A Fresh Start

A new year is always exciting, it is a fresh start. Like opening a bright new planner, notebook, Moleskine; a clean start full of promises. True that resolutions can be started any day of the year; but at the beginning of the NY we can look back and balance our life, what when right, what went wrong. I do it every year, and I can say that often many of my resolutions didn’t quite happened the way I envisioned at the beginning of the year (going for a run every day at 7:00 am 🙂 ), but if I look back a few years, or many years back, I see that many of the things I had planned did happen after all. And so this year too I’m opening my bright new planner, like a white canvas.

Which Planner

As soon as I discovered the “Bullet Journal” system, I bacame a fan. I loved it because there is no imposed dates, because it has an index where I find everything past, and because there I annotate everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. From finances, to the laundry routine, trips, meals, and whatever else is needed to lower the stress one’s life. In short everything is there from the trivial to the life-saving info.

Paper or Electronic

I had tried many writinng tools online. Evernote, OneNote, and others. Although they all have their merits I chose “Agenda” because of its clean look and the way the categories, and subjects are organized, and linked to the calendar. Of course, it syncs immediately among the three MAC platforms: iPhone, iPad, and MAC.   

Agenda

What I like about Agenda the most, is that I can use it as a Bullet Journal, but online. Fantastic!

I created a Category called “Dailies” (It can be called Monthlies too :-), where I have my INDEX (one per year because it becomes rather long); and then the months. To keep them in order I numbered them, or else they go in alphabetical order. 

Each month has the days listed with weekend in bold, and on each day I enter all my appointements and commitments as I know them and as soon as I know them. The current month stays on the “On the Agenda” that way it comes up immediatley.

For each month I create a new Project per day; I assign the date to it, that way it comes up on the TODAY, when it is needed. My “project day” has my todos, Done! and all the notes that I needed to remember (important things, addresses, discussions, money that I need to plan for something, notes on appointments I went, etc.), and thoughts of the day. I can add pictures, documents, and PDFs as well.

All these things are then briefly marked on the Index with the date, so that I can find it easily. Yes there is a search button, but most of the time I forget how I mark things (did I write “call M. tomorrow” or “Facetime my son tomorrow”?)

Paper Books

This is not a bright new “NY Resolution,” but one that has been sitting in my mind for a while. Streamlining my home library. I have so many books, some I liked so much, some I didn’t. Some I would not read again for nothing in the world. Plus I noticed, that I had accumulated over the years quite a few books like “… I’ll read this when…” But now I can’t even find them among the books I own. So I need to streamline. From time to time I take a few to a place downtown where they collect books; Leave what you don’t need, take what you like, kind-of-place. 

Going More Eletronic

Of course I buy more books for my kindle now. That way I can have all English titles as soon as they are out. There is always a debate about reading electronically or in paper. I love to read on kindle, it is practical, small, and doesn’t weight as much as a book. Much more portable than a book. At night it is fantastic to read in bed lights off. If it is a rainy night, than is priceless!

Kindle vs iPad

No doubt Kindle is gentler to your eyes at night than the iPad. But I do not dismiss the iPad entirely because some books like art books, photography books, or tourist guides are wonderful on an iPad. Definetly better that the Kindle. Although I own more than one copy of the “Divina Commedia” I decided that the best way to (re)read it is on an iPad. Jumping back and forth on the book and checking the numerous notes, footnotes, and references is invaluable.

A Note on the Book above

It is a book by Vittorio Sgarbi, is an Italian art critic, art historian, politician, cultural commentator and television personality. In 1996 he was condemned for fraud against the Italian State. He was appointed curator of the Italian Pavilion at the 2011 Venice Biennale. Several times a member of the Italian Parliament, he served also in Milan’s municipal government. As taken from Wikipedia. His personality is a tad too exuberant and flamboyant! I wish Sgarbi would let go of politics, but dedicate his time as art historian where he truly excels.

This book “Dal Cielo Alla Terra, I Tesori d’Italia III” (From heaven to earth. The treasure of Italy III) is the third of this series. A flurry of painters of the 500s, more or less known, with their best paintings seen and commented by Vittorio Sgarbi. Wonderful illustrations, makes you feel like to see them all. On an iPad the images are truly at their best.