Dear FlyLady,

I have been reading the FlyLady emails for a long time now. I keep them coming because you never know when I’ll need the motivation and a good kick in the pants.

Two months ago I kicked myself in the pants and bought a FlyLady calendar from the website. “What do I have to lose?” I thought, “My planner refills cost almost twice as much as her 18-month calendar!”

Now, this is a HUGE departure for me. For over 15 years (when a wise piano teacher saw how crazy busy I was and told me to buy a “good” planner — exactly like hers) I have used a very well-known and pricey personal calendar. I was proud of the fact that I used it and spent a pretty penny on “systems” over the years.

I have to admit I beat myself up a little bit every time it wasn’t used quite “exactly” right as described in the user manual. Many days (OK, months and for a two years during college) I simply did not have time to make so many lists and it was more stressful knowing I wasn’t doing it “right” than to just not do it at all! I needed Anti-Procrastination days, routines and space to make my schedule “mine”.

So here I am, a mother of two, working part-time outside the home and teaching music students inside the home. Every day has “something” in it. Thanks to this awesome calendar, my whole family knows what is going on.

There is enough space to write down 4 schedules, all my students’ lesson times, plus stickers and my dinner plan for the night. Because I have routines morning and night I find I don’t need my “To Do” list on my calendar. This is more my style. It’s not glamorous, but it is WORKING.

One thought I had was, “Oh, it won’t be portable and I won’t be able to bring it with me to all my meetings.” You know what? I don’t miss dragging my (expensive) huge planner everywhere I go AT ALL. Two months of having a “HOME BASE” calendar, and my life is an open book to my loved ones and to myself.

This calendar is easy to find since it’s BIG — so it doesn’t get lost in hot spots around the house and I can find it quickly when I get a phone call. Thank you for such an excellent design. I usually hate spending money, but this was an awesome decision and saves me money and stress. That is worth a lot to me. What a great resource for all of us.

I am so glad someone in this world understands how my mind works! Many thanks from California,

FlyBaby fighting Huntington’s Disease

FlyLady here: Calendar Tip: For help in scheduling appointments while you are away from home; decide on a day you like to have appointments. I like them on a Wednesday. Take a picture of your calendar with your phone; maybe two or three months. This way you can pull the picture up if you need to refer to it when you make the appointment. Now isn’t that brilliant. A FlyBaby thought of that one. Y’all are amazing.

I have purchased every type of calendar to try to get organized. Nothing worked for me because I didn’t know how to use it. It wasn’t until I had a calendar that was in my face that I started to use it.

I really want to see a picture of your calendar wall. Please send them to me; FlyLady@flylady.net with HOME BASE in the subject line!