I have become way too busy and yet, I am not concentrating on the projects that make me happiest. I think I can cut back in a lot of areas, even ones that I think I've already worked on. So I am in search of products that will help me simplify my life, in whatever ways possible.

I will be posting my discoveries throughout the year in these daily posts. (So you don't have to remember to check in every day, get it automatically emailed to your inbox.)

Here is one of my finds so far:

Todoodlist is an ebook about simplifying your life, written by Nick Cernis.

But this isn't any ordinary, dry tome about rearranging your management style or incorporating complicated systems into your already busy life. It's about taking away all of your systems (and funnily enough, your PDA) and getting down to just pencil and paper. You know, the way it used to be, back in the day.

There are many reasons to like the book. First of all, it's short and quick and easy to read, so you don't have to feel like you're giving up an entire weekend to understand and then implement a new system.

Secondly, it is very light-hearted and fun without all of the bogged down technical, managerial talk of many books about systems and methods for becoming more efficient. You won't feel lectured to or that it's over your head.

In fact, you can start incorporating and using Nick's systems right away. All you need is a pencil (or pen) and paper (loose leaf, index cards or a notebook).

The system is good for people who are naturally list makers, but also for those who are creative and enjoy brainstorming and don't necessarily make linear lists. In otherwords, it's for both left and right-brained people.

The idea for the book came when Nick's PDA -which he lived and breathed by - died, and he had to borrow a pencil from someone and wrote something down on a receipt.

It was then that he realized that he could - and probably should - rejig his entire system and thought process of how to get things done.

Hence, the Todoodlist, a way of capturing ideas and follow-through actionable steps, as opposed to a mass, jumbled to-do list that requires constant reassessing, reading and thinking. It is a smart and easy way to keep your life simplified and organized and will no doubt change the lives of people who are trying to keep up with their master lists, paper and electronic lists and calendars and generally, all of us trying to figure out our own systems with little success and a whole lot of failure and frustration.

There are some great features to the book outside of the actually Todoodlist. I think the Sudoku Calendar is really quite interesting and would appeal to a lot of visual and number minded folks. The Tagbook is something I've done for years without realizing what a great organizational tool it was and think that once people read about it, will open up a lot of minds and create a lot of happy hearts and clearer minds. Glyphies are simply fun and a great way to jog your memory and keep track of certain items and the Banana Reminder is a great way to reframe where and when you're capturing your ideas and when to carry them out. The Blueprint for Launch is a fun way to give yourself a deadline that doesn't feel as heavy-hearted as "Due Date" or "Due By" and something that I'll be incorporating into my life.

To understand all of these terms and how they work, you'll have to read the book. Just know that this is something that you can work into your life without much effort or money on your part. Just pen and paper.

And really, isn't that a great way to start this whole simplification process? With a few easy and fun steps to follow?

Get your copy now.