On the recording, there’s a heavy thunk, then the sound of objects scattering. I had just asked my interviewee to describe the tools she used to write, and like many of the folks I’d talked to before her, she started by talking to me about which tools she used to plan, then pulled out what she carried around with her to help illustrate her process.<\/p>\n

After describing how she uses Excel sheets to create a \u201cconsolidated syllabus\u201d and Google Calendar on her phone to track classes, doctors\u2019 appointments, and her fiance\u2019s schedule, Kristen described how she used a paper planner to make sense of it all. \u201cSo then this comes out, and I’ll only do a week at a time, because otherwise there’s way too much.\u201d She flipped open the planner to show me. It was a Day Designer with a floral patterned cover which she had arranged as if out of habit with her case of Staedtler pens at the ready.<\/p>\n

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