Join me as I launch Fuzzy Boxes, my take on mindful productivity and personal planning. As a self-styled organized imperfectionist, Fuzzy Boxes is the result of many years thinking about how to make sense of the multitude of competing thoughts, needs, actions that cross the inbox of my mind on a daily basis.
I wear many hats, but currently claim “mom”, “wife”, “that American lady”, and “bionic 47 year-old” (I have had both of my hips replaced). and Geographic Information Systems educator”. Naturally, I wish add to “intuitive and insightful business owner and creator of a personal organization brand” to that list. Check back to see how that fits in time.
Hailing originally from Los Angeles, I have lived in Berlin, Germany; Dublin, Ireland; Washington, DC; and London, UK. About a year ago my husband and six-year old son moved to London from LA and now live in an unusually roomy house in the suburbs of the “Big Smoke” with seven apple trees and three foxes living in the back garden. And in case you’re wondering – I don’t really miss the weather in SoCal. I love my home state, but I also love the experience of the seasons here. Plus, there are no mosquitos (huge win there!).
I have lived a life that has swung (or perhaps hovered) between working to making ends meet and following my heart. My husband and I lean into adventure when we can, and with the addition of our son in our lives six years ago, have fashioned a journey that reflects necessity and opportunity. Case in point – when we were offered the opportunity for visa sponsorship to live in the UK, it was one we couldn’t pass up.
As a compulsive planner, researcher, box-ticker, and over-thinker, I have excelled as an administrator and all-around get-things-doner. But as an intuitive, feeling, intellectual, and spiritual soul-searcher, I often struggled to find a fluid, logical space in my day and in my brain for shifting between these two parts of me – which I wanted to do on a daily basis!
I was drawn to create my own planner when I realized that the marketplace for planners (both the kind you’d find at a stationary store and as a digital download) was awash with generic planners that had a lot of bloat (in my opinion) of things I didn’t need or want. It seemed like traditional planner conventions and designs were the default. More recently, the advent AI has led to an influx of inflexible, uninspiring, ingenuine design work. From a personal taste and aesthetic perspective, I was unhappy with the amount of waste on a page – flowery fonts, little lines where I was “supposed” to write something. . . just lots of fluff I didn’t need. As an unofficial user experience aficionado, I wanted to make something I enjoyed using and that I felt reflected what I call my “Fuzzy Boxes philosophy”: an approach to organization where the things we are organizing – from daily tasks to life ambitions – are contained within boxes that give structure. The boxes themselves are not hard and impermeable: all aspects of our lives, from the everyday to the big picture, flow into each other in a way that is both profound and motivating. Everything we do is part of that big picture, and Fuzzy Boxes reminds us to habitually connect with all levels of life experience.
To round it all out, however, it a bit of humor. Don’t take it all too seriously. Those boxes are fuzzy for a reason – they are soft, easy to handle, and offer comfort and a good laugh when it is needed.
Ultimately, Fuzzy Boxes is an expression of my own journey on the way to balance, clarity, self-awareness, and seeing more than just a day ahead. I hope that my journey and this output will help you along the way to becoming your best future self.