Gakken Sta:Ful Schedule 2011

This is a diary format I've been searching for for a very long time: the current month and current week visible at the same time!  This planner is the Schedule 2011 by Gakken Sta:Ful. I ordered this planner from Ginko Papers. I mentioned this planner in this post.  Click here to see the planner page.  Update:  this planner was sold out but is now back in stock!!  Ginko Papers managed to get some more from the publisher in Japan.  So HURRY to order yours before they sell out completely!!!

First let me say this: This planner is from Japan.  Ginko Papers is located in the US. I live in Scotland.  And this planner arrived SEVEN DAYS after I ordered it! That is incredibly fast!!

Second, let me summarize the planner: it is AWESOME.  The Rabbit cover (to celebrate 2011 Year of the Rabbit) is beautiful front and back.

The cover is plastic-covered which is great for those of us who tend to be messy (speaking for myself here!).

Here is the fantastic layout with the month on top and week (with all 7 days as columns!!) at the bottom.  The pages in the monthly section turn independently of the weekly, so you can look at your month while you flip ahead in your weeks or vice-versa.  On the monthly pages there are a few lines for reminders or goals that month, and on the weekly page there are several lines for To Dos that week.  Click on the photo for a larger view.

Each daily column has a space at the top to note the significant event of the day (holiday, birthday, deadline etc.) and a space at the bottom for notes, daily totals etc.  The columns are lined and timed from 8:00 to 22:00.

And look there at the right side of the pages: monthly tabs!!  Hooray!  Monthly tabs really do make it easier to find the month and week I'm looking for.

Inside the front cover there are two plastic tabs that hold the monthly and weekly sections to the current page, so when you open the book it automatically opens to the current month and week! I love it!

As if the beautiful cover and fantastic format weren't enough, there are loads of other great features in this planner!

Inside the back cover there are 3 slots for cards, and a full-length pocket behind for loose papers.  There's another plastic clip for larger papers, and there's even a pen loop!!  (Pen not included, that's my own Sakura Micron in there.)

The back pages of the calendar sections have space for personal information.

There are also loads of other pages in the top section, like Addresses:

 Passwords:

 Subway maps, very interesting:

 And year planner pages:

At the front of the calendar section there are reference calendars for 2011 and 2012.

Additionally, there are lots of notes pages in the top section behind the month pages.

To be precise, there are 37 lined pages and 15 quadruled pages.  That totals 52 notes pages.  That means I can have one page for each week of the year to write my weekly to do list.  Which I can then view at the same time as my weekly schedule.  This is absolute genius!

The monthly section goes from October 2010 through March 2012, giving you a few extra months' planning.  The weekly section starts December 20, 2010 and ends January 1, 2012.  But there is a bonus!  Included is a weekly booklet supplement for October 2010 through December 19, 2010 so the user could start this planner at the beginning of October in both the monthly and weekly sections. This means I can start using this planner immediately without having to wait until January!!  Instant gratification: Priceless.

The paper is exquisite.  Super-smooth, and absolutely no show-through.  I don't know what the weight of the paper is but it's fantastic.

This book is incredibly slim, and at 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 inches it is very portable.  It will definitely fit into any of my bags and is so light I'll have no problem carrying it with me everywhere.

Highest praises for Ginko Papers customer service.  After I ordered my planner, I received a very nice email from the owner (!) of Ginko Papers confirming my order and giving me tracking information.  As I mentioned before, the shipping was mind-blowingly fast, and the international shipping rates were extremely reasonable.

And on top of all that excellence, there was included a beautiful Rabbit post card with a hand-written note! Wow, that was really nice!  Thank you Ginko Papers!

According to the Ginko Papers website, 2011 the Year of the Rabbit will be a calm year where all of our hard work finally pays off.  Sounds great to me!!

For those of you who really want the calendar format of this planner but weren't able to order it before it sold out, you might take a look at the Himori The Beginning diary (click here for the ebay page).  I have not ordered from this seller and I have not tried this particular diary, so I can't tell you about the quality or anything else.  But according to the photos it has a very similar layout with weeks and months visible simultaneously.

If you are interested in other new and interesting planner designs, be sure to check out Ginko Papers' selection (quickly before they sell out!).  There are lots of cool planners like the weekly and monthly planners with embroidered covers, or with covers that are clear zip storage pouches.  Very cool!