Another Year Long Project

Another year long memory keeping project. I kind of stumbled across this one. I would love to link you to the article that inspired me but I can't find it yet. It was, I believe, written by Wendy Smedly, of Ella Publishing fame, but I think I saw it on the Big Picture Classes website, and it was all about using your calendar for memory keeping. And it was one of those moments, where it all comes together really fast.

I had been admiring a wall calendar I recently bought, and thinking, "I wish I could keep the pages forever. It has lots of notes and scribbles, and even doodles from Sam. But, it's really big, so it would not be that practical." Then along came this article, talking about just that thing: Using your calendar as a way to remember random bits of mundane life, and even some fast journaling. And, then I realized I could use my planner for just that!

Each day has just a small and un-intimidating space to fill, making this feel very doable. Some days I just write what we had for dinner, or that I cleaned the house, but I also have found that I can jot down a funny comment or conversation that happened that day. And even while writing about the mundane, little patterns show up that I can see appreciating in the future. Like, for example,  "I fell asleep again while watching TV today."

I don't think I would be able to do this staring into the pages of  a big, glaring, blank journal.

And while I'm at it, since I custom made my planner last year, and I am ridiculously proud of it, I will now shamelessly show it off. I made it using an A5 binder and papers from Muji, a store where everything is white, beige, black, or olive green. It's like my Garden of Eden. They also have these adorable binder dividers, too.

I have a weekly planner section, that I just made using text boxes in MS Word, a monthly calendar section, using a calendar templates in MS Word, and then a Lesson Plan section for work: (Guess how I made that? Word.)

I love it because I was able to make it exactly as I needed it, with a spot for my morning and afternoon classes. I loved it so much, I did it again this year.

And the reason I have these photos of my planner? Take Twelve. I cheated and took more than 12.

I am a little neurotic about the look and feel of my planners, and when I find one I like, I LOVE it. What kind of planner or calendar do you use?  Am I the only one still writing on paper?