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Saturday, March 5, 2011

Empty Planner

Last night I filled in my new 2011-2012 Moleskine planner (which you can read about here) with family birthdays and the American holidays (which I like to write in since Moleskine doesn't print the name of the holiday on the day spaces).  Normally when I "set up" a new planner, I write in upcoming events, appointments, and local contacts.

Then I realized, I don't have any.

Moving to a new country is unnerving in a lot of ways. Part of that for me is the "empty planner" syndrome.

I have no plans past March 23rd.  I don't know where I'll be living (beyond a general idea).  I don't have an address or a phone number. I don't know anyone there so I have no contacts.

I have nothing to write in my planner.

A similar feeling is that of "no keys."  That happens when I leave someplace and am in transit to someplace else. I don't own a car at that moment so I have no car keys. I left my old house behind and am not at my new house yet so I don't have house keys.  You get the idea. Having no keys makes me feel like I'm caught in the middle of two realities, past and future.

I'm feeling like that right now with my empty planner.

My plans for the next couple of weeks consist mostly of preparing for this move. But then once that is done, I have no set plans.  Just pages and pages of empty day spaces.

For a planning person like me, it's very unnerving.

5 comments:

  1. Dont worry Laurie. When you get there and need to get settled I am sure you will have so much to do with organising yourself and your family, schools, organising driving license etc etc.

    I know it must be disconcerting but your pages wont stay blank for long!

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  2. I love planners too and, like you, I'm moving to a new country. I hope to fill my planner up with things to take care of; notifying people of addresses, going to appointments to sign up for healthcare, job searches, etc. If you're like me, you'll write all the things you need reminding. Good luck and best wishes!

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  3. I am surprised you are moving again. You haven't been long in Scotland.
    I know the feeling. When we arrived here after the move, my planner was crying our loud for new stuff and it all came automatically. With the 18 month planner I have stopped using the pocket notebook and there is lots of stuff that finds its place now in the planner: thoughts, quotes, to do lists, pictures ....
    I am sure your planner won't stay empty for long.

    Happy Weekend
    Marcus

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  4. I felt just like that when I changed jobs a while back. Even though I was with the same organization, all my "important dates" were no longer notable.

    Of course I had to buy a new planner for my new job - duh! - so I busied myself putting family birthdays and notations for such holidays as "Valentine's Day!" (as if that didn't already exist!). After I ran out of those, I flipped ahead a random number of pages and wrote out some quotes. And after that (see the obsessive streak?), I stuck down bits of washi tape here and there for a splash of color.

    Here's the funny thing, though. I immediately got really busy in my new job, and I guess I sort of forgot the random bits I'd written and stuck in. It still makes me smile every time one pops up, so I'm glad I took the time to give something to my future self!

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  5. mysteryofiniquity, my current planner is filled to the brim with moving prep, for sure. But my new planner that starts in July is the empty one.

    But like you said CP and notebooktivity, I'm sure once I get there my planner will fill in naturally.

    Robin I LOVE your idea of adding surprise quotes and pretty things in future planner pages!! I'm sure they will make me smile in those future weeks to come across those. Thanks for such an inspiring idea!

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