Hey everybody! I know it's been a long time! I've been busy.
This is a topic I think about often, of course: the Ideal Planner.
In reality, it's different for everyone. One person's Ideal Planner is not ideal for someone else, and vice versa. But I'm curious to hear what you desire in a planner.
I feel like I've seen just about every planner format out there. And yet...it seems like we could do better, right? Surely there's a planner layout that will help you do everything you need and want to do.
Do you want a planner that can incorporate priorities, goals, tracking, etc? Or do you just want something simple that you can use in different ways?
What would your ideal planner look like?
Please post a comment!
I love my Pocket! It's perfect for me, but the size 8.1 x 12 becomes very small sometimes. I think if it was 9x13 it would be better. Anyway, I'm making inserts a little bigger for her.
ReplyDeleteThanks to grad school, I had some pretty specific needs for tracking schedule, readings, and papers in addition to home/personal stuff. I finally designed my own pages and have kept to them for all of this academic year. This is a big thing for me to use the same layout this long ;) I split it up, schedule on one page to track classes and what's due by days, and reading/papers on the other page. Since I usually have to read one book per class per week, I needed a good way to divide up the pages to note what I had to get through every day.
ReplyDeleteI also discovered the joy of alphabet dividers. They are amazing! I can pt any sort of notes in there and immediately find them as needed. Ex.: a page under M for movies I want to see; a page under R for research ideas....etc. It has greatly streamlined things as far as organization goes.
I'm seriously considering bullet journalling - I don't like having to set up a new page every single day, but you're right, there is no Perfect Planner out there. My ideal would contain most of what's in a Franklin Covey, but in a different format: shrink the appointment section radically, replacing it with a checklist of household chores that everyone needs to do every day, even if they're...well, maybe not a CEO. Things like paying attention to one's bed, or "laundry" (you get to choose whether that means washing it, dropping it off to be done, or just picking up clothes strewn everywhere and putting them into the hamper), kitchen tidying, bathroom quick-swipe.
ReplyDeleteThen I'd also want a small space that I could devote to the main meal of the day - I currently use the 6:00-7:00 p.m. slot in the Franklin, highlighting it in pink so that I remember to write down what's for dinner - a space for jotting down the day's expenses, and a space I could devote to tracking my own pet project (which happens to be a weather almanac - other people have their own idiosyncrasies). That's on the one page. And on the facing page, just like a Franklin, a space for jotting down notes. But I'd want to be able to write in my own inspirational quote. Oh, and size - 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 works best for me.
I've realised that I've already found my ideal planner!
ReplyDeleteMy set up (based on Getting Things Done)
I know it won't be for everyone, but I find that everything's all in one place & I can fit quite a bit in personal size with this set up.
When I need a change, I will move into my Raydori which isn't so GTD structured. I need to write a more detailed post about its set up, but this is part 1:
Raydori (Midori Travelers style notebook: part 1
I'm also considering working on an alternative set up for my Filofax for a bit of variety. Still needs some consideration & then I'll do a Philofaxy post :)
I frankenplannered a spiral Recollections vertical planner into rings and insert note pages as I need them. It took a couple of months but I have a weekly view of our schedules, blocks for bills due/financial impact items (overdue items fines, rental expiry dates), daily meal planning/food log, cleaning, laundry, to do list and in the sidebar medical and gym trackers and a shopping list. I couldn't find a weekly layout that was preprinted with everything that I needed. Each month begins with a monthly overview that helps with future planning at a glance.
ReplyDeleteMy ideal planner is one that I DIYed 2 years after describing it. lol My franken-planner is have cut down binder with monthly and weekly inserts, and a bunch of paper I use to make notes and lists on.
ReplyDeleteMy ideal planner is the one I use now. It's the Franklin Planner day on 2 pages format. I like it because I can make appointments, prioritize my to's, do daily tracking and have a whole page for notes. It's everything I need.
ReplyDeleteMy ideal planner is a weekly planner with days of the week on the left and notes on the right page. The days do not have times listed. I'll do that myself. Paper is fountain and gel pen friendly and on a ring or disk binder so additional notes/reference pages can be added as needed. It's A5 sized and I haven't found it yet.
ReplyDelete