Lessons Learned 2011 and Planner Plans 2012

I've spent a lot of years searching for The Perfect Planner.

Recently I was looking back through old emails with my sister from back before I started this blog. Back then my sister was the (very patient) recipient of all of my planner angst, and there was a lot of it.

At that time I was cycling through these: my Filofax to have my planner and information pages all in one book; a large weekly planner (the Full Size Uncalendar at that time) for more planning space, and a day per page planner for detailed records. For those of you who have been reading this blog awhile, that pattern should sound familiar, because it's the same pattern I've been cycling through ever since.

Until recently.

For the past couple of months, my system has been working very well. I've been using my personal size Aqua Finsbury Filofax as my Medical and Info Filofax, which goes in my bag with me everywhere.  My pocket daily Moleskine also goes everywhere with me, and is my main planning and recording book.  My 2012 Organised Mum Life Book is my planner, goals workbook, holidays and birthdays planner, budgeting assistant and all-around life management tool, and it stays home almost all the time.

Wait a second you might say, this sounds suspiciously like the Life Book + Daily Diary system I used last year that quickly failed. Why is it so successful this time?

Here's the difference: last time I used the weekly Life Book as my main planner, and my daily Textagenda as my go-everywhere record book.  The problem was, my Life Book stayed at home all the time, but I didn't do any forward planning in my daily Textagenda. So to make any plans I had to wait until I got home to consult my Life Book. I was constantly going back and forth between the two. It was a confusing mess.

Now the difference is subtle but significant: my daily planner is my main planner. All future plans are recorded in it right away. It goes everywhere with me, even around the house and to my bedside table to capture everything I need to do or remember. I synch it with my weekly Life Book, which stays at home on my desk, open next to my computer.  I record all my appointments and household tasks, and do my meal planning each week in my Life Book. It is more like a workbook to help me organize my thoughts and see the pattern of my week (and month, on the monthly calendars). And like I mentioned before I use all the other pages too like holiday planning, budgeting etc. It doesn't need to go everywhere with me, but when I do take it somewhere it zips securely shut in its lovely purple cover and off we go.

I tabified my Life Book to be able to flip easily to each monthly calendar:

This system is working brilliantly for me. For years I cycled through Filofax, large weekly and small daily planners, and now I'm using all three. Because I don't carry all three with me, it's not a ton in my bag. Because I have very specific purposes for each, I don't feel scattered.  I love all of the books I'm using, and I plan to use this system indefinitely.

Have I reached Planner Nirvana?  Maybe for now. But guess what: there is a 99.9% chance that we'll be doing yet another international move next year. And you know how moving throws my planner system into a tizzy!

So, stay tuned for more planner antics in 2012!

2012 Life Book diary and faux leather cover by Organised Mum

I love my 2011 Life Book diary from Organised Mum so much, I ordered the 2012 Life Book diary!  And this time I treated myself to the purple faux leather cover too!

There are several updates to the 2012 Life Book including excellent new paper, an elastic closure strap and some slight changes to the format. You can click here to see my review and photos of the 2011 Life Book if you'd like to compare it to the 2012 version.

One very noticeable improvement in the 2012 Life Book is the paper! Last year's paper had quite a bit of show-through, especially with wet inks. But now the paper is absolutely glorious. No show-through whatsoever, even with my Sharpie pens and Microns. The paper is thick, smooth, white and very pleasant to use.

The 2012 Life Book began in mid-August this year and goes all the way through the end of December 2012. The 2011 Life Book began in September 2010 to coincide with the start of the school year in England. Scotland (and the US) start school earlier, and last year I suggested to Organised Mum that it would be useful to us if the diary started in August. Thank you to Organised Mum for listening to your customers!!

When you buy the 2012 Life Book together with a faux leather cover it costs a little bit less than buying each separately. It comes fully loaded with the Life Book slotted into its holder pocket in the cover, the Addresses booklet and stickers in the documents pocket in the front. There is also a black elastic pen loop next to the front pocket to keep your pen handy with your diary.

The Addresses booklet has A-Z pages for addresses and phone numbers, useful contacts for services and businesses, a quick-reference page for frequently used phone numbers, and a page for birthdays and anniversaries. You can use this booklet year after year to avoid rewriting contact info each year.

The Life Book diary comes with two pages of stickers to help you mark important dates. I also bought extras of these General Stickers, the School Stickers, and the Household Stickers.

Here is the front of the Purple Berry faux leather cover! I like the dapply look of the faux leather, and that it wipes clean easily (which I need!).  It looks so smart I'll carry it in my hands most of the time, but when I do put it in my bag it will protect my Life Book from all the other things I have banging around in my bag. The cover is soft and smooth and wonderful to touch!

Here is the zip-around goodness! No worries about papers flying out.

One of the additions to the Life Book diary this year is the elastic closure strap which is great for keeping your book securely closed while you're out and about if you're not using a cover. I think this is an excellent addition to the book.

 Some other changes include the design inside the cover, and an easier-to-read font.

The Useful Numbers and reference calendars are still here just like in the 2011 version (thank goodness!)

The Weekly Routines pages have changed. Now there are three two-page spreads with columns for seven different people or categories to show what's happening when on a weekly basis.

The weekly format has a slight change: this year the days of the week and Meal Ideas text are located on the left side of the days, last year they were on the right. Also the font has changed (and I think it looks very nice).  Holidays and moon phases are printed on the day spaces, which I really appreciate. The weekly pages start August 15, 2011 and go through the end of December 2012.

I love the Meal Ideas prompt, it gets me thinking about what to make for dinner throughout the week so I don't have that horrible feeling at 5pm while I'm staring into the fridge wondering what to make for dinner!

Click on the photo below to see the difference between the 2011 version (top) and the 2012 version (bottom).

I have to be honest, I miss the seasonal decorations in the 2011 version. The winter months had snowflakes, the spring months had dandelion fluff, the summer months had butterflies and the autumn months had leaves. Now all weekly and monthly pages have a flower design. It's very pretty, but I liked the seasonal icons. However, the Life Book has a sizeable customer base in Australia, where of course the seasons are reversed from those in the northern hemisphere, so to be consistent for all users it makes sense to have the flower design.

Below you can see how I use the lined areas at the page edges. (Click the photo for a larger view.)  The left edge is meant to be used as a tear-out shopping list, but instead I use the top of that column for my Goals for the week, and below that is my main To Do list for the week.  The right edge is where I put things I need to do for my Blogs and Household.  In the bottom right corner under Important I write financial totals for the week.

The Notes and Next Week space is a great landing spot for those random bits of information that come in during the week, and to prepare for next week. I also write two or three lines each week for a Weekly Review.

There are two clear, top-tabbed divider pages included in the Life Book. They clip onto the rings and can be moved from page to page. I use one to mark my current week and one to mark my current month.

 After the weekly section there is a page for Notes, then the (very pretty) tabbed divider for the Monthly section. I get really excited about the features in this section!

First there is a page for Notes, where I will write my goals and resolutions for 2012:

 2012's version has monthly calendars for August 2011 through December 2012:

I LOVE having a two-page monthly spread to plan my month. Holidays are printed on the day spaces. Here is the clear divider to mark the current month:

After each month there's a two-page spread for Things To Do that month (where I write my monthly goals and tasks) and Notes for that month (where I write my Mid-Month review in the top 1/3 of the page and my Monthly review in the bottom 2/3 of the page).

THEN there is a two-page spread for Budget and Expenditures!  I love these pages sandwiched between the monthly calendars to keep my plans, goals, reviews and budget all together for each month!  Very organized.  I feel so in control when I use these pages!

At the end of the Monthly section is another Notes page, which I think I will use for my year-end review. Next is a tabbed section for Christmas and holidays planning.

There are pages to record Christmas Plans, Budget, Presents, Shopping, and Cards.

Next is a Summer planner with eight undated weeks to plan the entire summer on one two-page spread. This is a great way to plan out the summer so at the end of it you don't wonder "Where did the summer go??"

Next are three two-page spreads for Thoughts and Plans for each of 2011, 2012 and 2013.  After that there are several pages for Notes.

In the back of the book there are forward planning calendars for 2013 and 2014. There is a pocket to hold your Addresses booklet, Stickers and other papers (if you're not using a cover).

I ordered the 2012 Life Book diary together with the faux leather cover along with the stickers I mentioned above. I used international shipping which I thought was very reasonably priced.

I have to say, moving over into my 2012 Life Book made me a little sad to leave my 2011 Life Book because I love it so much! It's extremely rare that I ever move directly over into the following year's version of the same planner. Usually I move to a totally different type of planner. So, Organised Mum, you deserve some kind of Plannerisms Consistency Award!  Well done!!

2010 Planners Tally

You may remember my 13 Planners post, where I tallied up all the planners I used in 2009.  Now it's time to total up all the planners I used in 2010.

First, keep in mind that I do actually use most of the planners I review, usually for a few days, to get a good idea of how they work.  Sometimes I switch to that planner, but often I go back to the planner I was using before.  I won't include these planners in my total for this year.

I will number the planners as I go:

So, those of you who have been following my planner saga for the past year will remember I started 2010 with my 1) Quo Vadis Minister, which I loved.  I started it at the end of November 2009, and I used it until March 2010 (which is a very long time for me to continuously use a planner!).

Then in March I had a really busy time and felt like I needed more space each week to write my lists.  Also I wanted pages to write my monthly goals and reviews. And, I really wanted month view calendars.

So, I drew up a 2) DIY planner in my large lined Moleskine notebook.  I am not much of a DIY-er and am not at all artistic, so this was a major feat for me.  I decided I would make My Ultimate Planner. (But you might guess how that turned out since I'm not using this planner anymore).

It was a great idea: pages for goals, month on 2 pages calendars, and week views with vertical columns for days.  To give myself lots of room for my lists, I put a blank 2-page spread between each week.  I even put month tabs down the side (as I like so much ).  It's a portable size, and has the Moleskine planner's address booklet in the back.  I thought this planner was absolutely The Shit.

But...(and you knew this was coming) it turned out not to be the end-all be-all I expected it to be.  As it turned out, having to turn the page to see my lists was a Fail.  Yes apparently I really am that out-of-sight out-of-mind that I have to have my lists visible alongside my weekly schedule.  Also, I found it very annoying when flipping through my book that the weeks were not back to back.  And I missed having information pages like dialing codes and time zones in my planner.

Not only that, but the black cover and format I drew were very boring and way too serious.  So when I went to London in April it was the perfect time for me to switch to the very fun 3) Dodo Pad A5 Filofax insert in my new Filofax Domino.  I loved the weekly changing pages, art, humor and colors.

But, as has happened before, I eventually quit using my A5 Filofax as my main planner because it was just too big and heavy to carry everywhere with me.   At the beginning of June I started using my purple-covered 4) Plan-It Planner because I love the large month calendars embedded in the weeks.   But after a couple of weeks I had problems because there wasn't space for my lists on the weekly page.

So in mid-June I switched to my 5) 2009-2010 Moleskine weekly notebook because it has an entire page each week for lists and notes.  Also  I think I used this because I was impatient to begin my 6) 2010-2011 Moleskine weekly notebook at the beginning of July.  Despite the fact that I used the weekly notebook format for much of 2009 and was never completely satisfied with it because the day spaces are too small for me, I gave it a try again. I thought the new monthly planning calendars might make a big difference.  And to be honest, I was excited to start a fresh new planner.

Near the end of July, my moving preparations were really gearing up.  For those who weren't following at the time, my husband was changing careers and my family and I were moving internationally.  A very stressful situation to put it mildly.  So predictably I had a planner crisis.  I was having a hard time keeping track of all the moving logistics and what needed to be done when. Also, I needed a lot of information handy, which usually makes me turn to my Filofax.  So after my Filofax revamp, I moved into my 7) personal size Filofax with week on 2 pages diary and used my large Noteletts notebook for moving lists and notes.  You can read about that here.

But despite the post title, that wasn't gettin' it done.  I had a full-blown planner crisis.  My wise younger sister helped me through it and suggested I use the planner she's had great success with for the past year, the 8) Quo Vadis Trinote.  This planner got me through my move beautifully, and definitely saved my sanity through the difficult transition.

After I started to settle into my new place and new life, I got adventurous again with my planners.  Being in the UK opened up new planner possibilities for me.  I'd had my eye on the 9) Life Book for awhile and couldn't resist trying it.  It has monthly calendars (which I love and need) and space for lists on the weekly layout.  Also, now that my household is on a school-year schedule it seemed like it would be more convenient to have an academic-year planner.  So I switched from my super-efficient Trinote to the Life Book.

Before long I discovered that the Life Book's daily spaces were not nearly big enough for me to write everything I need to write each day.  So I ordered up the 10) Quo Vadis Textagenda (UK version) day per page planner.  I used the Textagenda together with the Life Book (which you can read about here).  Using two planners at once quickly failed and I went back to my Trinote.

So, 10 planners is better than 13.  But still, this is ridiculous.  If I have to look anything up, I have to search through all these planners to see where it's written.  I'd really love to commit to one planner for a whole year!  But in order to accomplish this, I think the planner would have to be perfect.  I need My Ideal Planner.

As excellent as my Trinote is, it's lacking some features I'd like: monthly calendars, a pretty cover and a smaller more portable size.  The first two I've fixed (with my addition of monthly calendars and colored covers), but there's no way to shrink the book.  If I can't find a smaller version of My Ideal Planner, then my Trinote might possibly be it.  But I still want to see if I can find something that works as well for me as the Trinote, but in a smaller size. This gets tricky because a smaller size book means less writing space, and as we all know I like to write a lot in my planner.

I plan to use my Trinote through the end of this year, but come January the battle of the 2011 planners will begin.  More on that in my next post!

**Edited later to add:  Before the end of 2010 I also tried:

11) My large Moleskine day per page planner. (You can read about that failure here.)

12) Personal size Filofax daily + weekly.  (Read about that failure here.)

13) Personal size Filofax 2 days per page. (Aaaaand, that failure here, scroll all the way down to the bottom of the comments.)

Looking for a 2011 planner?

Are you searching for the perfect planner to guide you through 2011?  Hopefully I can help you in your search! 

The first thing you have to decide is whether you want a bound-book style of planner or a loose-leaf binder system (like Filofax etc.).  Here is my post Planner Preference: Ring Binder vs. Bound Book to help you decide.

Here is a list of reviews I have done of 2011 planners, with some suggestions to help you figure out what you need and want from your planner in the coming year.

Click on the highlighted links for my complete reviews with lots of photos of features of each planner, and links to order the planner from the appropriate website if you are interested.  Click on photos for a larger view:

**Edited to add: in my original post I left this planner out because it was sold out, but now it is back in stock! If you want a beautiful, super-slim planner with fabulous paper and a unique layout: months and weekly pages visible at the same time, you MUST check out the Rabbit planner (click here for the ordering page)! Click here to see my review of this fantastic planner:

If you want a sleek, classic style planner that suits many needs in many circumstances, check out the Moleskine planners (here is my review of the Large Daily and Vertical Weekly Moleskine planners).

If you want a similar style to the Moleskine but with all seven days as vertical columns and space for notes in a portable size planner, then it's the Leuchtturm medium weekly planner you want.

If you want a very small, portable planner (perhaps as a companion to your smartphone) then you want the Moleskine Extra Small planner (in daily or weekly format).

If you want a portable planner with a pretty cover, large weekly view, and monthly calendars across a two-page spread with the months EMBEDDED in the weeks (a very hard-to-find format!) check out the Plan-It Planners.  Click here to see my review of the academic year version.  Click here for the 2011 January-December planners.

If you are very busy and need lots of space to write each day and need to write task lists on your weekly pages to see everything you have to do and when you have time to do it all in one view, you can't go wrong with a Quo Vadis Trinote or Minister planner.  Click these links for my reviews of the Trinote and Minister, links below go straight to the Quo Vadis product pages.

The Trinote format has Notes spaces for each day:

The Minister is a slightly slimmer book:

If you have lots of recurring events each week and/ or month and are tired of re-writing them each week (because sooner or later, you'll forget to re-write and something will slip through the cracks) then hurry to order your 2011 WeekDate planner before they sell out!  Its unique format allows you to "Only Write It Once" as the brand's logo says.  Click here for my review of the 2011 WeekDate weekly planner.

If you want to keep track of your and your family's schedule while having fun and learning interesting facts in a weekly-changing planner, check out the Dodo Pad diary (which comes in various formats and sizes including desk, mini, wall, and Filofax inserts).  Click here to read my review of the 2011 Dodo Pad A5 Filofax insert on Philofaxy.

If you want budget sheets, menu planning, shopping lists, holiday planning and more incorporated in your weekly planner, take a look at the Life Book by Organised Mum.

All of these planners, believe it or not, I actually own so if you have any specific questions about any of these that I didn't cover in the reviews, post a comment and let me know.  I'd be happy to help you sort through the piles of options and help you find the right 2011 planner for you!

Of course there are loads of other options besides those listed here, but this selection will get you started or maybe show you some options you hadn't considered before.

Good luck reaching your own personal Planner Nirvana in 2011!

For those of you who have already decided what planner you will use next year, please post a comment and tell us what you've chosen!

Daily Diary + Weekly Planner

Here are the details of how I'm using my daily diary (my Quo Vadis Textagenda that I reviewed yesterday) and my weekly planner (currently using my 2011 Life Book Diary) concurrently.

My weekly planner is Mission Control.  In it I write all my appointments, do my meal planning, plan holidays and otherwise do general planning.  In the Monthly section I see the overview of each month, track bills due and paid, fill in my monthly budget totals, write my monthly goals and monthly reviews.

Even though the day spaces in the weekly planning pages of the Life Book Diary are pretty big, they are still not big enough for everything I want to write each day (which is a lot). So, I ordered up my Textagenda.

I know some people find it redundant to use a weekly planner and a daily diary at the same time.  And then I know other people who use both, or have separate weekly and daily sections in their Filofax.  I'm using a setup similar to how this woman uses her Filofax as her planner, and her notebook for each day's task list. In fact she was my inspiration for using this two-book system, so many thanks to her!

I had a few days to think about how I was going to use my Textagenda while I waited for it to get here, so even though it's only Day 1 of using it, my plan is fully formed:  my Textagenda is all about Today.  My weekly planner is for planning ahead (which I absolutely need a week view to do), my Textagenda is for planning and recording today.

Today's appointments get written in the timed schedule area at the top of the page, and the day's priority goes in the Priority box.

Today's to-do list is written on the lines below. This is the space where I can do a brain dump to get out of my head all of those little details of what I need to do, things to bring with me that day, steps to do in a certain order, and whatever else needs to get done today.

Today's page is also today's In-Box. All those little notes, numbers, ideas, whatever comes at me throughout the day gets jotted on the page.  It's very handy to grab my planner, open it to today's page, and jot anything down rather than dig for a notebook or scrap of paper and then hope I can find that note again later.

Today's expenditures get written on today's page, to capture them immediately (and not rely on my questionable ability to keep all my receipts until the end of the day to tally later). At the end of the week I write totals for each category (groceries, kids' activities, gifts etc.) in my weekly planner, then at the end of the month I total each of these categories for the month.  I find it simplifies my process to have weekly category totals, which makes my monthly totaling much easier to accomplish (and therefore much more likely that I'll actually do it).

Today's record of events like: stuff I want to remember to write in my journal later at home; learning activities and books I read with my kids that day; exercise; the weather; and anything else I want to keep as a record of the day.  Some things (like journaling memories) may get transferred to a different book later, but writing it on today's page is a convenient way to capture it and allows me find it again later easily.

Any appointments or events scheduled while I'm out and about get written into their appropriate date and time, and I also make a note on today's page to write it into my weekly planner at home.

I carry my Textagenda with me everywhere, and my weekly planner stays at home, so at the end of the day I review today's page and transfer anything that needs to be written into my weekly planner. For me, it's very helpful to have only one place, today's page, where everything gets written even if I have to transfer it somewhere else later. That way the information gets captured reliably and I can find it again easily.

There are so many ways to use a daily book.  I love this article on the At-A-Glance blog about various ways to use a day per page diary (some of which I have incorporated into my Textagenda usage).  You'll notice my comment on that blog post, which refers to my post When Is A Planner Not A Planner? that has more ideas for how to use a daily book.

2011 Life Book Diary

How could I resist a planner that promises to organize my life?? The answer is, of course, I couldn't.

Behold, the 2011 Life Book by Organised Mum!

This diary is absolutely packed with features.  Go grab a beverage, and a snack too if you like, to sustain you while I go on and on about all the amazing pages and extra goodies in this planner!

The 2011 Life Book is an A5 size weekly planner that goes from September 2010 through December 2011 with monthly planning pages, budget worksheets, holiday planning pages and much, much more.

***Edited to add: the 2012 version of the Life Book starts mid-August in response to folks (including me) in Scotland who start school earlier than the rest of the UK. This makes this planner great for US folks starting school in August too!

There's so much to tell you I hardly know where to start, so I'm going to just jump straight in and take you through the book.

(Click on photos for a larger view.)

The very first page is Personal Information, so you (or someone else, in an emergency) don't have to flip through pages to find your important details.

The next page has spaces for more useful numbers for quick reference, and annual calendars for 2010 and 2011.

Next there are six pages of Weekly Routines.  There are several ways you could use these pages.  You could use one page for each person's weekly routine, or use one weekly routine page for each school term.  Also, there is a very handy page to record clothing and shoe sizes for each family member.

Also near the front of the book there is a folded pull-out reference calendar for 2010 and 2011 at a glance.

Next comes the weekly diary section.  Click on the photo to enlarge and see all the excellent features on these pages.

First you will notice that each day space is large, and the weekend days have the same amount of space as the weekdays which is VERY important for those of us with busy weekends!  Under Sunday there is a space labeled Notes and Next Week, to jot those reminders.  At the bottom of the weekly pages are linear monthly calendars for this and next month, for easy reference.

At the bottom of each day's space there is a line for Meal Ideas.  At the left side of the left page, there is a perforated tear-off Shopping List so you can write the ingredients you need to buy for your menus for the week.  At the right side of the right page, there is a list area for Things To Do, and Important notes or reminders at the bottom.

UK holidays and phases of the moon are printed on the day spaces (which as you all know by now I REALLY appreciate).  The font and blue ink color are pleasant to look at, and I really like the seasonal icons on the pages.  Let me just say how much I appreciate that the book is very attractive inside and out, without being cutesy or frou-frou.  I really like it.

As if all that weren't amazing enough, we are only halfway through the book!  Hold onto yourselves, this book gets better and better.

After the weekly pages is a tabbed divider for the Monthly section.

Every month from September 2010 through December 2011 has a generous two-page spread with nice big squares to write in.  Holidays are printed in the day spaces, making it easy to plan around holidays and events.

After every monthly spread there is a page to write Things to Do that month (perfect for writing monthly goals), and a page for Notes for that month (great for logging your Mid-Month and Monthly Reviews on the page opposite your goals).

The next two-page spread is for that month's Budget, and Income and Outgoings.

The Budget page has the most common budget items pre-printed, helpfully reminding you to budget for council tax, insurance, tv etc.  Below the pre-printed categories are spaces to fill in your own categories as needed.

How great is it to have your planner, goals, monthly reviews, budget and expenditures record all in one place??

After the Monthly Planning section there is another tabbed section for Christmas and holiday planning.

Because this planner covers September 2010 through December 2011, there are planning pages specifically for Christmas 2010 and Christmas 2011.  For each one, there are pages for your plans, and your budget for the holiday season:

There are also pages for Christmas gift lists, cards, and extra shopping.

Also in the Christmas and Holidays section there are pages to plan your summer holiday, to make sure your summer is action-packed but not over-packed.  And, here is something I really love: at the back of this section are pages for Thoughts and Plans for 2010, 2011, and 2012.  This is the perfect place to write New Year's Resolutions and Annual Goals for each year.  I love that there is space specifically designated for each year to stretch out your thoughts and dreams for the year.

There are a couple of pages for Notes, then at the very back of the book there is a page with annual planners for 2012 and 2013.  Inside the back cover there is a pocket (that is open at the top, not the side, so that longer papers and envelopes can stick out the top.  Thank you!).  Inside the pocket there are two pages of stickers to indicate special days, and an Address and Contacts booklet.

I especially like the stickers that remind me to pay my car tax and get my car's MOT inspection, which I am very likely to forget without being reminded!

The Addresses and Contacts booklet has alphabetized contacts pages for names, addresses and numbers:

There is a page for Useful Contacts for services and businesses, and a page of Quick Call numbers:

At the back of the Address booklet is a page for Birthdays and anniversaries, so you can refer to it year after year:

The Life Book includes two clear, movable page dividers with top tabs, to mark your place in the weekly and monthly section (or wherever you need to reference quickly).

The cover has a water-resistant coating that survived my test of having water rubbed on it without soaking in.  The cover wipes clean easily, which is important for those of us with messy lives!  Click on the photo to read the back cover.

Even with all of these features and 16 months of daily, monthly and budgeting pages packed in, the book is still less than an inch thick.

This A5 size Life Book is nearly two inches narrower, half an inch shorter, and a whole lot lighter than my A5 Filofax.

This book is an amazing all-in-one diary, budget record, menu planner and overall life organizer!  I'm absolutely smitten. And, I still can't get over the price: it's only ₤12.99, which I think is a fantastic value for everything you get in this book.

There is only one thing (only one!) that I would change about this diary, and that is: I would make it start at the beginning of August instead of the beginning of September.  For those of us in Scotland, school starts in mid-August, and it would be nice for my diary to begin before school does.  Also, despite the UK-specific aspects of this diary, I think it could be a huge hit in the US, and all of America starts school mid-August.  So, Organised Mum, that is my only suggestion.  I know it would make the book thicker, but I don't mind in the least.

***Edited to update: the 2012 Life Book starts in August, to start at the beginning of the school year in Scotland and the US! A big THANK YOU and a pat on the back to Organised Mum for listening to your customers!

Organised Mum has loads of products to help you organize (organise) a busy household.  If you like the Life Book but want a smaller version, check out the Pocket Life Book Diary.  If you want a book identical to the Life Book but would prefer a weekly grid layout to keep track of each family member separately, you want the Family Life Book Diary.  These diaries can also be purchased with beautiful faux-leather zip covers too.

In addition to diaries, Organised Mum has wall calendars in weekly or monthly formats with either large day spaces, or grids to keep track of each family member every day of the week.

They also have their Made By Me line of stationary products that kids can design themselves. Cool!  I especially love the colorful DIY Children's Calendar, with tons of stickers to personalize and decorate each month.  Who could resist designing your own calendar??

There are also loads of accessories for your diary and calendars, including extra stickers of various types, clever arrow page markers, and a beautiful diary stand that I really want!

I ordered my Life Book from the Organised Mum website, and I was really happy with their easy ordering and super-fast shipping.  You can also find some Organised Mum products in John Lewis stores, or use their Stockist locator to find a shop near you.

You can follow Organised Mum on Twitter (OrganisedMum) and on Facebook.