Planning, Reflecting, Connecting

I’m pretty sure I’m one of the lucky ones. Some days I’m not sure. By this, I mean I’m one of the ones that has been able to continue going to work uninterrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. I see you all complaining about having to stay home and how much you regret having bought a 2020 planner. I read your words, and, sometimes, depending on wear my head is at the moment, I read those kinds of statements and either think, “Yeah. Well, I’d like a little taste of getting to stay home all the time,” or “Yeah. That sounds awful. Sometimes I don’t know what to do with myself on my days off. I’ll bet everyday being like this is awful.” Even my days off are starting to creep back to normal though, and, on almost all days, having and using a paper planner is helpful for me. The tactile experience of a writing instrument on paper is a very deliberate and reinforcing experience for me, and I am glad that it is a habit that I have cultivated, even if I’m not always as consistent with it as I would like.

For my planners, I choose to use Passion Planners. Originally, years ago, I bought in because they are geared towards helping you achieve a greater sense of work/life balance. I continue to use them for that reason, and, in the last few years as the founder, Angelina Trinidad has been more open about her identity, I appreciate knowing that I am supporting a company that was founded and is run by a queer woman of color. The company also makes an intentional effort to promote diversity and to help those who are able to afford to purchase a planner, but would benefit from having help in creating structure in their lives, gain access to their products. Also, right now, 50% of all of their sales are going to support organizations that promote and support people of color.

It is helpful for me to have a space where I can not only track my schedule but also think through the tasks I need to complete for the day, record my health numbers, and to be able to think through and remind myself that, even in these extraordinarily tumultuous times, there are still good things happening. In fact, both COVID-19 and the uprisings against racial injustice around the world are providing us with opportunity to recognize the importance of looking for the good things where we can find them and to appreciate connection with each other because, for multiple reasons, that connection can be lost suddenly and without warning.  Whether it’s in a paper planner, using an app, or just sitting in silence, I hope that you are able to find ways to reflect and sustain ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually right now in whatever forms those take for you. 

~ Culbs