#566 a new "friend"

Typically on Saturday morning I like to get up around 6:30 and go to the gym for a spinning class at 7 followed by an hour of yoga. This morning when I woke up at 6:30 and saw about four inches (approx ten centimeters) of snow on top of my car, I said, "Aw hell no," and crawled back under the covers. I slept until around 8:30. It was pretty glorious, except that I missed one of my favorite work-out days.

I feel like I've betrayed an old friend today. I have purchased a planning device that is not from Franklin Covey. For years, I have been a Franklin Covey planner disciple. I am a list-making, task-oriented person, and the discipline that I got from the Franklin Covey planner really helped me get my act together at work. Now, though, I do my task-planning at work through Outlook. I've come to really like it. I don't have to re-write tasks that I didn't finish today on tomorrow's page. I can plan tasks for myself well ahead of time. (In my job, we have more free time in the winter, so if something comes up in the summer that needs to be done but can wait, we call it a winter project.)

In my personal life, the task lists had become a bit redundant. Every day had the same list: exercise, help T with homework, blah blah blah. I rarely had anything to make note of. I do like to have a calendar, though, so I can see a month at a glance, and it would be good to have a way of writing some things down as reminders (make dentist appointment, flight information, my aunt's birthday). I thought about using my beloved iPhone, and I've been trying it, but it's not as satisfying as writing it down and looking back at it.

After carefully looking at all the Franklin Covey products at the store and picking out something I'd like, the cost came to about $40. I went to Target and found a similar, but not as cute, product for $15. Good-bye Franklin Covey. I'm switching to Mead. I feel a little strange, like I'm meeting someone that I've known but haven't hung out with before. Someone that my other friend, Franklin, thinks is beneath him. I'm slumming a little. But I think it will be ok. The product I got has a couple of blank months, so I can start using it right away to see how I like it. If I decide it's just not enough for me, I only spent $15.

Wow. I have devoted waaaaaaaaaay to much space to my planner addiction. Sorry about that! You should have seen how much time I spent at Franklin Covey and at Target, looking at all the products and comparing the different but similar calendars. I'm kind of embarrassed. :)

BUT...one of my favorite quotes is "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." So there it is. Yes, I am that much of a nerd.