Chris starts the year with a circle and divides it into twelve pie-shaped wedges with big, blocky letters like "J" for January. Red tabs mark due dates for estimated taxes. He jots in holidays, draws little airplanes next to each blue swatch to indicate travel, and sketches out when he'll work on a book depending on deadlines.

Big picture and small picture plans are equally challenging for me. Even as I write this post, my attention strays from the task. I stare out the cafe window at people with heavy bags, heavy limps and canes, and wonder how they manage in the city. I notice papers strewn across the road, the big sister hoisting her little brother onto the high stool next to me, and the man speaking German two seats away.

Without a plan I feel unmoored but I'm no good at making one. Growing up in a big family, plans invariably changed. A trip to the grocery store incorporated a last-minute trip to pick up my sister at high school after band practice, and a side trip to drop her friend at home. I found it hard to count on things happening as planned.

Weirdly, when I do plan, I over-plan. It's as if I think I can squeeze an entire life into one afternoon. I fill my list with five, six, seven big to-do's and am defeated when I can't accomplish one.

All my life I've been drawn to plans and planners. I'm sure its why I was drawn to Montessori education in my twenties with its neat rows of beads and baskets and beautifully coiled rugs. I was lucky to find a teacher friend who taught me how to plan my lessons. She kept us on an unwavering schedule. Every Friday afternoon we stayed late to prep for the next week whether I felt like it or not. The payoff was terrific: when we walked into our classrooms on Monday morning there was no scrambling. Schedule and date were neatly written on the board. Homework packets were stapled in a stack. I greeted the kids feeling ready.

This year-at-a-glance pie chart helps Chris be realistic about how long, and how short, one year is. I can't achieve this but I can appreciate that a planned out year is a thing of beauty.

A year's worth of work and travel and taxes month by month.