No more frantic pressure to get everything done in one day. It’s a gentler, easier way to approach my life’s work. Eventually, I put this information to use, but it’s nice to have a place to put it, so it doesn’t get lost. The right side of the pad is for making note of things that people tell me that I need to remember, or for writing down an interesting thought or a book title that someone recommended, or whatever else comes up. I just write whatever didn’t get done on the next page, which is now the new list. I’ll work on that list for a day or two–or maybe for a whole week–before writing a new list on a clean sheet. If it seems like I need to put off an item until tomorrow or next week, I put an “X” beside it and write it on the sheet underneath it. If it seems like the right time to take care of one of the items on the list, I do it and check it off. I check the list ever so often as the day unfolds. I label the left column, “To Do,” and the right column, “Notes.” Then I proceed to write down everything that I need to do. Here’s how it works: First, I divide the legal pad into two column with a pencil and a straight edge. In fact, my one organization tool–outside of the family wall calendar in the kitchen–is a pink legal pad.

In the old days when I used to be stressed and obsessed, I carried around two planners and scheduled every moment of my day so that I could exercise the utmost efficiency.

People tell me all the time that I’m “so organized” and that they wonder how I get so much accomplished.

Planner pad system