Clean Up Your Life

Excusing my bedroom, which can go from spotless to whirlwind in less than 60 seconds, I’m a pretty organized person. I make a lot of lists with titles like “To Do”, “Book Recommendations”, “Songs to Download”, and “Reasons Why Garden Gnomes are Funny.”

I like to have something that tells me if anything pressing needs to be done that day. This becomes even more imperative during the school year when my brain becomes jumbled with factoids and time lines, and I have to keep track of scary deadlines and due dates. I think my need to organize my academic life stems from the glory days of the trapper keeper. RIP my Lisa Frank Technicolor trapper keeper.

If I was made of money I would buy some paperless gadget, such as a Blackberry, but because I'm not, each year I purchase a planner from Franklin Covey. And for paper planners, these really rock it out. I use mine all the time and I would cry like a bunny if I lost it. (I bet you weren’t aware that bunnies did a lot crying, were you?). The reason I particularly enjoy planners from Franklin Covey is that they have a myriad of options…sizes, colors, shapes, daily, monthly, weekly …that allow for customization of your planning experience. In essence, you can find a planner that is an extension of you, dear reader.

The designs are usually simple and clutter-free. Quotes also adorn each week’s pages. For example, for the week of August 10-26, Ayn Rand tells me that “Honor is self-esteem made visible in action.” Deep and inspirational. Doubly great for adding as an attention getter to your term paper’s intro paragraph. Or as something to slip into conversation. It’s a sure-fire way to appear smart and impress the guys and/or ladies.

Franklin Covey planners also have these handy charts in the back. There are pages devoted to task sheets, gift ideas, party planning, medical records, important numbers and automobile information. OK, a lot of them are totally excessive. (I shit you not, there are blanks for family and friends’ shirt size, neck size, coat size, pant size, dress size, skirt size and cologne/perfume). So yes, I may not actually use all of these guides, but I do see their merit. Martha Stewart would definitely fill that bitch out.

Not only can you find them at Franklin Covey stores, but you can also get them at Target, once again proving that Target is the best store ever and is well on its way to glorious universal domination.

Franklin Covey Web site