Monday, September 9, 2013

Keeping My Head Together








The first time I saw a grouping of these Allium flowers, I knew they'd be one of my favorites. Huge blooms and the purple color make me sigh like a girl in love for the first time.

During the whole process of signing a book contract, getting an agent, and launching my debut novel, my life became a whirlwind. Now, what day was I on Jen's blog? How soon did the edits have to be finished? It became obvious I needed a way to keep track of the many details that fill my days.

For a planner to work, I needed one thing. It had to fit in my purse. During a shopping trip, I made a beeline for the stationary department. The selection ranged from fancy/expensive to small/cheap.

As I dug through the piles, I came across a compact calendar and knew it was the perfect choice. Why? It had a picture of a purple Allium. For me, half the battle is remembering to jot down dates and refer back to them on a regular basis. It may be silly, but the memory of that photo makes it a pleasure to check my planner.

Maybe now I won't forget any important dates.

Writers and Readers:  How do you keep important dates from slipping by without notice?

Photo Credit: Ayla87

8 comments:

Dorothy said...

How beautiful... no wonder you're smitten.

I get a diary from my daughter each Christmas. She chooses, and it's like carrying a little piece of her around with me. I love our tradition.

Enjoy 'keeping your head together.' I'm sure you will :)

Blessings
Dotti :)

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Dotti -

I love your tradition!

Sorry I haven't been around much. Deadlines, a full-time job, and all that good stuff make it a challenge to visit as often as I'd like.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Karen Lange said...

I have lists and calendars in several places. My main problem is when I do not look at them! Getting into the habit of keeping better track - it's a must with everything going on around here! :)

Jean Fischer said...

Susan, the purple allium looks nice with your new blog skin :-)

I have a calendar set up on my computer desktop. it opens automatically when I boot the computer, and the first thing I see is a list of my project dates along with other important events. After prayer and coffee, it's the most important part of my morning.

Carol Garvin said...

I've always carried a purse-sized diary/calendar. Too often it gets left on my desk and isn't in my purse when I want to refer to it, but when I ran my own business I also had a larger one that was meant to sit on my desk. At the end of each day I transferred any special appointments into the smaller one that stayed in my purse, and having the info in both places worked well for me.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Karen .. thankfully my brain fully functions in an erratic fashion! Bu I really need to get organised properly ... so many ways of doing so out there .. I still use pen and paper ... millions of notes! somehow I hang on in ... perhaps having no kids of my own and ancillary dates makes a big difference!

Cheers to you .. and good luck with the Moses Conspiracy .. Hilary

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Karen - I'm a big list maker as well. Sometimes maintaining organization tools is like one more task on my list!

Hi Jean - Yes, I'm very color coordinated today. :) I use Google Calendar to keep my blog calendar updated with writing events.

Hi Carol - My purse calendar gets updated and goes right back into my purse. Otherwise, I'd never remember to take it with me. :)

Hi Hilary - LOL! I'm always writing stuff on scraps of paper. I have to clean out my purse frequently or they take over.

Blessings,
Susan :)

JD said...

I have a spiral planner that I carry around with me. Everyone in my household knows not to touch Mommy's planner because if Mommy doesn't have her planner, everyone else's schedule gets thrown out of whack, not just Mommy's!

Pretty flower and, yes, the planner with the picture of the allium was meant for you. :-)