Ghost of Planners Past #2: The Supermodel

Here is a Cavallini day-per-page planner I used for awhile in 2007 that was an epic fail. The biggest problem with this planner is that it wouldn't stay open. I mean, it was beyond not lying open by itself. When I wrote in it I had to pry it open and press it down open with my left hand while writing. So it remained closed most of the time, and as my sister says, "a closed planner is a dead planner." Without my day's schedule staring me in the face all the time, I consistently forgot appointments and even what day of the week it was. In addition to its perpetually closed cover, the day per page format (with no monthly calendars in the book) didn't allow me to plan ahead at all.

Another issue I had with it was its sheer beauty. Or really, my worrying about messing up said beauty. My life is messy, and a pristine smooth leather cover wouldn't stay that way for long without some serious protection. Whenever I had to take the planner anywhere in my bag, I sealed it in a zip-lock bag to keep it clean. Whenever I had to pry it open to write anything into it, I had to make sure my hands were clean and dry. This quickly became a complete pain in the ass.

I realized it was useless as a planner so for awhile I used it as a journal. But prying it open to write and cramming my handwriting into the tiny lines was so frustrating that I finally stopped using it altogether. It's a shame too because it's a beautiful book. The leather is soft and nice to touch, I love the personalization with my initials imprinted on the cover, and overall it's a very classy-looking planner. My sister summed it up perfectly: "It's like a supermodel: beautiful, high-maintenance, and ultimately useless."