Two years ago, I made a short video called “Who Is Vicki Peel? And Why Should I Care?”

I watched it again recently.

I still recognize the woman in that video. But I wouldn’t introduce myself quite the same way today.

Back then, I said I was in the fourth quarter of my life and wanted to enjoy life more by removing unnecessary stress.

I talked about decluttering and organizing my home. Getting my affairs in order. Using technology to manage things better. Creating checklists, worksheets, planners and other tools to make complicated things simpler.

All of that is still true.

But I understand the connection between those things differently now.

 

I’ve always been an educator

I spent 34 years in education, first as a classroom teacher and later as an educational administrator. Eventually I earned a doctorate in Educational Leadership.

But education, for me, was never simply about giving people information.

I wanted people to think.

To understand why something mattered. To make connections. To make decisions. To take what they were learning and figure out how to use it in their own lives.

Looking back, I realize I’ve continued doing exactly that long after I left formal education.

I’ve just been teaching different things.

I’ve taught people how to organize their homes and their digital files. I’ve created systems, checklists and tools. I’ve explored technology and, more recently, artificial intelligence. I’ve written about money, aging, preserving memories and getting important papers in order.

From the outside, those things can look like a collection of unrelated interests. And for a while, I think they looked that way to me, too.

But now I see the connection.

I help people make sense of things.

We don’t have an information shortage

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. We have access to more information than we could ever use.

There is always another article to read, video to watch, expert to follow, podcast to hear, course to take or new tool to try. I’ve been down more rabbit holes than I care to admit, lured by learning more about something that interested me.

Want to know how to organize your home? It’s there.

How to manage your money? It’s there.

How to eat better, preserve your family history, use AI, organize your digital files or get your legal affairs in order?

It’s all there. Access to information today is remarkable. And instantaneous.

But I’m beginning to believe the abundance of information has also become part of the problem.

The question isn’t simply:

Where can I find the information I need?

The harder questions are:

What information actually matters to me?

What supports the goals I’m trying to reach and the life I’m trying to live?

What deserves my attention now?

What do I already know from my own experience?

And once I’ve found useful information:

What am I going to do with it?

That’s where thoughtful reflection comes in.

We need ways to sort through what we’re seeing and hearing, connect it with what we already know, decide what fits our own circumstances, and turn useful information into action.

Otherwise, it’s so easy to keep collecting without ever really moving. Believe me, I’ve been there and am still trying to recover from an “information hoarder”.

And I’m beginning to think that space between information and action is an important part of the work I want to do now.

Not simply giving people more information.

Helping people make sense of what’s available to them so they can decide what matters and use it to support their own goals and personal journeys.

 

So, who is Vicki Peel now?

I’m still a teacher.

I’m still an organizer.

I’m still curious about technology and better ways of doing things.

I’m still figuring things out in my own life and creating practical tools when I think they’ll make something easier.

But I’m also 76 years old, and that changes some of the questions I’m asking.

What matters now?

What do I want to keep?

What am I ready to let go of?

What needs my attention while I have the ability to give it my attention?

What stories and memories do I want to preserve?

What unfinished business needs finishing?

And what do I want to do with the life that’s still in front of me?

Those aren’t organizing questions.

They’re life questions.

 

That’s what I mean by Legacy Living

For me, legacy isn’t primarily about what I leave behind someday.

It’s about how I live now.

It’s making choices that reflect what matters to me.

Taking care of things that need taking care of.

Preserving things worth preserving.

Letting go of things that no longer deserve my time or attention.

And making room for things I still want to experience, learn, create, enjoy and share.

I’m not approaching any of this as someone who has all the answers.

I’m living it while I’m writing about it.

I’m cleaning out my own files. Getting my own important papers together. Deciding what work I want to continue and what I’m ready to stop doing. Looking at years of accumulated ideas and asking which ones still matter.

And I’m still learning and growing. That’s what makes life interesting.

Maybe that’s who I’ve been all along

When I made that video two years ago, I tried to explain myself by comparing what I did for people others might recognize.

Heloise for practical tips. Dear Abby for helping solve problems. Kim Komando for technology. Marie Kondo for creating order.

It was a handy shorthand.

But I don’t think I need it anymore.

I’m Vicki Peel.

I’m an educator who has spent a lifetime helping people figure things out—and I’m still figuring things out myself.

These days, I’m especially interested in what happens when we stop automatically reaching for the next answer and take time to think about what we already know, what new information is actually useful, and what makes sense for our lives now.

What can we clear away?

What can we organize so we can actually find and use it?

What deserves to be preserved?

And how can all of that empower us to live the years ahead with more intention?

I don’t have everything figured out.

But I’ve spent a lifetime figuring things out.

And I’m not finished yet.