Year

Around November of each year I start thinking about the New Year. Sure, I think about Christmas - the religious and commercial aspects - and all the things that need to get done: planning and organizing family Christmases, writing cards (which didn't get done this past year), decorating (which was minimal and only got done thanks to Otte), Christmas day itself and the big family gathering on Boxing day, and, as I said before, I think about New Year's. I don’t really mean the day itself, or the evening festivities on New Year's Eve. I actually think about two things related January 1: resolutions and my new daily planner.

I actually put a lot of thought into the planner I'll buy for the next year. Will it be the same as this year's planner? Did that one really and truly work for me? I didn't track all of my daily spending or my exercises – when I exercised, or my calories, or put in any anecdotes or stuff. It just has a lit of my appointments... Hmm. Now was that the planner's fault? Is there a better designed one that will keep me more organized? Is there one that's smaller and more portable, but easy to write in? Will I find one that sets off a theme for the next 365 days and can keep me more than on-time and on-track, but healthier, wealthier and wiser? It seems I put a lot of pressure on a little book.

This year's visit to Staples happened before Christmas. My schedule for the first two months of 2010 was getting pretty booked up and so I wanted to make sure I stayed on top of things. I went to the mammoth office supply store and did the same thing as I did for several years before... I stood in front of the daily planner racks looked at every single one. I took each one in my hands and felt their cover and their weight. I flipped open a page and looked at the fonts – the coloured ink, the size, when the day started and when the day ended. I looked at the space between lines and the space allocated to weekends – which always seem to get a raw deal. I considered whether or not the page was pleasant to look at. As in the past, during this particular visit I selected my favourite five – none of which were the one I had for 2009. I went over to the copy centre and used the large flat surface there to open each one up and spread them all out, looking over each one and ranking them. Two were quickly moved aside. What was I thinking? And that left three. Otte came over and made a comment and together we picked what would be my day timer for the next 365 days. I paid for it and took it home.

After a few days of it sitting in a bag I took it out and looked at it, immediately questioning my decision. It wasn’t quite right. It ended at 7 p.m. each evening and I was teaching from 7-9:30 on Monday evenings.... It didn’t seem right that this day timer ended when it did. So I made the decision to exchange it.

I visited three Staples stores in London and made a total of three exchanges. The second day timer I selected had pretty photos of exotic places around the world. I thought I could have a bit of a geography lesson there as well, but eventually I decided the geography lesson took up too much valuable real estate... Finally, on my fourth trip I found one solitary version of the day timer I used in 2009. I liked that one. It got me through the year pretty well, and I started to think not writing spending, exercised, and food consumed was my fault more than the planners’.

So I’m all set. I have the 2010 planner ready to go. And my schedule for the two 8-week courses have been added. In pencil. Once again it has occurred to me that my issue with day timers is more my issue with committing to something for 365 days rather than organizing myself. Writing in pencil seems to reinforce that. But as they say, admitting it is the first step, and I’m sure by February or March, I’ll grow to like this one and start walking the wild side and use pen.

Happy New Year. May your day timer be filled with interesting events and hot dates.