Each year at this time I start to plan the next step in my life. I buy calendars, datebooks and planners for the coming year. I buy big desk calendars that I hang on the wall and write on. In the planners I start filling in any information that I want to keep for the next year like birthdays and information I may need when I am away from my rolodex such as emergency numbers. I carry my small planner with me everywhere and my big planner stays at home.

When I buy the big planners they usually come with calendars for the next two years. I use these to write my long term goals. I have to categorize (and color code) everything so I have lists for what I want to accomplish in terms of my visual art, my writing, my education, my websites, my personal and spiritual goals and so on.

My planner allows me to divide the year into quarters so I use that. Dividing my year like this allows me to plan for shorter goals and track my progress more easily. I get sidetracked easily and being able to look at my short term goals keeps my impatience and frustration level down.

I have a business plan that extends ten years out. I write down where I want to be in ten years, then five yeas. I write where I want to be a year from now, then detail what I am going to do to get there. I break the year into quarters, then by month, by week then by day. No, I don’t break it down into hours, but I could. Each Sunday (almost) I write what I want to get done that week. Whenever I feel I am forgetting something I go to my list and check it. “Oh, yeah. I forgot I was supposed to do that. I even write down important phone calls I need to make.

I know this may be a bit too anal for some, but I have been making lists since I was a teenager. It’s natural for me and keeps my ADD type thoughts in line. If I don’t write things down I fritter the time away and find myself asking, “Is it March already? Where did the time go?”

I have created some blank lists on my computer. Every so often I print out my weekly To-Do list in several colors, just to keep things interesting. Then I can just grab one, fill in the date and write down what I wan to get done for that week.

I have some aids that help me keep my life on track. I have a set of cards I downloaded from an art business site that remind me to take time to market my work or take time to create new works. One can spend too much time marketing and not producing or vice versa. They remind me to seek inspiration, clean out my accumulated clutter or take the day off.

I also have a set of Goddess cards someone gave me that remind me to surround myself with positive people or that I am the only one standing in my way. I need these little reminders when I get too bogged down or discouraged.

I even have a bucket list. That’s a list of things I want to do before I kick the bucket.

So, there you have it. A small glimpse into the way I try to keep my life on track. I am not saying it works all the time, but for me it’s actually a fun and calming thing to do.

I haven’t gone into the vision books and artist journals. That’s another story.