I have a theory. Your relationship with your planner is like a marriage. It can last a lifetime (or until the rings break, at least) or it can fall apart rather quickly.
Planners have personalities.
If your personality does not match your planner, things will never work out. I like pretty colors, but my planner needs to sort of go with everything. It doesn't have to match, but in true What Not to Wear style, it needs to coordinate. It can't be too boring.
Right now, I have a black planner. Not my first color choice, but it has little time swirls all over the cover, giving it texture. I can't stand a boring black planner, so this works for now. I really tend to gravitate towards blue planners. And while many people love leather, I prefer a nonleather planner. But that means my planners don't last long enough, especially as the only nonleather planners that I find tend to be vinyl.
How a planner feels also matters. There needs to be a spark when you hold it. You should like to touch it. (Pro tip: DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES STROKE YOUR PLANNER WHILE IN PUBLIC. I am a criminal defense attorney and I've seen people committed for far less!)
Planners need time together with you.
Your planner needs to be portable enough to fit your life. And you have to fit your life to your planner.
I use a Franklin Covey compact size. (It is roughly equivalent to a Filofax personal size, but a bit wider.) An A5/classic size is too big for me but anything smaller is too small.
Keeping your planner with you is hard work, just like a marriage is hard work. I choose bags that fit my planner. My backpack, purse, and messenger bag all have a designated spot for my planner. At home, I have two places where I am willing to put my planner down - and that's it. If you like your planner open in front of you all the time, consider getting a recipe stand (like chefs use in kitchens). The stand will hold your planner open on the counter.
Planners need to communicate with you.
My planner has monthly and weekly pages. That's enough communication for me. Daily pages feel like I am being nagged! And naggy marriages just don't work.
Planners have to be nurtured.
Write everything down. Use your planner everyday, in every context, for everything. Don''t assume you will remember something if you don't write it down. You won't.
We don't remember any of the things that we have forgotten!
Happy honeymooning.
Etcetera.
7 comments:
I never thought about my Filofax having a personality, but now that you mention it. Thank you for the "pro.tip" I will also ensure that I do not stroke it during meetings - just in case the Law Agent is watching. Great post. Thank you - Oh and I have a Malden Personal and I prefer very conservative colours.
This is an amazing post. You're so right!!
Here it is! Please disregard my comment on your other post. I use weekly and monthly pages too, but I also use daily, not for planning ahead but for mapping out my day and then recording lots of details. It can be a lot to keep up with though!
I agree with your thinking. . . .I'm wondering where you get blank paper for your planner? my Mead planner holds the 4 1/2 by 6" size but that size paper is $5 for just 50 sheets on their website and i can't find it anywhere else! I use the blank paper more than anything (my calendar is on our fridge), but i simply can't afford those prices.
I went to the local Staples and they said they can cut paper to that size but they don't have a hole puncher to match the holes. So i went to Office Depot and they said the same thing, so out of desperation i grabbed a pack of college rule notepaper and asked the guy to cut it and i'll use a single hole punch on each sheet late at night. He came back with the paper all cut different sizes and shapes, and when he rang it all up it only cost $.80 for the cutting but i had mistakenly grabbed a pack of reinforced holes paper that cost $2.00 a pack! I was so heartsick i wished i'd just stayed home. So now i'm on my way here online to look for a proper size hole punch and paper cutter, but i seriously don't have time to diy every sheet of paper i plan on using.
Next planner i buy i'm going to research refill paper BEFORE buying the planner!
Not blank as in totally white, but blank as in ruled with lines.
I mostly use unlined paper (Big Lots, $1 for a 50-sheet memo pad). I don't know of any great sources for lined paper. It's just too expensive for me, too!
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