Paper Planning: And other ways in which I preserve my sanity

Let me just be frank here. Half the time, I don't remember what day it is, what the date is, how old I am, how old my husband is, what year I graduated college, and we're not even going to start on when which bills are due.  My husband doesn't really excel in these areas either, but using our combined brain power (When these elements combineeeeeeee... Wait,  you're too young to remember that? Moving on.), we usually manage to run a pretty steady household.

That kicked the bucket right around the time our son was born, my husband went back to grad school, and I started my business. Epic. Fail.

Things fell through the cracks. Who am I kidding? Things fell into the Grand Canyon by the ton.

And that's when I decided to stop fooling myself into thinking that I would REALLY check my calendar in my phone or iPad.

Ladies and gentleman, I went old school.

Meet my Filofax Original A5 in Fluoro Orange....Better known as my Work Lifeline:

Let's just move on from the fact that it's NEON ORANGE and AMAZING and proceed right to why I like it so much:

• I can add to and take away from it without ripping pages out. That really squicks me out when I have ripped pages in a planner. With a ring binder system, you can easily add dividers for different sections. My current sections are: Work (with subsections for To-Do, Time Keeping, Project Notes), Laura Prestwich Designs (the same subsections as my Work section), Household (Log-Ins, Maintenance, To-Do), and finally, Journal. In the Journal section, I use a calendar insert to journal little things that Riley is doing. It's kind of a on-the-go baby book.

• I have plenty of room to work...And decorate! Look, writing down my endless list of projects isn't exactly inspiring. How do I cope with that?  I use washi tape. Don't you judge me.

• You know what, let's backtrack. It's NEON ORANGE.  I love the way this planner looks and feels. The leather is solid and smooth...and NEON. If it was ugly, I wouldn't use it. Look, I'm a designer. Aesthetics are important to me. 

• Writing things down really does help you remember things. When I write my projects down, it helps me to form a plan of attack. I usually do this before I go to bed, and in addition to helping me clear my mind to sleep, I feel like I'm more primed to get things done in the morning.

So what do you think? Do you use a paper planner? Does it help you stay organized?