Going Digital With My Calendar Changed Everything

As featured in Huffington Post & The Suburban

Call me crazy but the thought of losing my paper agenda has literally woken me up in the middle of the night.  How will I know what I have to do the next day? Which client I’m supposed to see? What time should I be there?  The fact that I had so much valuable information in one irreplaceable place had to stop.  I couldn’t take it anymore-- I had to go digital.

 

I have long been made fun of because of my reluctance move away from a paper agenda and onto a digital one.  Family, friends and clients want to make plans and I would have to say “wait, let me go grab my agenda”.  I would open it up and there would be scribbled notes everywhere (I have terrible handwriting) and different colored post-it notes bursting from the pages. Every night my husband would ask what my plan was for the next day, or if we had something going on that weekend.  Every time I would have to get up, locate my purse and find my agenda.  In the grand scheme of things it wasn’t that big a deal, but life is only getting busier and I knew something had to change.  

When I voiced how reluctant I was to get rid of my beloved paper agenda people would suggest making a digital copy. Write down everything on-line AND in the agenda.  I had visions of me going back and forth, computer to paper, did I write that down properly? Did I put that in the computer? Wait, let me check again just to be sure.  Ugh. That was not going to be my solution.  I had to be all in.  I had to dive into the digital world and not look back.  So I did.

I didn’t plan it  but I found myself with a few hours one afternoon and I decided to bite the bullet.  I opened up Google Calendar on my computer, downloaded the app onto my phone and got started.  Day by day, week, by week I began to transcribe what was once on paper onto the computer.  I was able to assign different colors to different categories (orange for organizing, purple for personal, green for financial stuff).  This was fun, I love to color code! I could even add notifications to remind me of events! Then I realized I could start organizing my next year. . . the paper agenda I had (that I bought because it was pretty) stopped in December 2015, but online I can go forever! I felt unstoppable! Our Mexico vacation in January, spring break, end of the school year; all of it was now in my calendar.  AMAZING.

I called my husband and told him what I had done, I invited him to the calendar and told him under no circumstances was he to sync his work calendar with mine (he has way too many meetings that I don’t care about).  All of the sudden it was 4pm and I had to go pick up the kids.  My agenda was on my desk where I had been transferring all the info into the computer.  As per my routine, I went to grab it and throw it in my purse before I left the house. Not this time. I don’t need it.  It’s all on my phone (which lets face it, in this digital age comes EVERYWHERE with me).  So I put my paper agenda in a drawer and headed out.  I wish I could tell you it was easy.  It wasn’t.  The first few days post-conversion I had that naked feeling, you know the one when you think you’re forgetting something important? I kept reaching into my purse for it.  But like any routine it just took a few days of conditioning and remembering (and some breathing exercises!) to retrain my brain.

I am proud to say that I am now two months post-transfer and couldn’t be happier.  I love having my schedule at my fingertips. I love that it’s backed up. I love that it syncs with my google maps and sends me these cute little dings about what time I should leave to get to my appointment on time.

I never thought I would; never thought I COULD, but I did it.  I made the switch, and if I can, trust me, you can do it too.  I’m not big on resolutions, but this one had been on my “to-do” list for a few years now.

So maybe it’s not “going digital” that you need to tackle, maybe there has been another item that has haunted you for a while.  I know it’s easier to keep putting it off (I certainly did) but chances are once it’s done and you’ve crossed it off your mental list you won’t regret it!

Good Luck & Happy (digital) Organizing!

 

Easy & Delicious Pecan Pie

One of my all time favorite desserts is pecan pie.  I'm not sure why, because I don't really even like pecans.  Maybe it's the Quebecer in me, having grown up eating sugar pie, (which is exactly what it sounds like, a pie filled with sugar).  Sometimes in Quebec we get fancy and use maple syrup along with brown sugar in the filling. Either way it is one of the sweetest (and therefore yummiest) desserts you will ever consume.  

Because of this nostalgia I love making pecan pie for the holidays.  A couple of years back I found a great recipe and have adapted it a bit through some trial and error.  This pie is actually pretty easy to make, mainly because I opt to not make my own crust.  I find it way too labor intensive and finicky for not enough of a payoff. The frozen crusts you can buy in the store are perfectly acceptable.  It's really all about the filling anyway.

Here is the link to what the author calls "The Perfect Pecan Pie" and here are my changes:

  • I buy frozen crusts (the recipe isn't super clear, but the filling is enough to make 2 ~9 inch pies)
  • I lightly toast the pecans first and I like a very "pecan-y" pie so I use ~2 1/2 cups of pecans, but really it's to taste ( to toast the pecans I put them on the stove-top in a dry frying pan on low-medium heat and stay very close, because they can go from toasty to burnt in seconds)
  • I sometimes use corn syrup (as they call for) but I have also substituted it for molasses
  • The recipe also doesn't specify salted or unsalted butter for the filling.  I use salted butter because it just tastes better.
  • I check my pies at the 40 minute mark, and then every 5 mins after until they're done.  Keep in mind that it will continue to cook a bit after you take it out, and you really don't want to over-bake it.
  • These pies freeze pretty well, so they can be made in advance.  Yay!

Enjoy!