For Me, Formidable

Today it has officially been three months since I was awarded my MBA. Three months of searching for myself, for a job, my true dreams, and what elements are important to create the life I imagine for myself. Three months of feeling inadequate in addition to the guilt of not being a contributing member of my family.

This past week I had several phone interviews, a meeting about a fundraiser, and the installation of a brand new screen door(4 years later, we might finally have some circulation!). On Monday morning, I began to make a list of the people I needed to contact for various reasons, tasks I have been procrastinating all summer, appointments I needed to remember and details for upcoming weddings I need to tend to. Lightbulb - cue the big black planner! Amazingly, all of the things I wrote down have been completed this week. However, I discovered that my planner has eleven completely blank weeks in it!

During school, I lived and breathed by my not-so-little bound calendar. Yes, I do understand the smartphone phenomenon, and can appreciate the “synch” mechanism that unites notes and appointments from your computer and email into a handheld calendar that rides in your pocket and alerts you five minutes before you need to be someplace. However, it was never effective for me. I was only organized and responsible about scheduling group meetings and making appointments when I could look at my whole week, and physically write down a place and time. The handy pockets also kept me on top of my game, reliably holding stamps, miscellaneous paperwork that seemed to be necessary everywhere at Thunderbird, and receipts. This kinetic behavior was accompanied by daily lists of to-do’s that were prioritized by project deadlines, upcoming events, and marketing timelines, as well as endless sticky notes pasted randomly with reminders and ideas. Type A, much? Ha! Yet somehow I have survived the past eleven weeks without using my planner or writing out a single list.

Admittedly, I am more prone to productivity when I have multiple responsibilities to balance – I have always operated that way. But my reunion with my planner has put several things in perspective. Yes, I do just fine without being neurotic with logistics and details. But, I will excel in an environment that appreciates my keen sense of organization. It also begs the question: which is more motivating, a blank calendar, or a full to-do list?