Hello! I Would Like to Introduce You to My Planner

It does not have a nickname, because the brand name is cool enough for me.

It's a Slingshot Organizer, put out each year by the Slingshot Collective. 

I've used this planner for 7 full years.Not the exact same one, of course. I buy a brand new one every year.

Normally I try to get a red one or a teal one, but I ordered directly from the "manufacturer" this year so they sent me a random color. 

I dig the spoopiness of it. 

The Slingshot is the first planner that has really clicked with my brain. I tried so many different options before this one, but this is the only one that stuck. 

Now, the first time I bought a Slingshot, it was an impulse purchase. I was at Park Ave CDs in Orlando and I bought it because I thought it looked cool and it was the end of the year. 

I'd been buying planners through year, but none of 'em made it through February... until this one. 

I honestly do not know why... it's just empty squares with no guidance really on how to use it as a planner. You think my OCD brain would take to one of the planners with strict rules and guidelines (and stickers!) but nope, my brain prefers this punk rock baybee - especially once I cracked the cover of it.

I don't really use the monthly calendar, but they do exist in this spiral bound book - and each one (I believe) is arted by a different artist! Each week too!

So I do take some time to look at them. And try, at the very least to figure out the theme. 

(Lemme know if you wanna see your month!) (or week)

I just opened to a random September week so you didn't have to suffer through my chicken scratch. 

As you can see, every single day has at least one radical fact on it - from the birth of Helen Keller (I picked that one because it is happening on our closing date and I have looked at that date a LOT of times) to yesterday's fact, "In 1847 Margaret Brent became the first American woman to demand the right to vote".

Do you the they intentionally CHOSE that date?! Regardless, it makes me sicker. More sick? Fuck it. I'm not a real person anyways. 

Not according to the government at least. Real people have complete agency over their bodies. 

Not only does this planner help me to keep my freelance business (and our podcast, Your Favorite Episode) organized... it also has a built in place to track my dang period. 

I used an app to track my period for years, but yesterday I deleted all of my info off of it, then deleted the app off my phone. Why did I do this? Well, it is tied to the overturn of Roe v. Wade yesterday. Most of the tracking apps sell your information to third parties. There is one app called Stardust that I know that does not, but they haven't yet released the app on Android. It is available in the Apple store right now. 

Why is having a period tracking app bad right now? Let me let someone more knowledgable than me tell you. 

"Search histories, browsing histories, text messages, location data, payment data, and information from period-tracking apps could now all be used by prosecutors if it is suspected that someone deliberately ended their pregnancy."

So I'm using the old school pen and paper menstrual calendar.  And when Stardust is available on Android, I might make the switch to that, but I am not 100% sure yet. 

Now, let me tell you the other reasons I will never buy any other planner than the Slingshot again. 

This is the first page:

This organizer is filled with radical resources. I mean, that's the best way I can describe it. And I don't mean the skateboard-y surfer dude "radical" either.

I do not mean "totally tubular".  I do mean "relating to or affecting the fundamental nature of something." 

This planner is FILLED with an incredible amount of resources. I know I just said that, like, a few paragraphs, but the resources are worth more than the blank planner pages for me honestly. 

I will share some with you below. 

This section is two pages long and includes subheadings like, "What To Do If Police Stop You In Your Car" and "Common Sense Activist Security Measures", among others. 

I should really read these more than just once a year when I get it, huh?

Maybe I should put a monthly reread in my planner. 😂 

No explanation needed. 

This one too. 

And then we have one of my favorite sections that I consult before I visit any new city. 

A Radical Contact Guide. This features radical spaces where you'll be able to find like-minded people in your area. 

Here's the Michigan page:

There are actually less spots than Florida, which honestly surprised me.

Here's the back of the book, that I'm sharing just because the back is as cool as the front. 

The brown cover thingie doesn't come with the Slingshot, that's a Lochby journal-y thing that I just slide it into. =)

If you would like me to share information from any of the pages pictured above, just let me know! You know where to find me, obviously.