Planners Everywhere: My Mad World

Last night I went to a dinner party with some parents from my kids' school. I had such a wonderful time. Margaritas, enchiladas, laughter, and an adorable waiter. We always get the same waiter. He is only 19 years old, so he says fun, awkward things like, "oh, a Moms' group? Nice. I have a mom."

Anyway, during dinner someone asked when the school field trip was going to be scheduled, so I pulled out my planner and told her the date, two months from now. (Okay, one of my friends made fun of me at the dinner table. It's okay. I still love her even if she doesn't understand the POWER OF THE PLANNER.) I also had a pen for signing the check tucked into my planner. That became important when the fifteen checks arrived at the table at once.

(Look away while I make a "note to self" - add task in planner to deal with those Cajun eyebrows.)

Then, when I paid the bill, I was able to subtract it immediately from my budget for the month, right there at the table, and see that I am on track to be $1,000 under budget this month. (Woo hoo!)

I also noted my calorie intake immediately in my little black and white Franklin 365 Flourish. (Hey, fashion matters if you are just going to whip it out during a dinner party.) So far, tracking calories has helped me lose two pounds in two weeks. (Double woo hoo!)

Mostly, though, having the planner meant that on my drive home, I could sing "Mad World" (the Adam Lambert version) really loudly the whole way, unconcerned about money, weight, or whether I was missing an important deadline. (I was also unconcerned about fellow drivers seeing me rock it out. Perhaps I should have a bit more shame.) I take my planner everywhere, so that I don't have to keep the details and worries in my head anymore.

You see, my planner is not about feeding my OCD. It's about freeing myself from my OCD.

Etcetera.