Planner compromises?

I think we've all made planner compromises at some point. Maybe the format wasn't quite what you wanted, but you couldn't find the perfect one for you. Most of us who have ever used a Filofax or other ring binder have had to compromise with the big book/ small page situation. Maybe the planner with your perfect weekly format doesn't have the monthly pages you need so you tape them in or create a monthly booklet. Or maybe you got fed up and ended up drawing your own version in a notebook or creating printables.

I've done all of the above. My entire planner journey has been a series of compromises. So many planners are close to what I want, but there's something they're lacking: wrong size, not enough space for lists. Many have certain components I want, but are lacking other features I need.

What planner compromises have you made?

Poll: Where do you buy/ get your planners?

It seems there are fewer and fewer brick and mortar shops that carry planners anymore. And if a shop near you does carry planners, they may not be anything like what you want.

For years I've ordered planners online, but recently I've discovered the joys of printing my own.

I'd like to know where most people buy/ get your planners these days. And, have you changed the way you get your planner compared to how you used to buy/ get them in the past?

Please leave a comment, or vote in the poll in the sidebar.

Pre-printed holidays? Or write them in yourself?

This is a topic I've written about before, asking whether people prefer holidays pre-printed into the day spaces in planners. I used to like as much holiday information as possible in planners. When I was living in unfamiliar countries I wanted to know local holidays, public holidays back in the US (where I'm from), European holidays, etc. I wanted to know what was going on everywhere in the world. I think that stemmed from not knowing what was going on around me most of the time, and the desire to feel like I was still a part of countries I used to live in but didn't any longer.

Now that I've been living in Scotland for a few years, I've found I don't want every holiday and religious observance under the sun taking up space in my planner pages. It's not that I don't care about what's happening around the world, it's just less relevant to my day to day life.

Now I want UK and US holidays, and that's pretty much it. I need to know when the holidays are here in the UK, and when my family and friends in the US have days off. There are several planners with US and UK holidays, but they tend to have Canadian and Australian holidays too.

Some planners have loads of international holiday information and observances of several religions in the day spaces, but I can see how that would be annoying for people it doesn't apply to. Other planners, like Moleskine, don't have holidays in the day spaces at all so you have to write them all in yourself.

Where do you come down on holidays in planners? Do you like seeing international holidays and religious observances? Do you want the holidays of just your own country? Or are you willing to write in all holidays yourself so you see only what is pertinent to you?

Planner Focus Flipboard

You may have noticed a nifty little gizmo down in the sidebar called Planner Focus.That's a magazine that Steve adds articles to as he's going through the links to add to his Philofaxy Web Finds twice per week. When he comes across something planner related but not suitable for Web Finds he pops it in the Planner Focus flipboard.

Check it out to find lots of planner posts from around the web! He updates it once or twice per week so check back often. And thank you Steve for doing it! It's fun to flip through and see what's new around the planner world.

18th century planners

I'm reading a fascinating book called The Accidental Diarist: A History of the Daily Planner in America by Molly McCarthy. I was especially interested in the very beginnings of what we would call a planner. Back then it was used more as a memo book and to record expenses.

The earliest forms of them were from the mid 1700's and had a dated weekly format that is similar to a Moleskine weekly notebook, with dated spaces on one side and the other ruled for financial tracking.

This article has photos of a similar book, from 1796. These little books were meant to be carried with you at all times to record expenses and make note of significant events of the day.

This time was before the big diary boom of the 19th century when keeping a diary was fashionable on both sides of the pond. These little memo books were less about personal reflection and more about straight record-keeping, although according to the book some personal reflection did occur.

I'm fascinated by these beginnings of planners! I would love to see something like this in person.

2015-2016 Academic year planners

I've noticed the academic year planners are starting to emerge.

LoveNotebooks has Paperblanks academic year planners available now.

Simply Moleskine has some of their 18 month planners in stock now, but Amazon lists them as being available in April or May.

**Edited to add: Today my large 18 month 2015-2016 Moleskine weekly notebook (in the gorgeous new Tide Green color) arrived, and I was very pleasantly surprised to find they have gone back to the grid monthly calendars they used several years ago! The only problem with these is they sacrifice the future-year planning that was in the monthly columns. But honestly there are plenty of notes pages in the back of the book to convert a few into your future-year planner.

Quo Vadis academic year planners are usually available in May, as are most of the other brands.

Do you use an academic year planner? How early do you like to buy yours?

Itching for 2016 planners

Around about this time of year I start itching for next year's planners. This year's planners are pretty much done selling, and we are entering the Planner Dry Season while we wait for the next batch of planners to come out.

I think my desire for next year's planners is partly for planning purposes (because I do like to plan as far in advance as I can) but mainly due to curiosity. What cover colors and styles will be available? Will there be any new formats or sizes coming out? Or will the selection decrease (as so many have been lately)?

Fortunately some of the planner companies have already released their 2016 catalogs, including Quo Vadis and Moleskine. Meanwhile I'll continue stalking the internet for product updates from the other companies.

When do you start looking for next year's planners?