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Friday, September 3, 2010

Have you chosen your 2011 planner yet?

I'm curious to see how many of you have chosen your 2011 planner, and how many are still waiting to select yours.

As we well know, I like to have a wide variety to choose from, and I like to get them as early as possible. But, I know there are some people who don't feel hurried to get their planner for next year.

My impatience notwithstanding, I need my planner for next year now because I am already scheduling events for 2011: school breaks, insurance premium expiration reminders, and other events several months from now.

Do you have your 2011 planner now? Or are you waiting to get it later? Have you decided which planner you'll use in 2011, or are you still weighing your options?

19 comments:

  1. I have been ripping my hair out over this very dilemma the past couple nights. I too am starting to schedule events for 2011 and have put a Day Timer tabbed month on 2 pages insert into my Malden Filofax personal to at least note down these items.

    For my diary pages, however, I am completely verklempt.

    Currently I am using Week on 2 Pages and its working great & leaves me enough room in my planner for other tabbed sections, so I had gone out and purchased the same for next year.

    But now, with my BF deploying this month, I thought I might want more room to write/journal on the pages too, so I went completely the other way & ordered 2 Page per Day.

    That arrived this week it immediately became clear when I stuck it in my planner that it was too much, so I ordered 1 Page per Day last night.

    I feel like Goldilocks; one format is not enough, one is too much, blah, blah, blah.

    I am hoping 1PPD will be "just right".

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  2. I want to use my personal size for my journal next year but not decided yet on which format yet. I'm set up with my planners with my QV Filofax formats as I blogged about this week on Philofaxy... trying to use as many sizes this coming year!

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  3. I need a life coach. Can come here for a week and help me get myself in order? We can make a video blog about it.

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  4. I began test driving a new system last week. It's by Artemis, out of Japan, and uses two hole punched A5 notebooks with different formats - week on two days, addresses, lined and unlined notbooks, even a recipe book. I bought a bunch of stuff for this system at Paper-Ya in Vancouver but on the website http://item.rakuten.co.jp/artemis-zakka/c/0000000215/ there is a lot more stuff. I'm not sure how it's going to work - it's bigger than I like to carry around. It has those rings on the outside which catch on stuff. But the paper is nice, the notebooks are stitched, not stapled and it means I don't need a seperate book for sketching my display designs. I bought a Quo Vadis Miniweek to carry around in my "purse" for noteing appointments and I have a little Japanese notebook about the same size that I bought in Paper-Ya because it fits in my wallet. So maybe I can use the A5 at home and work and the tinies all the time? Maybe I'm deluding myself. For 2010, I've been using a pocket Moleskine weekly notebook - week on left, notes on right and its been pretty good. Most of the stuff I have to get done doesn't have to be done at a specific time. However, they give short shrift to weekends and at our house each day is much like another as far as commitments go. It also is really only a diary, with very few blank pages at the back, so I'm thinking of hacking a blank Moleskine pocket giving each of the seven days equal time and having more blank pages at the back. Thanks for letting me think "out loud" about this and if those of you who use multiple planners can talk about keeping your to dos straight when they are in more than one place, that might help.

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  5. I'm going with the Exacompta Space 17 this year. I have a feeling this is going to be "the one" that I stick with from now on. I haven't gotten it yet be will probably do so by October. But I admit that the wait is excruciating!

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  6. My WeekDate planner arrived earlier this week - it's a bit of a shock to the system to think about planning the way WeekDate implements it. But I'm mulling it over to let it sink in.

    I usually use a week/2pages format from FC. Their Botanical line (new for 2011) is similar to what I currently use - I like an open box for the days of the week. *sigh* but I'm like everyone else - something new will undoubtedly catch my eye before the year ends...

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  7. I haven't made up my mind yet (does that surprise you) but I am really leaning toward the "note 27".
    I really like the page setup with all the space for writing.
    I had a terrible time this year and am finishing the year with my A5 Filo but I know it's not really what I need or want.

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  8. For the last four years I've been using Polestar's student calendar, but since I graduated from university in May, I've decided that it's time to move on from it. In hindsight, I really could have used something a little more heavy duty with hourly appointment planning in the past year, as my academic, social, and extra-curricular life was a little crazy!

    I just ordered a large 2010 daily Moleskine to use for the next few months to see how I like it, and then I'll decide what to do for 2011! I haven't received the Moleskine yet, but now having looked at them in the store I'm a little concerned about its weight. I guess I should probably wait to pass judgment on it, though!

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  9. I will definitely stick to my A5 Filofax setup for work. I tried the week on two pages format for a few days, because it came with the new A5 domino, but - just like I expected - that was a nogo. However, I'm using those pages now as a general overview, next to my 2pages/day format, and that's working out great so far. I also though about the possibility to have only 1 page per day. But I'm a scribbler and doodler and I know a seperate notepad would drive me crazy, as I either would misplace it or wouldn't know what the scribbles would refer to. So, 2PPD it is. Only: I'm sort of done with the Timesystem pages, because I find the pages boring. Which is a stupid reason - I know that! - especially since the overall T/S concept works so well! The pitfall is the whole "new year = new start" idea which kind of makes it impossible to have the same planning system in subsequent years. I changed binders ealier this year - still very happy with my pink finsbury - so the paper refills will have to play the change part. I cannot believe how much time and effort I put in thinking about next years planner setup. In the light of all world problems, I feel really ashamed that I cannot think of something more important to dedicate my time to ...

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  10. I am switching from my QV Minister to the QV Trinote for 2011!

    :)

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  11. After reading much of your blog (it's great, by the way!) and several other online reviews, I've decided to go with The Uncalendar. This will be the first time I will be using a paper planner in about five years. I really need one currently -- up until now I have just been using ICal on my mac and Iphone. I use ICal for the bare minimum of appointments, birthdays, and anything I cannot trust my memory to remember (I get push reminders sent to my iphone) -- and so my husband can see what my week looks like.

    But when I do any more planning and recording of my day than that, I am much more of a "real paper" person. I did try, a couple of years ago, using a DIY PDA Hipster for awhile in tandem with my mac and IPhone but found the spaces just too small to write in.

    I started out with the Day Runner in the 1980's. I switched to the Day Timer several years later. Then tried Franklin Covey a couple of times. Most of those planners were useful at the time but they were also way more work than they were worth. They definitely did not "fit" me. I have had a love-hate relationship with all my planners so far.

    I was very tempted by the Quo Vadis Trinote and the WeekDate after reading your reviews and experiences, Laurie. But as a creative person who works at home and who tries to keep appointments to a very BARE minimum, I need something with some structure but very VERY customizable. The UnCalendar seems like it might fit my personality and work style better. Maybe I will love it more than hate it. We will see. ;-)

    Thanks for all the great information and tips on your blog. It has been a real pleasure reading your posts!

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  12. Polar, that's great! The formats of the Minister and Trinote are so similar, I think you will feel really comfortable with the Trinote, and I think you'll like the better Sunday situation and the Notes each day.

    Arielle, I am very interested in your UnCalendar use! I'm excited for you that you are trying it out. I adore the UnCalendar's motivational approach and emphasis on goal setting (although you don't have to use it that way). Anyone who is unfamiliar with UnCalendar, please take a look at my review of it here:

    http://www.plannerisms.com/2010/01/do-you-uncalendar.html

    Arielle, do you mind me asking which UnCalendar you've ordered? Over the years I have used the half size spiral, full size spiral and briefly the full size 3 ring binder (which turned out to be more than I needed at the time).

    Each UnCalendar user has to figure out for themselves how to use their Un in a way that works best for them. It's very customizable, but it takes some time to figure out how to best make it work for you.

    Allow me to give you just a little advice: try to avoid filling the weekly Worksheet page with To Dos. That was my downfall with the Un, especially with the Full Size: my daily spaces were full of things to do, and my Worksheet page was full of To-Dos (most of which I wound up re-writing week to week and would have been more appropriate to write in the Notes section as a list of long-term goals or something). The result was every weekly spread was packed full of things to do, and weren't prioritized very well so I didn't know where to look to see what I needed to do next. You can learn from my mistake!

    I hope the Un works well for you, and if you want I would love it if you would report back to us (or send me an email) after you've used it for awhile.

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  13. Don't cringe, but I never really cared much for organisation until very recently when I became rather stumped with all of my university work piling up on top of me. I realised that I just can't go on like this... Trying to remember everything that's going on rather than writing it down.

    So I'm planning to use a Filofax next year. It'll be my first, and I've put it on my birthday wish list for November. The only problem is that I'm extremely specific with my stationery, so I'm a bit paranoid about whether my boyfriend will buy me one that would cater to my tastes.

    I do know that I want a pink Filofax in the "personal" size. Just not sure which model, and I'm not sure which would be a suitably-priced one for my boyfriend to buy for me.

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  14. I'm having planner angst at the moment. I couldn't find what I wanted so made my own, but really need one soon so that I can start putting all of my 2011 information in it. I was thinking about the trinote/septanote or the moleskine weekly. My problem is that I really prefer to see things in person--to touch it and hold it, see how it feels--before I buy. Unfortunately, the planners I'm interested in aren't sold in my city. I've done the dayrunner binder, an at-a-glance binder, and those are too large for carrying with me. I guess I may just have to decide on something and start trying different things until I find the one that works for me.

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  15. Laurie, yea I have been using The Minister for 2 years now having come down from a obsession with the Daytimer desk size for 8 years. I like the week at a glance the QV offers and having the whole year with me. However, I miss the note are of the 2 pages per week my Daytime offered.

    I am going a little crazy as I want to get back into the Daytimer for work but do not want to give up the QV.

    ***Does anyone have suggestions on how to manager two systems at once. Like a Daytimer and a more calender based system like QV?????***

    Thanks,
    Kevin

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  16. Kevin, I don't know if this will be helpful to you or not, but you may want to check out Steve's post over on Philofaxy about Quo Vadis inserts for Filofax binders. That could be the best of both worlds: the weekly layout of the Minister or Trinote, in a binder that you can add and re-arrange pages in:

    http://philofaxy.blogspot.com/2010/09/alternative-refills-for-your-filofax.html

    Anna, I absolutely feel your pain. For many years I have lived in places where I can't buy planners, and have spent a lot of money ordering them online. As much as I love trying new planners, it can be frustrating to search for what works best for you. Good luck to you!

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  17. Kim, have no fear, we Filofax users have plenty of advice for you regarding which binder to get! I have several, from the cheapest to very expensive, but my collection is nothing compared to some Philofaxy readers' collections! Check out www.Philofaxy.com for Filofax inspiration. And if you want to ask a question directly yourself, feel free to post a comment on the Free For All Friday post.

    http://philofaxy.blogspot.com/2010/09/free-for-all-friday-no-93.html

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  18. I will be happy to let you know how it goes, Laurie. :-) I got the "UNCALENDAR® LIFESTYLE Fullsize" since I tend to write big and bold and need lots of white space around my writing.

    I know just what you mean about "to dos." They were always my downfall in the Franklin Covey Daily Planner. I have to be very careful not to become overwhelmed with to dos! Otherwise I never seem to get any REAL work done. LOL! ;-)

    I will be using the Uncalendar in tandem with what I learned in Covey, Merrill and Merrill's "First Things First", so I will not have lots of to dos each week, thank goodness. Yet it's kind of ironic that I am not going back to a Franklyn Covey planner for those techniques. But the "First Things First" method can be very flexible, and based upon reasonable and pre-prioritized goals. So I think that, in order to reflect my own goals and personality, the Uncalendar would work better for me (even though "First Things First does kind of push Franklin Covey planners. ;-) )

    For a while I actually tried to keep my schedule and to do's in art journal like some other of us journaling artsy folks do, but that was TOO unstructured for me.

    I'm hoping the Uncalendar might be the happy medium between too structured and not structured enough!

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  19. I was looking for a new planner incessantly for 2-3 weeks and finally I found the Russell+Hazel Mini Lime 9 x 7 Inch Binder, matching tabs and pockets. Once I get them, I'll be able to resize the planner pages I designed for an old dark blue 9.5 x 6 Wilson Jones binder. It was a little bland for my taste and was starting to fall apart. I've been testing out my designed pages since June. I know it still has some tweaks to be done but the store bought pages never seem to cut it for me anymore.

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