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Friday, October 5, 2012

When were you happiest with your planner?

Here is another post I've been thinking about for awhile but didn't know if there would be any interest. But a Twitter conversation the other day with Rori spurred me on to post it.

We were talking about why I feel the need to have an emotional connection with my planner. Her very good point was, it's something that goes everywhere with you all day, and you look at it and handle it all the time. And, it helps you in your life. It's normal, and probably important, to feel a connection to your planner.

Then she asked, when did you last feel a real, emotional connection with your planner?

What an awesome question.

For me there have been two planners I've felt a deep emotional connection with. They were very different from each other, and at very different times in my life.

The most recent was my A6 size day per page Time Traveler planner I used the year my daughter was born, which you can read all about here. That was a time when I really didn't have much to plan, but I had little details to record each day of the cute things she did and all those baby firsts. I loved the way the fuzzy faux-suede cover felt in my hands. I loved that little book.

The time before that when I was most happy with my planner was when I first got my Buckingham Filofax and used it in grad school.  My planning needs were pretty simple (compared to now at least). The only person I had to keep track of was myself, and the only things I needed to keep track of were school things. After I graduated, and especially after my kids were born, the Filofax just didn't fit my needs anymore.

The happiest I've been with a planner in a long time is my self-drawn weekly + monthly planner I've been using this year. It functions perfectly for me. But the only thing I don't like about it is that it's hand-drawn, and I prefer printed. Also I want maps, international info etc. Luckily my 2013 Plannerisms planners will be printed soon and they will have all this good stuff in them, so I'm looking forward to that!!

Meanwhile I'm still searching for a day per page planner that I can connect with. I'd love a soft or fuzzy cover. I want an open, unstructured format. I want it to be approximately 12 x 17 cm , between A6 and A5 sizes. These are hard to find!

When was the last time you were happiest with your planner and/ or felt a strong emotional connection to it?


17 comments:

  1. Hi Laurie!

    This is such a great post. Since 2001 I am using Filofax. And since this time I am happy with my planners. I can fit in everything I want/need. About 2 or 3 weeks ago I started doing my own dividers and this is also a reason why I love my Filofax. It reflects my live and style in a organised way. This is what I like about it. Off course I have more then one Filofax but every Filofax has a story. Three Filofax from my boyfried - that means much to me. Or the one Filofax which I had to wait month for because its been so expensive etc.

    I love my Filofax(es) because of the flexibility.

    I hope you unterstood what I wanted to say - english is not my motherlanguage.

    Greets from germany
    Jana

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    1. Jana your English is fantastic! I know a lot of people who are very attached to their Filofax, it becomes like a best friend. How wonderful you've found something you connect with so well!

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  2. Jana: Perfectly understandable! :)
    I love this post. I decided that the last time I felt this connection was when I had my blue Topaz Filofax--it was the right combo of inserts, binder, and need. Nothing has worked as well or for as long since :o(

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    1. Rori did you get rid of that Topaz or do you still have it?

      How are your circumstances different now from when the Topax was working well for you? (You don't need to answer that here, it's just something to help you think of why that worked for you then, why it doesn't now and what might work for you now).

      I seriously need to get my PhD in the psychology behind planner usage!

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    2. It was defective and I returned it and got the blk Malden.

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  3. so what happened to said topaz filofax?

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  4. I have that emotional connection to my current planner. Since starting with Filofax back in 2007 (I think), I have yet to switch. I have switched formats and binders, but, as flawed as Filofax inserts are, I have found a way in which they work for me. My basic layout (tabbed sections) has never changed. And if I were to start from scratch, I would probably end up with the same layout. I am constantly tweaking the details of my planner, but overall, it works for me and therefore provides that emotional attachment.

    It's funny because just yesterday, my coworker had left his iPhone at home and felt completely lost without it, so much so that he had to run home on his lunch break and get it. My first response to him was "that feeling right there is how I feel when I don't have my planner." I think it just might have helped hi m to understand how much I use and depend on it. (He's a tech guy all the way and just can't understand my love for anything paper.)

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  5. I don't think I have ever had an emotional connection to a planner. I think I'm at my happiest with a planner before I have started to use it. A new planner is full of possibilities and new starts. Will this be the planner that leads to me mastering my life and achieving all my goals?!

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    1. pennywhistler I know that feeling all too well!!!!

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  6. How entirely timely post.
    I suppose I was giddiest when I first took the plunge to purchase the Balmoral I now have used for two decades. It was waaay out of my price range and I knew I neeeded it regardless. I hovered over it like a vulture for months before I purchased it. And it was such lurve, I tell ya. I´ve really depended on it when life´s been busiest. That was during the time I worked three jobs and now that I have otherwise taxing life situation. Million things happening simultaneously and I need a place to draw a map to go through the wilderness.
    I have ochre Maldens coming for both my son and I. He needs a larger ring size to his communication binder and I need a place to plan our lives. I have felt tempted to venture to smaller binder sizes from A5, but I already know that I need a lot of space to jot down everything. To go to the opposite way I also have thought of A4. " You need space to expand your life ", once a very savvy lady tought me. Even back in the days she was set for life so I tend to take her word for it. She wrote down every single thing on her planner. However A4 would not respond well when it comes to carrying it around. To wrap this jargon up, I guess I´m left pondering still.

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  7. Laurie

    Have you posted about your upcoming Plannerisms Planners?

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    1. I haven't, I'm waiting until they are finalized and I can make the big announcement. Should be soon!

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  8. We shall wait patiently..some things are worth waiting for...

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  9. Great topic Laurie. Like weirdrockstar I um'd and ar'd about buying my midori until I finally decided the expense was worth it and glad I did, I carry it everywhere even when out with friends 'down the pub. I'd tried various filofax's but was never happy with the size. The midori is perfect to fit in a pants cargo pocket when travelling or in the inside pocket of my bike jacket each day going to work. Midori are still missing a few refils that I would like, especially maps, and that's were the filofax has the advantage of adding single sheets but there is just something about the leather and the paper of the midori that just calls to you, well me anyway lol

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  10. Great topic Laurie. Like weirdrockstar I um'd and ar'd about buying my midori until I finally decided the expense was worth it and glad I did, I carry it everywhere even when out with friends 'down the pub. I'd tried various filofax's but was never happy with the size. The midori is perfect to fit in a pants cargo pocket when travelling or in the inside pocket of my bike jacket each day going to work. Midori are still missing a few refils that I would like, especially maps, and that's were the filofax has the advantage of adding single sheets but there is just something about the leather and the paper of the midori that just calls to you, well me anyway lol

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  11. In the school year 2008-9 I had an amazing planner, it was a Letts vertical week to view in green recycled board. Used it all year.

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