I’ve started writing a new book! So stoked. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve been able to really write anything and I have really missed it. It’s a spy romance and it has a whole lot, but I’m not here to talk about all that today. Sorta.
See, the love interest has a paper productivity planner. He’s an assistant to the protagonist, kind of, and most assistants have some type of journal or planner they use to keep track of their boss’ schedule. More or less. And, of course, it got me thinking.
I use a planner my own self, an HB90 planner that is my ride or die. Honestly, it helps me a whole lot. So I figured it would be super cool if this guy had one too. (Not the HB90. Something closer to a bullet journal of the traditional style.) Just from my own experience, planners are a great way to manage the life thing, but I wanted to know if this was me feeding myself a line, or not.
And boy howdy! Science is pretty firm on this topic, but the reactions to said research are all over the map! Some blame hustle culture and others blame corporate culture, and yet others peg the reason for it’s prevalence among women due to overwork and sexism. That last one? Yeah, I get it.
On top of all that, one of the folks who originally brought productivity planning into the mainstream has noped right out of it. Not because it didn’t work, but because it gave him more time to put more things on his plate.
It seems to me that productivity planning, and planners too, have a knee-jerk reaction that transcends scientific reasoning. However, it would make a great little personal detail for a character. And a great little conflict between characters. Just, you know, something to think about.
T.A. Creech
www.tacreech.com
Science in the pursuit of Fiction.