Adrift without a paddle

May 22, 2009

For most of the week I haven’t been able to print a calendar.

I could print all sorts of other things. But not a calendar. Well, not the calendar I use. I could print a blank calendar from another program, but it wasn’t what I really needed.

I felt ridiculously thwarted.

Because the calendar I wanted to print was the one I use for my daily log.

I know it doesn’t sound like a big deal, but I’ve figured out what works and that calendar is what works.

It’s a system I’ve grown rather attached to. And I’ve been adrift without it.

So thank goodness for the talents of my resident geeky sweetheart who found the truly obscure solution to the problem (one I never ever would have discovered on my own).

Now I can get back to business as usual.

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What are the tools and systems you use everyday that you couldn’t do without?

Me? I’m keeping the calendar AND the resident geeky sweetheart. ;-)

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Organized under Uncategorized.

6 responses


  1. 1091 days ago,
    Tara said:

    What does this look like? I mean, how much of it is spelled out (To do list HERE)? Reading your response to JoVE, I just pictured a blank sheet of paper!


  2. 1091 days ago,
    Cairene said:

    @Tara -
    I spell out quite a bit (but that’s me, I like a decent amount of structure). I have time blocked off on my calendar each day for certain activities (just the same way you’d create appointments). When I print that out the software creates a column down the left side of the page with my “schedule” and leaves the right side of the page blank for notes, to-do’s, etc. I don’t follow it exactly (ew), but it does keep me from wandering aimlessly through my day – and I capture a ton of info along the way by making notes as I go. I usually print a week or two at a time, so I can make notes about what I need/want to do later on. And I keep them all in a three-ring binder (which I purge occasionally) so I can look back and see what I did when (very handy – it’s how I was able to do this: http://thirdhandworks.wordpress.com/2009/04/29/newsletter-whats-normal/). Does that give you a better idea?
    P.S. Just occurred to me that at the time I wrote that description to JoVE, I wasn’t using the calendar software yet. I was still using my own kludgy little handmade sheets – so, yeah, it makes sense you’d think I started with a blank page!


  3. 1091 days ago,
    Tara said:

    Very cool! What software do you use? (or is that super secret?)


  4. 1091 days ago,
    Cairene said:

    @Tara
    Oh heavens no! no big secret. I use Entourage (mac version of outlook), but iCal prints the same format. Must be the standard “daily calendar” layout.


  5. 1089 days ago,
    Melissa Grossman said:

    My mousepad/notepad is my organizational lifeline. On it I keep mt list of to-do’s for the week, notes-to-self, web addresses I want to keep tabs on for a while, books I want to read, etc. At the end of the week, the keepers are added to a notebook, but then the old sheet with the cross-offs and discards is torn off and added to the recycle bin. I found this mousepad/notepad at Target a few years ago. Only $3 per, so I stocked up. Now I’m near the end of my stash, and panicky because Target no longer stocks them! Researching options about concocting my own…you know that old trope about necessity.


  6. 1089 days ago,
    Cairene said:

    @Melissa -
    Love it. What a great idea! Best of luck in replacing them.