staying organised: midori 1 day 1 page

It is blindingly sunny outside, not a single cloud in sight. A bright orange plastic chair sits in front of the glass double doors that open to the balcony. The black linen drapes filter the light that comes inside, draping behind the chair. It is not the most comfortable chair to sit on, but feeling the warmth of the sun after weeks of rainy weather is worth it. A pool of light falls to the hardwood floors, warming it up under your toes. It’s a good day to be alive.

I generally like using diaries and planners to keep track of my days, but just like most people, I lost all sense of organisation and planning during covid and all the uncertainty it brought. 2022 is a new year, and my only goal is to start planning again and look forward to what tomorrow will bring. That is how I came by the Midori 1 Day 1 Page diary. I have it in A6 size, which is small enough to carry around without much struggle, and still large enough to write appointments, Zoom meetings and lectures. Hourly schedule works the best for me as I can see how much of my day will be spent on doing what at a glance. There are very talented people keeping their diaries with doodles, stickers and in an aesthetically pleasing way. I am not one of those. My diary is filled with chicken scratch and bright post-it notes.

Most importantly, this planner survived my backpack. Yes, the overstuffed monstrosity that I haul to school almost everyday. The bookmarks are a little frayed, but the white leatherette cover is almost spotless. My favourite thing is the tastefully done branding though. 2022 embossing on the spine is simply brilliant and the little square with “MD Paper” writing looks more like a little decoration than a brand logo.

This is how I am using my planner right now, even though I wasn’t very consistent in the beginning. I got covid for the first time in January, and it brought me back to the uncertain, panic filled days of 2020 again. It took a long time for me to feel better and get back on track, and the school’s inconsistent schedule that changes constantly is not helping. While I wasn’t using my planner, chaos unfurled quickly in the form of last minute projects and nearly missed deadlines. Once, I forgot that I was supposed to cook dinner for a couple of friends and our time together turned into a grocery shopping and cooking night. It was fun, but I was still embarrassed for forgetting. Since I started using a planner daily again, it cleared up a lot of mess and eased my mind. If I’m not writing something down, I am always anxious that I’ll either forget it or I’ve already forgotten it.

Right now, most of the pages are empty and I like to daydream about what they will contain in a week, a month, a season. Today, I might have a lecture at 8.45, but I wonder what will I be doing on 17th of April at 8.45? Will I go on a holiday during the summer? Will the sea be warm and the sun shining? Will it snow before the end of March?

At the other hand, I also like to leaf through the filled pages to see what I was doing. It is quite encouraging to look back a successfully passed deadline and be a little more hopeful about the one approaching. I record the books that I have started or finished and the pen & ink I felt like using that day. Keeping some kind of track about my life makes me feel like I’m not as lost as I tend to think. The future might be uncertain and a little scary, but today doesn’t have to be. Planning with a clear head in the morning reminds me of this, and makes my day a little better.

I have used different sort of planning systems in different times of my life as needs and schedules change. Right now I need to micromanage myself a little more, and the hourly schedule of Midori 1 Day 1 Page makes it easy to do so.

Thank you for reading!

Spotify link for a song.