As a liberal arts undergraduate, working in spreadsheets was foreign. My allegiances were to MS Word and only MS Word. After three years in an MBA program and four years advising MBA students, I admit, business folks know how to design and select their tools.

For The Year of Sarah Joy I use a master spreadsheet to house ideas, names, recommendations, links, articles, deadlines and everything else I’m learning from you and the Internet. I’m not at the 10,000 row, flow chart, McKinsey consultant level (nor do I aspire to reach that point), but these tools are keeping me on track.

Current to-dos tracked via spreadsheet include: reservations at hostels in China so I can meet the requirements to apply for an entry visa; lists of items I own with pictures, links, and sale prices; and my budget.

Hopefully, a larger number of spreadsheets involved with pre-departure planning will prove inversely correlated to the amount of planning that will need to happen once The Year of Sarah Joy is underway.