I made a to-do list. Really,  it’s more like a schedule of to-dos, with actual dates and due dates included. I believe some people call it a “calendar.” I’m sure one would assume I’d have done such a thing long before now, but nope, not really. I dislike feeling beholden to a calendar, so I’ve kept one only for actual appointments and events for a while now. However, now that I’m back in school and juggling all the personal and family stuff going on at the same time, it’s very easy to get very behind on my studying and assignments without a stricter form of organization. Looking at the syllabus to check for upcoming assignments just isn’t cutting it. I haven’t missed any due dates or anything, but I’m operating on a deadline-to-deadline basis these days, and since I’m about to add an accelerated stats class to the line-up for the second two-thirds of my semester–why yes, I am insane!, especially since I’ve not had a math class in 20 years<—that’s not hyperbole–I figure I better go old school and return to a more efficient system that doesn’t leave me in a constant state of stress.

Right now, my calendar is a handwritten grid on a legal pad with the current week’s work schedule because I’m an artist and I’m awesome like that. I have a Google calendar that syncs with my various techno-gadgets, but I like to see school-related stuff laid out in front of me on paper so I can make a plan of attack for the reading and study time leading up to the due dates. I may have to break down and go buy a planner. The good news is that I can probably find one on clearance somewhere because it’s February. The bad news is that it’s one more THING to keep track of, in addition to the cell phone, iPad, laptop, books, notebook, etc.

Speaking of the iPad, I never thought I’d be into it, but other than being addicted to it in general, I use it constantly for school. I’ve emailed the lab manuals and all the PowerPoint lecture slides for both of my science classes to my Kindle app, and I use a Martha Stewart app and the swank new stylus I got for Christmas to diagram photos of my slides and dissections. It’s good stuff. I’m sure there’s an awesome productivity app to be had there as well, but you have to open those to see them, so I might just have to keep it simple so the calendar stays in front of me as a reminder of what I should be doing when studying sounds like a less than stellar way to spend a Saturday night. But really, what lame-o doesn’t want to dissect a cat in her kitchen on a Saturday night?