Collins UK's new website

Collins Debden UK has a new website! It is fast and slick, and looks great on my laptop and on my Kindle.

The new website is arranged very clearly and it's really easy to find everything, whether by the top tabs categories, the search bar at the top of the page, or the pull-down Quick Search.

I've said before that when it comes to planner websites, if I don't find what I'm looking for in about 20 seconds or less, I move on to a different website. The Collins website performs beautifully and it's easy to find what I'm looking for quickly.

Another feature I really appreciate is that they show the inside formats of the planners. It's shocking to me how many planner websites show the closed cover of the book and don't show the interior format, which is the most important part! Other features are listed too, and the size measurements are clearly shown so you know exactly what size the planner is.

Later in the year, the 2015 Plannerisms planners will be available on the Collins UK website! I don't know yet when they will be ready to order, but when they are I'll make a big announcement here on Plannerisms with links.

Meanwhile the 2014-2015 Academic year planners, 2015 Business diaries and organiser refills, and the 2016 Early Edition diary are already available to order.

You can see the entire Collins UK collection at http://www.collinsdebden.co.uk/

Collins Academic 18-month weekly diary

Many thanks to Collins for giving me this diary as a sample to review!

Many academic-year diaries are aimed at students. This is the first one I've seen aimed at academic professionals.

This weekly diary has a hard cover and measures a little larger than A5 at 6 inches wide and 8 1/2 inches tall.

Inside the front cover there is a overview planner for all of the 2012-2013 academic year.

Here is the table of contents showing the huge number of information and reference pages.  There's loads of info that would be useful to professors and other academic professionals.

There's travel information for the UK with reference phone numbers:

There are four Term planners for plotting your schedule:

Here's just one example of the many information pages in the book:

The weekly format has lined but not timed day spaces with holidays printed on the days:

The weekly pages go from the beginning of July 2012 all the way through the end of December 2013.

At the end of the weekly pages there is a forward planner for 2014:

There are monthly account pages:

And an accounts summary page, and several pages for notes:

The last page of the book is for frequently used numbers, for easy reference

Inside the back cover of the book there is a year overview planner for the 2013-2014 academic year:

The book is very professional looking. There is a real ribbon page marker to mark the current week.

This planner I've shown is the 35M, which has a new look according to the website. Click here for this product's page.  I don't know if the image shown on the website is the actual cover or a removable label page.

Click here to see the entire selection of Collins academic and mid-year diaries.

Thanks again to Collins!

Collins Classic Manager Week diary

I am very excited to show you the Collins Classic Manager Week diary! Many thanks to Collins for giving me this GORGEOUS diary as a sample!  I love it!

This diary is very classy-looking with a leather-like smooth cover that is slightly padded, so it feels nice in your hands. The gold corners and gilded page edges look so elegant! The book is full of luxurious details that add to the overall beauty of this diary.

The smart appearance of this diary is eye-catching but what really hooked me was the paper. Seriously. The diary itself is beautiful, and classy-looking, and nice to hold. But once I touched the paper that was it. I'm officially hooked. The paper is super-smooth, acid-free and an ivory color that is very pleasant to look at (not grayed or too dark).

There are LOADS of excellent and useful features in this diary!  The first page is Personal Information, then after that are 3-year reference calendars with the current year highlighted:
(Click on any of the photos to enlarge)

After that there are several pages packed with reference info (which I use and really appreciate having in my planner!).  There are pages with International Holidays for many countries around the world. There are detailed pages with international dialing information (including codes both into and out the of countries, and accurate time zone information):

There is a world time zone map with the exact time zone for lots of cities, and an excellent pageful of phone numbers and websites for travel information in the UK.

There is a two-page spread of useful conversions of all kinds:

Next there is a two-page spread with the entire year at a glance for long-range planning. I love annual planners like this, they really help me plan travel, deadlines etc.

Then comes the weekly section with the week on two pages and days as columns. Click to enlarge the photo to see all the excellent features of this page!  The days are timed from 8 am to 8 pm with a couple of lines for after 8pm.  Under the days are lines for Notes where you can write notes and tasks for that particular day, or to use for categorized lists.  There is a real ribbon placemarker which is another one of those luxurious touches that makes this book so nice!

Along the side of the pages are cut-in TABS to take you straight to the first week of each month so you can easily find future weeks. We all know how much I love monthly tabs!!  Also you can see the monthly calendars on the page with the current month highlighted.

After all the weekly pages there is a planner for the entire future year on a 2-page spread:

And then there are more useful pages! There is a Staff Leave planner which is very useful for managers. There is a Financial Planner to help you see your income and categorized expenditures in a way that lets you compare them month to month:

There are several pages for Personal information, and a page for Most Used Numbers. Then come the maps!!!

I LOVE maps in planners, and I have to say these are the most beautiful and most detailed maps I've ever seen in a planner. They look like they are from a really good atlas.

These are only some of the maps! 

Look at the level of detail!  Sometimes I flip through this book just to caress the paper and look at the maps, it is just that nice!

There is an excellent world map, and maps of the UK rail network and London Underground too.

The Manager size measures 260 by 148 mm (approx. 10 1/2 by 7 3/4 inches) so if you're carrying a laptop or iPad it will fit easily in your bag. And, it looks especially good sitting on your desk or in a meeting!

The Classic line of planners has an extensive range of sizes and formats available. Click here to see the entire range of Collins Classic planners in daily and weekly formats and all sizes.

Huge thanks again to the kind folks at Collins for giving me this gorgeous diary!

Collins pocket weekly planners

Here is a selection of pocket size weekly planners from Collins UK (http://www.collinsdebden.co.uk/):

Collins has partnered with Disney for some of their diary designs. This Tinkerbell design is very cute:

The diary is packed with features like information pages, planning calendars, and even budgeting pages. There is also an annual planner:

The weekly pages have a Tinkerbell design each week:

In the back are pages for quick contacts reference:

My favorite of these three weekly planners is the Domani pocket weekly diary. The padded cover is elegant and looks very professional:

The gilt page edges, cream paper and ribbon pagemarker all add to the look of elegance:

Inside there are loads of info pages including international facts:

Dialing codes, time zones, travel information, year planner, and more:

The weekly format has timed lines for each weekday from 9 am to 6 pm.

In the back of the book there are full-color maps of the UK, a London city map, and a map of the London Underground.

The Bubble weekly diary has a colorful cover:

It also has loads of information pages:

It has an open weekly format with unlined daily spaces:

The Bubble diary also has a ribbon pagemarker, several pages for notes and contacts.

Many thanks to Collins for sending me these pocket diary samples to review!

Collins Vanessa weekly diary

Here is a diary I had never had the opportunity to try before: the Vanessa A5 weekly desk diary from Collins:

This is a weekly diary from Collins Australia (http://www.collinsdebden.com.au). Like other Collins diaries for 2012, this diary supports the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program, which I really appreciate:

  

 

The diary is double wiro-bound in a removable cover, with a pocket in the front for holding papers, tickets etc.

There are loads of information pages at the front of the book including reference calendars, public holidays and Australia school holidays, world holidays, international dialing codes, conversions and other measurement info, annual planning pages, monthly expense records, cash summaries, forward planning calendar, and pages for frequently used contacts.

The weekly format has timed lines for each day from 9am to 5 pm. Holidays are printed on the day spaces. There are six months of reference calendars along the top of the page.

The paper is cream colored and smooth.  There is a ribbon marker to mark the current week.  This diary measures 22.5 cm tall, 16 cm wide and just 1 cm thick.

In the back of the planner there are several full-color city maps from Australia and New Zealand:

The Vanessa line of planners also come in day per page format, and in a variety of sizes. Click here to see the entire collection.

Many thanks to Collins for sending me this diary as a sample to review!

Collins Home and Work Diary

If you are managing work, home, personal and/ or community responsibilities and need some help keeping everything straight, check out the Collins Home and Work Diary.

This is a new diary for 2012, and is specifically designed for very busy people who have a lot to manage. It is absolutely packed with features. Below you can see the Table of Contents listing the pages. (Click on photos for larger views.) This is way more than just a diary, this is a method for managing your seemingly endless tasks, and your stress levels.

Before I get into it let me say that I appreciate the charities this diary supports: saving the Tasmanian Devils to try to prevent them going extinct:

and the Fistula Relief Aid Fund to help women in Africa who have had problems in childbirth:

Now on to the diary itself. It is designed by a psychologist who specializes in stress-related disorders.There are several pages of text with advice on reducing anxiety, preventing feelings of pressure about the future, helping you through overwhelming household chores, action planning and goal setting.

There is a page to help you set your goals for all of 2012, in a variety of categories:

Then for each month there is a page to set your goals for that month:

Also for each month there is a page for your expense summary:

This is a day-per-page diary, and each page is a large 24 cm wide by 21 cm tall. Each daily page has your appointments schedule along the edge of the page, with 24 hours starting at 3 am and ending at 2am. This 24 hour schedule is great for people who work shifts or need to record medication dosages around the clock.

On each day's page there are task lists for Personal, Family/ Community and Business, and space for Journaling/ Notes.  There's a space to list errands for the day, record important totals and an inspirational quote for each day.

Along the edge of the pages the months are indicated, to help you find the month and day you are looking for easily. There are also two ribbon placemarkers so you can mark the current day and your monthly goals page for easy reference.

There are several pages for notes, and in the back of the book there is a top-opening transparent plastic envelope to hold cards and other bits of paper.

Also in this diary are reference calendars, year planners, telephone listings, conversions and international dialing codes, world holidays and more.  There's a household cleaning list to help you schedule and assign chores. There's also a 10 week countdown planner to Christmas, and an undesignated 10 week countdown planner to use for planning a wedding, move, or other major event. There's so much more in this diary I can't even detail it all.  It's very comprehensive!

Many thanks to Collins for sending me this diary as a sample to review!

Images published with written permission from Collins.