Balancing Holiday Chaos: Tips for Planning and Productivity

This is technically last week’s post. This week, besides dealing with Thanksgiving, and Black Friday, I am focusing on the final details on getting ready to pull the trigger on putting A Heart Most Errant out there. Real Life Romance Hero is making ham for the holiday, and I am chomping at the bit to put up not only the family Christmas tree but Storm’s as well. Since Housemate and I shopped an early Black Friday sale online, that initiated the launch sequence, and we are now in Holiday Prep Mode. This does, of course, include my desk.

almost current state of the desk

The three-drawer unit in the wooden crate has dot markers (dual tipped) in the top, Tombow brush markers (also dual tipped) in the middle, and then the bottom has my favorite size lined sticky notes and glue runner refills. My small black pouch in front of the laptop is currently a lot more Christmassy-looking, because the blues and purples were making me cold. I live in New York. I’m already cold.

The end of this week is the start of December. How did we get here this quickly? Do I want to know? Since I am on the last month of the year in my planners and journals, that means time to think about next year’s lineup, as I want to be prepared for the coming sales and temptations, because I love all the formats. Bound books, disc bound, rings, traveler’s notebooks, spiral bound and wire-o, twin loop, reporter style, all of it. It’s easy to get dazzled, lost and overwhelmed. How do I sort it out? I go back to preschool.

Let me explain. I went to a Montessori school for preschool, and I loved it. I studied early childhood development and education in college (where the most important thing I learned was that I am not suited for that career) and once in a while, it does come in handy. What do I find myself naturally gravitating toward? What do I reach for first? What do I actually use? When I get in a groove, what is going on that helps me stay there? It’s been a while since college, and even longer since preschool, (and Early Childhood Education students also worked in the college’s preschool) but I am still going to call the method to my madness Montessori-influenced. Providing I remember it right, that is, but Maria Montessori started out with cats, and I have a cat, so I fgure I am on the right track.

Anyhoo, there is probably a video in this, because that feels more natural than blabbering here, but refer to the opening paragraph about this being last week’s entry. Domestic tornadoes do happen this time of year, but everyone is fine and bonus points, we have a mystery pumpkin that showed up on our stoop around the same time our downstairs neighbors left.

Some of my discoveries:

Even though I love my A5 rings, I am mostly in disc bound planners this year. Folding the pages over is a must, and I need to be able to move things quickly when Storm decides it is time to supervise. I love my everyday carry traveler’s notebook, but don’t need a weekly calendar in it; all it’s doing is copying what I have in my desk planner. A monthly insert will be fine.The bells and whistles, aka accessories, aka dashboards and charms and tabs and pen loops and pouches, et al, are part of the planning process.

Some of those bells and whistles actually serve a practical purpose. Since I am visually impaired, I need high contrast. If the lines are light, they may as well not be there, and my eyes generally view dot grid (unless the dots are dark) as “blank.” The solution? Line stencils. Pencil or fineliner, stencil, and we are in business. The decorative tapes at top and bottom aren’t just for pretties, either. They help anchor my sight on the page.

green inside border was already on the paper

Okay, I do also use the borders as a visual signal what section I am in, for multi section notebooks. I also like the process of preparing the page. I like the whole stationery process. Case in point, the current state of the EDC or at least the pouch and TN cover:

Pouch could probably be more Christmassy, but we’ll see.

That’s enough rambling for one week, especially since I need to stay on track with the whole publishing thing. I have forms to fill out and a release date to pick. I am waffling :;mmmm, waffles:: on whether I need a pre-order, but probably not, as this is a re-entry which means I am basically new again. Can we spot the overthinker? Yes. Me. Got it in one.

My reward for posting this blog is a cup of tea and some shortbread, so time to wrap this and move on along with the day. How’s your week looking?

as always, Anna