Poll results: Do you carry your planner with you everywhere?

I was really surprised by some of these results!

Yes, I always carry my planner with me. (Please comment on the corresponding post to tell us what planner you use!)	98 (45%)
I carry my planner with me most of the time, but not always.	69 (32%)
I only carry my planner with me when I know I'll need to use it when I'm out.	32 (14%)
I never carry my planner.	9 (4%)
I capture things on my phone while I'm out and transfer it to my planner later.	21 (9%)

Total votes: 215 

In my associated post I had a lot of people comment that they carry their Filofax with them everywhere they go.  To me this is an ideal situation: one book that has everything you need that you can take with you everywhere.

I was most surprised that only 9 % of voters said they capture things on their phone and transfer it to their planner later. I thought this figure would be much higher!

This poll shows just how important a portable planner is. Many thanks to everyone who participated!

Poll: Do you carry your planner with you everywhere?

Ideally, everyone's planner would be small enough to carry everywhere so we're always ready to capture appointments and events no matter where we are.

But in the real world that doesn't always work. Especially those of us who like to use a large planner don't always want to carry it all the time.

I use two planners, a weekly and a daily, and I don't carry them everywhere. Usually I carry my daily to capture details on the go, but it's a large heavy daily book so there are definitely times when I don't carry it. I do take my weekly planner along when I know I'll need to schedule something, but most of the time it stays home. This isn't an ideal situation and sometimes I do get caught out without my planner when I need to check a date or write something down. But I like large pages, which equals a large book which is less portable. I'm still trying to figure out a better situation.

What about you? Do you carry your planner with you absolutely everywhere? (And if so, what planner do you use that you don't mind carrying it?)  Do you carry your planner most of the time but not always? Do you only carry it when you know you'll need it while you're out? Do you never carry your planner? Or, do you capture things on your phone while you're out and transfer it to your planner later?

Please vote in the poll in the sidebar!

Poll Result: Do you use separate planners for work and personal life?

Here's the result!

Out of 169 votes:

Yes, I use a planner (electronic or paper) at work and a separate planner for personal use	51 (30%)
No, I use one planner for both work and personal	105 (62%)
I use a planner at work but not for my personal life	2 (1%)
I use a planner for my personal life but not for work	11 (6%)

I'd love to hear from those of you who voted that you do use a separate planner for work and personal. Do you have to use an electronic planning system at work that everyone can link into? Or do you use a paper planner at work?


Also, the people who voted that they use a planner for personal life but not work: does that mean you don't work at a job, or do you somehow function at work without a planner?


As always with these polls, I find the results fascinating!  Many thanks to everyone who participated!

New Poll: Do you use separate planners for work and personal life?

This is a bit of a follow-on to my last poll where I asked everyone if you carry your planner everywhere. Several people said they keep a planner at work and carry a separate planner with them.

Now I want to know specifically if you use a planner at work (whether electronic or paper) and a separate planner for your personal life.  I wonder how many people have distinct work lives where they can leave their work planner at work, or if they need to incorporate their work and personal schedules together.

Please vote in the poll in the sidebar!  Thanks!

Poll Result, and loving your planner

I was very surprised by the results of the poll Do You Carry Your Planner With You?  The vast majority of people do carry their planner everywhere!

Here are the numbers:

Do you carry your planner with you everywhere?

163 votes

Yes, I carry my planner with me everywhere.	112 (68%)
I only carry my planner when I know I'll need it for appointments.	35 (21%)
No, my planner stays at home/ work.	16 (9%)

In the poll post, I said I only carry my planner when I know I'll need it to make an appointment. But I meant my actual planner, my weekly, which is where I schedule appointments. I do carry my pocket daily Moleskine diary everywhere, which is actually my daily log book. So according to my own rules, I would have voted that my planner does go everywhere with me.

When you carry a planner with you everywhere, it tends to record loads of details. This becomes a valuable and interesting record of your days, and a handy reference for information on the go. My daily pocket diary is the landing spot for all those little details each day.

Also, when your planner becomes your constant faithful companion, many people become very attached to them. I often see on Philofaxy how people even bring their Filofax to bed with them! For many people, their planner is consulted first thing in the morning, often throughout the day, and the last thing at night.

Because their planner is always with them, it's also a handy place for people to stick in receipts, tickets, cards, notes, pictures, quotes and more.

Do you love your planner? What do you love about it? And, what types of things do you stick/ put into it?

New Poll: Do You Carry Your Planner With You?

I'm very curious to find out if most people carry their planner with them all the time, only when they know they'll need it, or if their planner stays at work/ home.

I used to carry my planner everywhere with me all the time, but now that I'm walking more I tend to only bring it when I expect I'll need it.

What about you? Please vote in the poll in the sidebar!

Edited to add: If you use more than one planner, and you carry at least one of them with you all the time or part of the time, please vote according to the one you carry. Thanks!

Sorry for the typo in the poll's title!

Poll Result: Would You Buy Plannerisms Planners?

Many thanks for the show of support from the vast majority of people who would be interested in buying Plannerisms Planners!

Would you buy Plannerisms Planners? Results out of 147 votes:

Yes!	134 (91%)
No thanks, I'll stick with other brands.	13 (8%)

Many thanks to everyone who participated in this poll.

I hope the Plannerisms planners will be available for you all soon!

Poll result: do you write in your planner in cursive or print?

Many thanks to everyone who voted in this poll! The result is very interesting:

Do you write in your planner in cursive or print?

Out of 144 votes:

Cursive	26 (18%)
Print	53 (36%)
Mix of both	65 (45%)

New poll: Do you write in your planner in cursive or print?

Mstraat had the great idea to do this poll to find out if people mostly write in their planner in cursive or print.

I thought this was especially timely since many schools in the US no longer teach cursive writing so they can spend their time on "more important" things. Is handwriting soon to be a lost art?

So, do you write in cursive for speed, or because you have beautiful handwriting? Or do you print for tidiness and legibility?

Please vote in the poll at the side!

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Poll results: Sunday or Monday start in Monthly calendars?

Back when I posted this poll, I had no idea what the outcome would be.  Very interesting!!

Here are the results, out of 141 votes:

Sunday	46 (32%)
Monday	95 (67%)

Many thanks to everyone who voted!

Poll: Monthly calendars, Sunday or Monday start?

Whether you prefer your monthly calendar's weeks to begin on Sunday or Monday has a lot to do with where you live.

In the US, monthly calendars' weeks usually start on Sunday. Many people in the US don't like monthly calendars that start on Mondays because they are used to the Sunday start ones and find Monday-starting weeks confusing. I grew up with all monthly calendars starting their weeks on Sunday.

Elsewhere in the world, monthly calendars' weeks usually start on Monday, which I prefer. It keeps the weekend together for easier planning, and I like that my weekly planner pages directly match up with the corresponding week on my monthly calendar.

Quo Vadis blog had a post on this not long ago, and even though most of their readers are in the US there were still mixed replies.

Which do you prefer, Sunday or Monday start? Please vote in the poll in the sidebar!

Planner size poll result!

Here are the results of the Planner Size poll!

Out of 162 votes:

Pocket (approx 3 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches or smaller)	23 (14%)
Medium (approx 4 3/4 by 7 inches)	60 (37%)
A5 (approx 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 inches)	60 (37%)
Desk size (approx 7 1/2 by 10 inches)	9 (5%)
Full size ( 8 1/2 by 11 inches or A4)	10 (6%)

Very interesting that Medium and A5 ended up with the exact same number of votes. I think these sizes of planners are an excellent combination of portability and page size.

Pocket size had fewer votes than I expected because I thought people would go for maximum portability.

Desk and especially Full sizes got more votes than I expected! Shows there's still a market for large planners. I guess if you're carrying a laptop with you, you can carry a planner of similar size too.

Many thanks to everyone who voted in this poll!

New poll: What size planner do you use?

Next up in my series of polls: what size planner do you use as your main, day to day planner? Please vote over there in the sidebar.

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Bound-book folks, please choose the size that is closest to the size of book you use.

Filofax folks, please choose your page size as close as you can:

Pocket and Mini would both fall under Pocket

Personal = Medium (kind of an average between the size of the page and the size of the book)

A5 is A5 

A4 is Full Size.

I'm very curious to see the results of this poll!  In this day and age of technology on the go and working from anywhere, do people want their planner to be as small and portable as possible? Or do larger planners still have a following?

Thanks for voting!

Poll results: Why do you use a paper planner?

Here are the very interesting results of this poll!

Of 144 voters (each person was able to choose all answers that apply):

Time management	104 (72%)
Goal setting	64 (44%)
Creative outlet (art/ writing etc.)	44 (30%)
Record-keeping	66 (45%)
My job/ school doesn't let me use electronic devices	5 (3%)
The visual and/ or tactile aspect of the book/ paper	123 (85%)
Technology just isn't my thing	10 (6%)
I remember things better when I write them down	113 (78%)

I found it fascinating that more people use a paper planner for the visual and tactile aspects of the book than any other reason.  It makes sense, after all there's probably some device that would technically be more efficient, but the point of using a paper planner is the physical aspect of the book, turning the pages, the feeling of the paper on your hand as you write.

I was also surprised more people don't use a paper planner as a creative outlet. Maybe most people use a notebook for that? I like the idea of doing art or writing in a planner since it goes everywhere with you.

I found it very interesting that most people aren't using a paper planner because they are technophobes. Only 6% replied that technology isn't their thing.

I definitely identify with the folks who remember things better when you write them down. I definitely do, and typing things into a device does not have the same effect.

For me a big reason why I keep a paper planner is record-keeping. I still have my planners from previous jobs with all my contacts, records of trainings I attended, and everything I did. If I'd only kept that information on my computer at work, I wouldn't have any of it now.

Did I miss anything? Do you keep a paper planner for reasons other than those listed above?

New poll: Why do you use a paper planner?

Please vote in the poll over there in the sidebar!

There are lots of reasons why people use a paper planner. Personally I like the visual and tactile aspect of the book. I remember things better when I write them down. And I like to use my planners as a permanent record of events.

I've read about lawyers who are forbidden from using electronic devices in the courtroom and students who aren't allowed to use devices in the classroom, so these folks use paper planners.

Why do you use a paper planner? Please vote!

Poll result: How important is acid-free paper in your planner or notebook?

Here are the results, of 57 votes:

I'll only buy a planner or notebook if the paper is acid-free	12 (21%)
It's an added bonus if the paper is acid-free but not a dealbreaker if it's not	28 (49%)
It doesn't matter at all to me if the paper is acid-free or not	17 (29%

To be honest I was expecting more people to say that acid-free/ archival paper is important to them.  After all, the paper planner and notebook crowd is more likely to value long-term archiving than the electronic crowd, or so I assumed.

But it turns out, it doesn't matter! A friend of mine in the planner business told me after I started this poll that acid-free paper is an industry standard these days, and 99% of paper is acid-free whether the company advertises it as such or not. Even the notebooks you buy at the grocery store most likely have acid-free paper.

This is great news to me! I'm in the group of people who will only buy a planner or notebook if the paper is acid-free. Now that it's a non-issue, this opens up all kinds of great planner and notebook options for me!  I can use whatever I like without worrying about my writing fading over time.

Many thanks to everyone who participated in this poll!

New poll: How important is acid-free paper in your planner or notebook?

Please vote in my new poll over there in my sidebar: how important is it to you that the paper in your planner and/ or notebook is acid-free?

Acid-free paper is less likely to break down over time and fade your inks, so it is an indicator of archival quality paper.  Many brands specifically say they use acid-free paper (click here see my post on which brands I know of that use acid-free paper).

Personally, I specifically look for planners and notebooks that use acid-free paper. I keep my planners and notebooks forever, and I want to be able to read them decades from now. 

In fact, acid-free paper is so important to me that I'll buy a product I otherwise don't prefer (for example, Moleskine with its too-dark paper and boring black covers) because I know the paper is acid-free.

What about you? Will you only buy a product if you know the paper is acid-free? Is it an added bonus for you if the paper is acid-free, but if it's not you'd buy the product anyway? Or is acid-free paper not at all important in your purchasing decision?  Please vote!

Poll results: What type of cover do you prefer for your planner?

Here are the results, out of 74 votes:

Black	16 (21%)
Color	44 (59%)
Pattern or design	11 (14%)
Photo or image	2 (2%)
No preference	1 (1%)

I'm very surprised there aren't more people who prefer black covers!  No wonder Moleskine is branching out into colored covers for some of their 2013 planners.

I hope planner/ diary companies will see this poll and make more colored covers for their planners!

Many thanks to everyone who voted!

New Poll: What type of cover do you prefer for your planner?

Please vote in my new poll, over there in the sidebar. ---->

Some people prefer black covers. I have to admit, they do look professional. But I find them boring at best, and depressing at worst. So whenever I'm using a planner with a black cover I either let my kids decorate it, or buy a cover for it.

I prefer colored covers, especially purple. I don't normally go for patterns or photos, but I've seen some really pretty ones.

I didn't include texture in my poll, but I always prefer a soft texture. Either soft and smooth leather or leather-like, or fuzzy (like suede or felt).

What type of cover do you prefer for your planner?  Or do you have any preference?

Paper poll result: white vs. cream

I'm very surprised by the result of this poll!!

Back when I introduced this poll, I stated my preference for white paper (which still stands).  I've heard of marketing research that indicates, in general, US customers prefer white paper and European customers prefer cream/ ivory paper. Since the majority of my readers are in the US, I expected a majority of voters preferring white paper.

But boy was I wrong!!

Out of 94 votes, only 31 (33%) were for white paper, and 63 (67%) were for cream/ ivory.

No wonder there are so many notebooks available with cream or ivory paper, and good white-paper notebooks are becoming scarce!

What I didn't include in the poll is whether people prefer, for example, ivory paper in their notebooks but white paper in your planner. Do you prefer ivory paper for everything, or only for notebooks? Please pose a comment!