KK’s ceremonies were beautiful and while tears were shed, we were also celebrating her life, which more than one person referred to as charmed. There is no question that she truly enjoyed her days (at least until her beloved husband passed away 4 years ago, but that’s a little different). She filled her 93 years with social engagements, travel, art, entertaining, and time with family. And somehow she always fit manicure appointments in there, too.
(Charmed, you guys. She was a very very lucky woman, and she both appreciated and enjoyed that.)
I was struck by Marjorie’s comment yesterday: “It’s definitely times like these that make you stop and remember why we spend so much time planning our days: so that we can make sure we make lots of time for what really matters, because life unfurls so quickly.”
YES, YES, YES.
This is at the core of why I love to plan. Our time here may be long or short (though that’s all relative, of course!), but it’s never guaranteed. It’s so cliche, but every day really IS a gift. I sometimes beat myself up for time that feels wasted– on my phone or after a rough night with the kids that (sometimes) could have been prevented with better planning (irony?) or a different attitude. And it may seem trivial to worry about any one day, hour, or minute. But in the end, those precious time slots are all we have.
Planning helps me to make the most of each of those precious slots. Even the act of planning itself helps bring a reverence to each day, once which I think is well-deserved. And the result of planning is nearly always positive. It means fitting in the habits that are important to me. It means carving space for those that I love. It means taking small steps, one at a time, towards bigger projects that are important to me, and generally steering the direction of my life, one time block at a time. It means staying on the offense with respect to life’s little loose ends, so that they don’t steal time from me later (because often forgetting something small in the present can be a much bigger time suck in the future).
So I will keep filling out my Hobonichi planners* — one daily page at a time — hopefully until I’m 93 and scheduling dates with grandchildren and programming my self-driving car to get me there.
* Well, I can’t guarantee I’ll never stray and try another brand! But to be fair to Hobonichi, they really do have every feature that I can ever imagine myself needing.
18 Comments
Yes to all of this!! ❤️❤️❤️
First and foremost, I am so sorry for your loss. Losing a loved one is never easy, but when s/he has lived a full, “charmed” life, it can be a wonderful time to celebrate the personal gifts the person has shared with the world.
I love this post so much. I haven’t always been a planner. There were times in my life when I couldn’t have kept my head above water without some form of planning (e.g., high school, college, grad school), but after school, I sort of just let life happen to me. Of course, my job requires lots of planning, but I rarely transferred those skills to my personal life.
It really wasn’t until I found Laura’s books in the midst of a breakdown after returning to work full-tiime after our second child was born that I began to look at time differently and started my journey with living all areas of my life intentionally. Then, when I found the BOBW podcast, my planning went into overdrive! It has actually become something that I truly enjoy. I love looking at my life on paper – the good and the bad. It has revealed my purpose in so many ways. I am also having so much fun teaching our 8 y/o son the joys of planning and journaling. My husband and some of my friends think my planning obsession is a bit quirky, but everyone reaps the benefits of planned events, playdates, self-care, etc.
Thank you for sharing your own personal gifts – tips on living intentionally, and of course, planning!
P.S. I know you enjoy planning in the Hobonichi Cousin, but check out the Biz Grid on Amazon Japan. It doesn’t have daily pages, which is fine for me, because I like to have my daily pages in a separate insert to reduce all the flipping, but it does have several blank pages in the back. I guess it’s pretty much like the Day Free, but with more writing space and a beautiful layout! I’ve bought one for both of my nephews (one just starting college and the other in high school).
You have inspired me to buy a planner….but it doesn’t start until Jan 2020 – I am antsy to get started!!
Love it! The Hobonichi Cousin and the Biz Grid both actually start in November 2019! It’s cheapest to buy them from Amazon Japan…and I’m in Texas. You can switch the language to English if you don’t read Japanese. You have to create an Amazon Japan account, but it’s really easy and shipping is fast.
Planner inspo and enabling 🙂 I love it!!
I actually really love the daily pages in one book 🙂 I will browse just for the sheer fun of seeing another system though! And it looks like you’ve convinced at least one reader 🙂
I love the daily pages, too, but I just don’t dig the flipping! So, I found a Hobonichi-inspired daily page insert on Etsy that works for my current needs. I’m going to use the blank pages in the back of the Biz Grid for lists and journaling.
Speaking of convincing, your lovely functional planning posts DID convince me to move up to an A5! Although, I am still using my beloved Weeks as an EDC. I bought two for 2020, so I will most like use one of them as a gratitude journal. 😊
I Love this! And now I am searching for a new planner for next year… Also I am sorry for the loss for your family.
Thank you! Now re: planner, you have to let me know what you end up trying. What are you considering?
Re: Planner – Sarah I think of your as the expert on all things planners especially after the epic planner review of 2018! I’ve been using the Day Designer 7×9 from Target which has weekly and monthly spreads. I really like their format, but am looking for daily as well. Is there anything out there that has the daily, weekly and monthly spreads (like the Hobonochi) but is under $30?
“It means taking small steps, one at a time, towards bigger projects that are important to me, and generally steering the direction of my life, one time block at a time. It means staying on the offense with respect to life’s little loose ends, so that they don’t steal time from me later (because often forgetting something small in the present can be a much bigger time suck in the future).”
I love that SO much! Especially the part about staying on the offense with regard to life’s loose ends. I identify with that completely.
Loved reading the obit. Her life sounds incredible. What’s the story behind spreading butter on Doritos?!
Apparently she did this. There is a photo of her enjoying this snack with one of her great grandchildren and both look quite serious in their snacking mindset. Not necessarily recommended when you have type 2 diabetes (as she did), but hey – she made it to 93! With gusto 🙂
Sarah, this is the intro to your book should you decide to write one! (and PLEASE write one!)
thank you so much!
I really do want to still!
I simply love this post. Sometimes it is required to remind ourselves of why we like to plan and in this post, set in the context of leading a fulfilling life, somehow the significance is coming out so clearly. Thanks for posting this
I think this is one of your most eloquent posts. Beautifully written <3
Your joy in planning was always a bit of a mystery to me; I could see the utility of it, but not really the pleasure. This sentence really helped me understand: “Even the act of planning itself helps bring a reverence to each day, once which I think is well-deserved.” Thanks for such a wonderfully expressed idea.
thanks so much!!