The Success Choice has given me a very generous discount code for Plannerisms readers!! Enter code plannerisms12 at checkout to get 15% off your total purchase!
Success Choice planners have a unique setup with weekly layouts, monthly calendars, space to set and track goals, guides for household routines and personal growth. It's a very comprehensive system to help you in every aspect of your life. The planners come in spiral-bound quarterly editions, or loose-leaf for your binder.
Take a look at my review of the spiral-bound planners here with lots of photos and descriptions of the features.
There is also an Address Book insert available that is way more than just an address book--see my review of it here.
The paper used in the planners and address book is recycled, acid-free and archival for permanent records.
The Success Choice also sells hand-made leather covers for their planners, see my review of the beautiful, soft brushed leather cover here.
GUESS WHAT! Success Choice now sells RING BINDERS for their loose leaf planner inserts!! Check them out here!
All of The Success Choice products are made and printed in the USA.
And more great news: the 2013 planners will have wider line spacing in the daily spaces, due to popular demand. Thank you Success Choice for listening to your customers!
Many thanks to The Success Choice for offering this very generous discount code to Plannerisms readers. I will put this in the sidebar for future reference!
Friday, January 27, 2012
How many times do you write it?
This is a little bit of a follow-on to my previous post, and is another topic I've been thinking about for awhile. How many times, in how many places, do you write your appointments and other daily commitments?
My limit, apparently, is two. I can keep up with writing this level of detail in only two planner formats at once. Daily and monthly is fine. Weekly and monthly is also fine. Even daily and weekly is fine. Daily, weekly and monthly = planner breakdown.
My recent experiment incorporating my weekly planner into my system with my daily and monthly failed rather quickly. I felt overwhelmed keeping up on all the different planners, and felt scattered instead of in control. I was very surprised! After all, I'd used a daily diary and weekly planner together for most of last year. Why did it fail now?
The answer is, because I'm using a finer level of detail in my monthly planner. When I use a daily and weekly together, my monthly only gets used for permanent reference things like birthdays, holidays, bills and due dates, etc. The fixed, static dates. But lately I've been using my monthly planner in a much more detailed, interactive way by writing in appointments, meetings, reminders, and other scheduled events.
This requires me to look at my monthly planner every day. And of course I have to look at my daily planner several times throughout the day. Adding my weekly planner, where I had to update entries and consult it daily too, was too much.
Not a big surprise really, since I had a similar fail about a year ago.
Which brought me to the realization that my writing and consulting on a daily basis threshold is two places. Which is good to know, because it allows me to choose the two formats that work best for me at that time.
I know some people who can keep up with daily, weekly and monthly planners all at once (and I would like to be one of these people because each format allows for a different perspective of your schedule). I also know people who have to stick to one format, usually weekly, to avoid redundancy.
What about you? How many places do you write your daily things?
My limit, apparently, is two. I can keep up with writing this level of detail in only two planner formats at once. Daily and monthly is fine. Weekly and monthly is also fine. Even daily and weekly is fine. Daily, weekly and monthly = planner breakdown.
My recent experiment incorporating my weekly planner into my system with my daily and monthly failed rather quickly. I felt overwhelmed keeping up on all the different planners, and felt scattered instead of in control. I was very surprised! After all, I'd used a daily diary and weekly planner together for most of last year. Why did it fail now?
The answer is, because I'm using a finer level of detail in my monthly planner. When I use a daily and weekly together, my monthly only gets used for permanent reference things like birthdays, holidays, bills and due dates, etc. The fixed, static dates. But lately I've been using my monthly planner in a much more detailed, interactive way by writing in appointments, meetings, reminders, and other scheduled events.
This requires me to look at my monthly planner every day. And of course I have to look at my daily planner several times throughout the day. Adding my weekly planner, where I had to update entries and consult it daily too, was too much.
Not a big surprise really, since I had a similar fail about a year ago.
Which brought me to the realization that my writing and consulting on a daily basis threshold is two places. Which is good to know, because it allows me to choose the two formats that work best for me at that time.
I know some people who can keep up with daily, weekly and monthly planners all at once (and I would like to be one of these people because each format allows for a different perspective of your schedule). I also know people who have to stick to one format, usually weekly, to avoid redundancy.
What about you? How many places do you write your daily things?
Consolidating calendars
I've been thinking of writing this post for awhile but put it off, because I already know what some people will suggest as a solution: "Go digital!" But it's not as simple as that.
By "consolidating calendars" I mean, getting all the calendars and timelines in your life down to a simpler, usable system. I thought, maybe most people have this figured out by now. But yesterday as I was surfing blogs I found a reply on one where someone was struggling to consolidate all of her calendars: work, personal, her husband's work schedule, blogging, knitting, etc. And I thought, ok maybe there will be some interest in this topic after all!
My first thought as to who needs help consolidating calendars goes to parents with kids in school. My kids' school doesn't have a regular schedule (for example, every Tuesday is Library Day). Instead, each month the teachers print out a calendar of what their class is doing each day of the month. That way I can consult the calendar each day and know whether to send swim gear, library books or PE kit. It's complicated, but I guess it avoids redundancy in the schedule.
Anyway, I don't write these things into my planner because there's no need. It's simpler just to consult the calendars on my fridge than to re-write all this stuff. But it means I have several places to look each day to see what's happening: each child's classroom calendar, and my planner. Three places is do-able. But at what point do you reach the state of "too many places to look?"
Even people who only have their own schedule to keep track of have different types of calendars to maintain: work, personal, study/ university/ grad school/ night school etc., blog post scheduling, volunteer work, etc. It can be a lot to keep up on!
There's no one right way to keep track of multiple calendars at once. For keeping track of multiple peoples' schedules, the easiest way to see who is doing what each day is to use one of those family calendars where each person has their own column for each day of the week or month. This works well not only for families but also for roommates, coworkers, and any other place where you need to see who's where each day.
Some people like to keep their work planner separate from their personal planner. This works fine if your work/ personal lives are truly separate, or have little overlap. For example, when I worked in a corporation we all had to use Outlook for our work schedules so that people could schedule meetings with everyone who needed to be there. I kept all of my personal stuff in my Filofax. In the rare instance I needed to schedule something during work hours, like a dentist appointment, it was pretty easy to figure out a good time.
Some people, especially those whose work and personal commitments don't follow exact time delineations, might function better having everything all together in one planner. This not only helps avoid overlapping or double booking appointments, it also helps you see what's coming up in a different aspect of your life. For example, you might not necessarily put on your work schedule to buy flowers for the dinner party that night, but if you have everything in one planner you would.
I do know there are lots of electronic options for combining calendars. Partners can share a digital calendar system where they can see each other's schedule and get automatically updated when the other person's schedule changes. But, when you use a paper planner it encourages communication to tell each other when the schedule has changed. I like that.
What about you? What method do you use to keep track of your work, blogging, hobbies, study, kids and/ or partner's schedule, and everything else you've got going on in your life? Do you find it helpful to combine everything in one calendar/ planner, or keep some things separate?
By "consolidating calendars" I mean, getting all the calendars and timelines in your life down to a simpler, usable system. I thought, maybe most people have this figured out by now. But yesterday as I was surfing blogs I found a reply on one where someone was struggling to consolidate all of her calendars: work, personal, her husband's work schedule, blogging, knitting, etc. And I thought, ok maybe there will be some interest in this topic after all!
My first thought as to who needs help consolidating calendars goes to parents with kids in school. My kids' school doesn't have a regular schedule (for example, every Tuesday is Library Day). Instead, each month the teachers print out a calendar of what their class is doing each day of the month. That way I can consult the calendar each day and know whether to send swim gear, library books or PE kit. It's complicated, but I guess it avoids redundancy in the schedule.
Anyway, I don't write these things into my planner because there's no need. It's simpler just to consult the calendars on my fridge than to re-write all this stuff. But it means I have several places to look each day to see what's happening: each child's classroom calendar, and my planner. Three places is do-able. But at what point do you reach the state of "too many places to look?"
Even people who only have their own schedule to keep track of have different types of calendars to maintain: work, personal, study/ university/ grad school/ night school etc., blog post scheduling, volunteer work, etc. It can be a lot to keep up on!
There's no one right way to keep track of multiple calendars at once. For keeping track of multiple peoples' schedules, the easiest way to see who is doing what each day is to use one of those family calendars where each person has their own column for each day of the week or month. This works well not only for families but also for roommates, coworkers, and any other place where you need to see who's where each day.
Some people like to keep their work planner separate from their personal planner. This works fine if your work/ personal lives are truly separate, or have little overlap. For example, when I worked in a corporation we all had to use Outlook for our work schedules so that people could schedule meetings with everyone who needed to be there. I kept all of my personal stuff in my Filofax. In the rare instance I needed to schedule something during work hours, like a dentist appointment, it was pretty easy to figure out a good time.
Some people, especially those whose work and personal commitments don't follow exact time delineations, might function better having everything all together in one planner. This not only helps avoid overlapping or double booking appointments, it also helps you see what's coming up in a different aspect of your life. For example, you might not necessarily put on your work schedule to buy flowers for the dinner party that night, but if you have everything in one planner you would.
I do know there are lots of electronic options for combining calendars. Partners can share a digital calendar system where they can see each other's schedule and get automatically updated when the other person's schedule changes. But, when you use a paper planner it encourages communication to tell each other when the schedule has changed. I like that.
What about you? What method do you use to keep track of your work, blogging, hobbies, study, kids and/ or partner's schedule, and everything else you've got going on in your life? Do you find it helpful to combine everything in one calendar/ planner, or keep some things separate?
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Discount for Plannerisms readers on OfficeHero.co.uk!
OfficeHero.co.uk is a new office supplies website with great prices on all your office needs.
Plannerisms readers get a special 5% discount! Just enter the code Planner1sm at checkout.
This offer is good for ALL of this year! And for your easy reference, I have also posted this discount code in the sidebar for whenever you need it.
Happy Shopping! :)
Plannerisms readers get a special 5% discount! Just enter the code Planner1sm at checkout.
This offer is good for ALL of this year! And for your easy reference, I have also posted this discount code in the sidebar for whenever you need it.
Happy Shopping! :)
2012 Moleskine Bakin weekly planner
I have to admit I bought this planner because the cover is just so cool! My photo doesn't do justice to the coppery metallic design.
Inside it's a horizontal weekly format, with all the usual Moleskine features.
As you might notice, I wrote the month at the top left corner, to make it easier to see where I am in the book. Moleskine printed the months all the way into the middle of the book which makes it harder to find the month/ week I'm looking for.
Right now I'm using the weekly pages as a modified week + notes, where I use the spaces directly under the printed days of the week to plan my days, and the middle of the weekly spread for my tasks lists for that week. I have separate lists for Goals, Email/ Call, Household, Blogs and any other specific topics for that week.
I use the last line on each day's space to write the dinner menu for that day. It really helps me do meal planning to see the entire week at a spread so I can see when my busy days are and what meals I'm able to spend more time on.
Using a weekly spread to plan my week and write my lists allows me to see what I need to do and when I have time to do it.
You can read about how I'm using this planner along with my daily and monthly planners in What I'm Currently Using.
Right now I'm using the weekly pages as a modified week + notes, where I use the spaces directly under the printed days of the week to plan my days, and the middle of the weekly spread for my tasks lists for that week. I have separate lists for Goals, Email/ Call, Household, Blogs and any other specific topics for that week.
I use the last line on each day's space to write the dinner menu for that day. It really helps me do meal planning to see the entire week at a spread so I can see when my busy days are and what meals I'm able to spend more time on.
Using a weekly spread to plan my week and write my lists allows me to see what I need to do and when I have time to do it.
You can read about how I'm using this planner along with my daily and monthly planners in What I'm Currently Using.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Archival quality planners
Today's Free For All Friday on Philofaxy has me thinking about archival quality planners.
I use my planners for planning, but I like to keep them forever and look at them years later so it's important to me that my planner have archival quality paper. Unfortunately, it seems that not a lot of planner companies use archival paper.
I don't know a lot about paper and what makes it archival or not, but I know it's important for it to be acid-free/ pH neutral.
I also know this is not at all the same as chlorine-free. Chlorine-free means no chlorine was used in the paper's bleaching process. This is better for the environment but I don't know if it makes any difference to the archival quality of the paper.
The only three planner brands I know of that specifically are archival quality/ use acid-free paper are Moleskine, Leuchtturm and Quo Vadis.
**Edited to add: Paperblanks and Cartesio planners also use acid-free paper. The Success Choice planners use acid-free, archival recycled paper.
Does anyone know of any other planners that are archival and use acid-free paper?
I use my planners for planning, but I like to keep them forever and look at them years later so it's important to me that my planner have archival quality paper. Unfortunately, it seems that not a lot of planner companies use archival paper.
I don't know a lot about paper and what makes it archival or not, but I know it's important for it to be acid-free/ pH neutral.
I also know this is not at all the same as chlorine-free. Chlorine-free means no chlorine was used in the paper's bleaching process. This is better for the environment but I don't know if it makes any difference to the archival quality of the paper.
The only three planner brands I know of that specifically are archival quality/ use acid-free paper are Moleskine, Leuchtturm and Quo Vadis.
**Edited to add: Paperblanks and Cartesio planners also use acid-free paper. The Success Choice planners use acid-free, archival recycled paper.
Does anyone know of any other planners that are archival and use acid-free paper?
Thursday, January 19, 2012
How to use monthly or weekly AND daily planners at the same time
My friend @RoriRants tweeted a question recently (to paraphrase): how do you use a weekly (or in my case monthly) planner and a daily planner/ diary at the same time without being completely redundant? Great question! Here's some ideas.
I used a weekly planner and daily diary at the same time for most of last year. This year so far I'm using a monthly planner instead of the weekly, and still using a daily. Here's how I do it:
In the weekly or monthly planner, I write all my future plans. Upcoming appointments, school holidays and activities, my husband's days off from work, travel, birthdays, etc. All future events go in here. I also write my dinner menus for the week so I can plan quick meals on evenings I get home later, and to see past meals for ideas (or to see when I'm getting too repetitive with the meals).
In the daily, I write everything that happens today. Today's appointments, cute things my kids did and said, the weather, my list of things I need to do today, things I did today that weren't on the list like phone calls and emails. This creates an excellent record of what I did and when.
Using the monthly or weekly for planning and the daily for recording minimizes redundancy, and allows me to use each format for what it's good at.
You can see more details on how I use my daily diary here, and how I used my weekly planner along with it here.
Those of you who use a daily planner and also a monthly or weekly planner, how do you do it? What do you write in each planner?
I used a weekly planner and daily diary at the same time for most of last year. This year so far I'm using a monthly planner instead of the weekly, and still using a daily. Here's how I do it:
In the weekly or monthly planner, I write all my future plans. Upcoming appointments, school holidays and activities, my husband's days off from work, travel, birthdays, etc. All future events go in here. I also write my dinner menus for the week so I can plan quick meals on evenings I get home later, and to see past meals for ideas (or to see when I'm getting too repetitive with the meals).
In the daily, I write everything that happens today. Today's appointments, cute things my kids did and said, the weather, my list of things I need to do today, things I did today that weren't on the list like phone calls and emails. This creates an excellent record of what I did and when.
Using the monthly or weekly for planning and the daily for recording minimizes redundancy, and allows me to use each format for what it's good at.
You can see more details on how I use my daily diary here, and how I used my weekly planner along with it here.
Those of you who use a daily planner and also a monthly or weekly planner, how do you do it? What do you write in each planner?
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