Well Planned Life

This past weekend, my best friend got married . It was a beautiful weekend and a beautiful wedding. I’m so happy for her and her new husband. This past weekend was also an emotional roller coaster for me for various reasons. Without getting into specifics, I’ll just say that this has lead to a new tab in my Filo . There is a project I’m working on just for myself. I want to keep notes on this project. So where to file the information ? I could put it under “Health,” even though it isn’t directly health related. That is where I have the information now, but I gather that I will eventually have many notes for this project, so I don’t really want to blend it with my list of resistance training circuits and race information. I could put it under “Projects” except that this isn’t a project that will be done in a short amount of time. I’d also like to keep detailed information on this – on my goals and progress and the like – so it really needs more room than my general “Projects” tab wo...

I recently read Getting Organized in the Google Era by Douglas C. Merrill (former Chief Information Officer of Google) and James A. Martin. There is a lot of information in here, some useful and some not, at least for me. Most of what the authors talk about in terms of organization has to do with information, most of that being in the digital form. They offer suggestions, hints and tips on how to stay organized in an era where information is being thrown at us 24 hours a days, seven days a week. In many ways, the best part of digital information is the ability to do a search for it. I can see how this is true – there’s so much out there that we need a way to sort through it all. And because there’s so much of it, we need a way to organize it all too. I found a majority of the book interesting to say the least. I found some of the ideas presented to be more common sense than ingenious (maybe that’s just because I’m so organized to begin with?), but there are some ideas that really stru...

I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve posted, yet it’s really only been a week and a half. I’ve been consumed with many things. First, my place of work had a major construction project going on. We had to stop all operations for two weeks, one of which we were not allowed to be in the building (though we did get a “free” vacation out of the deal). The other week involved moving tons of equipment and shelving, which I was directly involved with. So I got some overtime, which is great for the money (I’m that much closer to buying my Malden ), but not so great in that I lost time to myself. Second, my best friend’s wedding is coming up in a few weeks, so I’ve been busy with plans for a bachelorette day, dress alterations and details on the big day itself. Third, my husband and I are doing some updates in the house, so we’ve been meeting with the painter, buying furniture, rearranging some of what we already have and purging some items we no longer want. We went to several furniture st...

I have finally finished organizing my A5 Red Finchley . I received this second-hand from a reader (thanks!), but really it’s in such good condition and it still smells lovely, it could almost be new. Either way, it’s still new to me and my first A5. I am loving it. Since an A5 is too big for me to use for myself and carry it around, it is staying home as the family Filo . It gives me plenty of room to write down everything that needs to be recorded. My husband may actually use it too (though that remains to be seen). Here’s the general set up: In the front pockets I have general papers and cards that need to be reviewed as some point. I have a couple of articles on how to keep rabbits out of the plants, a jot pad for scribbling notes, two iTunes gift cards and paint chips for when we decide to paint the house. The first section of inserts is a pile of dated business pages which I would love to use but don’t really have a need for. Maybe I can come up with one. But they are there to p...

I have been hard at work setting up my new A5 Finchley. It’s been taking me a while since I’ve been getting only snippets of time to work on it. I will post a review of how it’s being used and its setup when all is done, accompanied by pictures, of course. One of the lists I’ve created for the A5 is a timeline of my Filofax purchases. So, while I work on my A5 setup and subsequent post, you can read about my Filo acquisitions (date and order are listed to the best of my memory): June 2007 – Personal Chocolate Domino – birthday gift from friend February 2008 – Mini Black Domino – purchased from Filofax April 2008 – Personal Teal Miami – purchased from eBay May 2008 – Chocolate Classic Slimline – Purchased from Filofax Summer 2008 – Personal Chocolate Classic – Purchased from Pens & Leather December 2008 – Personal Blue Finsbury – Purchased from Kate’s Paperie Winter 2009 – Personal Jade Finchley – Purchased from Pens & Leather Spring 2009 – Pocket Brown Kendal – Purchase...

My Filofax has been very busy these past few weeks. In about two months, my best friend will be getting married. I was chosen as maid of honor. So, many tasks fall to me, especially since I am the only bridesmaid. Therefore, I have list upon list going, some just to serve as reminders and some with more detailed information. Here’s what my Filo has been up to: In my personal Guildford , I have two lists for this event, both on green note paper since that is the color I have designated for this project. (Of course both of these lists are filed away behind my “Projects” tab .) The first sheet is a simple list of things that need to be done in general: choose a dress, shoes and bag; plan a shower; plan a bachelorette party; find someone to do hair and makeup for the event and go for a trial; make an appointment for a manicure and pedicure; have dress altered; and write a speech. At this point, most of these items have been completed or are in the process of being completed. If something h...

Since I started this blog, I have let my creative side flourish just a little bit. I used to have a different blog, several years ago, and it was really for me and three of my friends to read. I really enjoyed it. I have always loved writing. So it seemed fitting when last December I started a blog about my biggest passion – planners and organizing. I have loved doing this. I continue to love it and hope I will continue to keep this blog up and running for a long time to come. However, I have been itching to tell some new stories lately. Nothing terribly exciting, nothing earth-shattering. Just some additional musings outside of planners and organizing. So, in the future, you may see some new topics here – some that are closely related to the posts I’ve already made and some new ideas. They may be few and far between. But that’s okay – I’ll write when I have a topic in mind and when I think someone may want to read it. I hope you enjoy them.