Balancing life and everything that goes with it can be challenging. Especially in today’s world with so many choices on how to organize your life – millions of apps to choose from, planners around every corner, computers, tablets, smart phones all with their own promises of making life easier. But then its one more thing you have to take care of and keep track of. Even making the choice can be overwhelming. I walked into a craft store – and a book store – with the intention of determining the ultimate planner that was perfect for me.

I’m a little old fashioned – I prefer to write things down, and check things off with colored pens, rather than using an app. Flipping through the pages, seeing the different colors, and feeling the pages between my hands – its fun! Even more satisfying is making that red checkmark to indicate I completed something. I prefer writing to typing (all my posts I hand write first), and I prefer reading books to a Kindle. Certain things are more fun, and more definitive than tapping a screen to mark it off. Kind of like slamming down a phone when you are pissed off at the person on the other hand is way more satisfying than clicking end on the screen.

Finding a planner that worked for me took a few tries- and a few years. It was overwhelming at times as well. So many options but hard to determine without actually utilizing the planner itself. Plus I get anxious in crowds, and anytime someone walked up behind me, I felt like I was in their way. Finally, after a lot of searching, and with the help of the internet (I’m not old-fashioned about everything), I found a system that worked for me. One that didn’t feel like a chore to complete, and I enjoyed taking the time to fill out. Finding that balance in organizing is the first key to success. Walking away because it became so much is fine – and allows time to find the thing that does work. What have you walked away from because it became too much?