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Friday, July 31, 2015

Those of you who have your own business and use a paper planner, please read!

A friend of mine recently started his own company and was advised by his lawyer to use a paper planner for records and documentation. He knows I'm a planner person so he asked me for advice. I've never been in this situation before so I thought I'd ask experienced folks what they use.

I'm thinking for legal documentation and records purposes he'll need an archival quality book, meaning bound with acid-free pages. He is a techy guy so he probably won't use it as his actual planner, more for documenting phone calls, meetings, decisions etc. He won't want anything too complicated.

What do you use for your business/ self-owned company for documentation and records? Please post a comment with any suggestions. Thank you, your input is much appreciated!

Thursday, July 30, 2015

So that new planner you thought would make your life perfect...didn't. Here's what to do next.

It's happened to all of us planner people at some point, myself especially. You thought that new planner was going to make your life absolutely awesome. Maybe you fell for the hype of the latest planner fad. Maybe you got sucked in by users' testimonials. Maybe you wanted it because it was Just So Pretty! Maybe you needed a change and this one looked like it would do the trick.

Whatever your reasons for trying a new planner, you were disappointed when you finally had it in your hands or had been using it for a little while. It didn't make your life as effortless, organized, or awesome as you expected it to. What now?

First of all, do a reality check. It's easy to get excited about a new planner, but it's less exciting when your planner is full of reminders for work, carpooling, giving your pet their flea prevention, and all the daily details of our routines. Yes a fun planner can make planning more fun, but the reality is it won't make our actual work more fun. If that's what you were expecting, give yourself a healthy dose of reality and move on.

Maybe you really thought the planner would work for you in your circumstances. You saw the how-tos on their website. You read customer testimonials. You joined the Facebook group. You stalked Pinterest and blog reviews. When the planner finally arrived, you were rarin' to go.

But then...deflation at the realization it was a Planner Fail. Been there done that, my friend. Like about a billion times. Here's what to do next:

My Find Your Perfect Planner page has links to lots of posts I've written on how to, uh, find your perfect planner. That's assuming your Perfect Planner is out there. Maybe it's not. Maybe you can create your Perfect Planner. Maybe not. Maybe you don't have the time or energy to create it yourself. Maybe you can't visualize what your perfect planner would look like. That's completely okay.

First of all, keep an open mind about what you think your planner should be. Don't jump into the latest fad just because everyone else seems to be loving it. Unless you have an unlimited planner budget (who does?) and all the time in the world to fart around with your planners (again, who does?), try to be more selective with your planner choices. Focus on formats and functionality first, and aesthetics second.

This is my favorite post for walking you through planner choices: Planner Quagmire. It asks you questions about what you really need and want from your planner. There are links to other posts to help you through the process to determine how complicated or simple you need your planner to be, what you want it to look like, etc.

So there's a start to help you find a planner that will actually work for you. And remember, resist the hype!

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

It's Different Every Day 2016 calendar

Here is a calendar I highly recommend: the It's Different Every Day calendar, which is currently on Kickstarter for its 2016 version. I have the 2015 one this year and it is great: fun and interesting facts, little stories, drawing, games and puzzles, etc. I love that every time you tear off the page you never know what's coming up next. My kids (age 8 and 10) love it too.

Check out their Kickstarter page here to order yours for 2016! It's fun, interesting, and Different Every Day!

Friday, July 3, 2015

Offline in July

Hi everyone, I will be offline for most of this month while I travel to visit family. Just wanted to let you know in case you're waiting for a reply! I'll get back to you in early August when I'm back.

Have a great July!