On January 13th 2010, Elie bought me an iTouch as a gift. I remember the date because it was the twins due date. He was being thoughtful, buying me something I wanted on a day that was all about not having what I wanted.

I quickly took to the gadget, installed apps and started using the calendar… a few months later I got an iPhone and dumped my traditional calendar and notepad and have never looked back.

Until recently.

We were preparing for our vacation and my head felt like the inside of a pinball machine with all the bits and pieces of information I was tossing around in it. Work stuff, family stuff, Muchness stuff. The truth is, I never fully integrated the digital organization system into my life. Not fully. When I was finally able to admit it to myself, I decided enough was enough.

I know that little notebooks have never worked for me for all sorts of reasons, and I know that no matter what I choose to use to it has to be Muchy and call out to me if I’m gonna be consistent about it. So I went to an art and stationary store to see what I could find and it did not disappoint. Like a beacon of color and Muchness, the wall of personal organizers called out to me. I found the color – PINK! – that felt right and then- I turned the corner and saw the most amazing display of specially designed little papers and pockets and rulers and knick-knacks- even colorful post-it notes, all made to fit into the book.

I figured if this didn’t help me get organized, nothing could.

It’s been about a month.

I’ve been asked by more than one person if I am one of those people who refuses to “upgrade” to a digital system. My answer is NO! I have upgraded FROM a digital system to a system that works for ME! My book fits in my bag. It goes with me everywhere. I’ve stopped using a wallet and keep all my credit cards and cash in the book. (which, is actually not much larger than my wallet, and a LOT more practical.)

The fact is, now that I have started sticking to a system that works for me, I feel more organized and less stressed. I’ve gotten things off my to-do list that have been on it for months years and every time I grab that well-made pink book from my bag to make a note of something, I get a jolt of Muchness because my head feels less jumbled and I know if I mark something in there, it’ll be right where it’s supposed to be.

Now, you know I am a product designer and inventor, and I TOTALLY have 100 ideas for how to take that baby up a notch and make it even MORE functional and awesome. (Are you listening FILOFAX people- I’m talking to YOU!!! Call me! 😉 ) But check out what I DID do:

I created custom colorful subject tabs for the things in my life I need to keep organized and easy to access…. ***Side Note: What does it say that the MUCHNESS tab is before the FAMILY tab? And that BRAINSTORM tab? That’s where I put all my REALLY new ideas. 😉

Then, taking a tip from my OOTM (Obsession of the Moment) Marie Forleo, I created something that I was surprised filofax didn’t already make; a YEARS in advance calendar. (Since they didn’t have one, I got to make mine muchy) See, Marie says that in order to reach our goals, the first step is CLARITY- knowing exactly what those goals are. She also had a sit-down with another inspiring woman, Gabi Bernstein, who said the following: “Those who are certain of the outcome can afford to wait, and wait without anxiety.” and a little less anxiety is a huge gift to myself these days.

I have a long term goal (is 18 months technically “long-term”? Cuz to me it feels like forever from now… I’m a NYer- I like to move quickly…) and I am certain of the outcome- and so I put it on my calendar.

My the time September 2013 rolls around, I expect to be at my goal. Seeing it every day (multiple times) when I open my filofax reminds me what I’m working towards and that it WILL be reality.

~~~~~Side story I was reminded of…~~~~
I met Elie in November 2005. When I bought my 2006 calendar just a couple of weeks later, I went about filling in all the birthdays and anniversaries of my friends and family… Being silly, I did some basic time calculations and ‘decided’ I was going to marry this guy I’d been dating for basically 10 minutes, in October 2006. There were a bunch of jewish holidays in October and only two sundays that would be logical wedding dates. I marked one on the calendar as “my wedding day” and promptly forgot about it. By the time February rolled around I’d totally lost the calendar… long story short, I don’t even need to finish the story, right? I found the calendar years later when I was pregnant with Molly and we were moving into our house and lo and behold, we’d gotten married on “My Wedding Day.” See? this stuff works. 😀

Which brings me to my Pic Of the Day!

Yes, That’s me and my Filofax. (With my Marie Mantra “Everything is Figureoutable” sticker on the side.) It’s not just that my filofax makes me feel muchy, it’s that I took this pic while waiting for them to finish my car’s oil change, which was well overdue, but finally got done cuz I put it in the book!!

***Note to self- put “eyebrow grooming” in the book. That’s also been on your to-do list forever.

***Edited to add: Filofax didn’t pay me to write this- though they really should have. 🙂 I just really love that product.