I received a year planner from my family at Christmas. I've never been one to keep up with a planner. Sometime around this time each year, I realize I don't keep track of enough stuff to justify having one. There may be two or three points during the year when I think it might come in handy, but once those times have passed, I once again don't need to lug around yet another item.

Well this one is different. First of all it's a Moleskin (I think that's the name) so the quality and design is up to my snotty standards. Secondly -- and what has made all the difference -- I decided to use it solely to keep track of my writing progress each day.

And it has worked. Too well, possibly. I realized sometime last week that I had neglected the website in almost two months. For shame. I think there's enough time in my day to do both. I think the secret is keeping the website entries and the journal entries reasonably small.

I'll sit down, last thing each day, and write around three short sentences about what I edited, critiqued, wrote, outlined, whatever writing-related activity I accomplished. Then I'll write a reasonable goal for the following day. This gives me something specific to ruminate on over night. I know just what I need to write the next time I sit down to the keyboard.