If I ever get the chance to meet Peggy Brill, I plan to shower her with gifts. See, I have a “hereditary” tendency toward slouching…my family just loves to keep their shoulders and neck in tense, uncomfortable positions. Hard to be happy like that, I’m afraid - not only does it lead to that neckless sort of look, it restricts your breathing, affects circulation, and limits your range and fluidity of movement (read: you walk around like an angry robot).

I picked up Brill’s The Core Program: Fifteen Minutes a Day That Can Change Your Lifefrom the library last fall when I was shopping around for some new Pilates inspiration (my budget and I refuse to pay $100 an hour to use the studios around here), certain that I’d see some rehashed poses and abbreviated movements. Not so. Every word of this book is fresh, new, and effective.

For the beginning user, Brill’s tone is welcoming and her instructions are simple, clear, and appropriately detailed. For the experienced exerciser, you’ll be glad to see that her programs really do fit into the time limits that she promises, and the movements are familiar and well-sequenced without a single wasted moment. Both categories will benefit from the most important fact: this book works.

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I love organizational systems…schemes…hopes…plans. I think that being organized is a big part of being happy - knowing where to find things and having clean surroundings are BIG stress relievers. However, even the best organizational plans can go astray if they’re not the right solution for the situation, creating even more stress (and, from experience, guilt) along the way.

How many planners, organizers, and calendars have you purchased that ended up blank at the end of the year? Most of mine have gaps of at least two weeks from time to time; my 2006 datebook is full (and intricately color-coded!) until the end of May, at which point entries are reduced to hastily scrawled bits at 40ish-day intervals. It was a beautiful, expensive book, but it just wasn’t for me: the blocks weren’t big enough, the binding didn’t allow the pages to lay flat, and it was just a touch too big to fit in my usual bag without sticking out or stabbing me in the hip.

Enter the PocketMod disposable organizer. Design your own organizer (don’t worry, there are templates for everything and a super easy-to-use interface) and print it right from your computer. You choose what’s on your pages, how many pages to print, and what order everything goes in. Templates include games, lined pages, a variety of planner/calendar pages, reference guides, and even Ben Franklin’s virtues.

I’m a huge fan of printing a few PocketMods before I go out of town - Sudoku for the plane, and a custom organizer for each day I’ll be traveling so that I can take notes without having to carry (or lose) a whole book. If I get tired of my PocketMod layout, I can change it and print another within seconds. If I get tired of the whole idea, there’s no guilt - I just don’t print any more for a while, so no pages are going unused.

PocketMod has definitely kept me organized and on track through some chaotic times. If only it could update my Remember the Milk lists automatically from my pocket….