Inappropriate Planner: What To Do When You Can't Bring Your Planner With You

I am a champion of the concept of always taking your planner with you. I actually use a compact planner and only purses or bags that will carry it. But there are some very special situations where it is inappropriate to take a huge planner.

For me, a week's vacation on a cruise ship is one of those select instances when carrying a planner is inappropriate. I will be out of contact with the electronic world (cell, e-mail, etc.) so there shouldn't be any incoming tasks until I return home. I will receive a daily agenda (which Carnival Cruises calls the "Fun Times") where I can plan my schedule and make any necessary notes. And I don't plan to bring any work with me. All the things that I need a planner for just don't exist in paradise!

But I still have a few things that I need to remember.

I need to bring my packing list (for repacking to come home) and my U.S. citizen documentation. That is going in a plastic, water-resistant folder and staying in the safe during the cruise.

In addition, there are little things I need to remember on some days of the trip.

So far, on Sunday (when I embark), I need the driving directions to the port. On Tuesday, we are going on an excursion that requires a beach bag, but I CANNOT wear sunscreen or jewelry to it. So I need a reminder about that. I also have a confirmation number to take with me. That little bit of information is not worth taking a planner, but I still need a place to write them down.

There are some other things to remember that will come up during the week, surely. For example, I can imagine meeting new friends and wanting to note their names to connect on Facebook after the trip or noting the name of a great room steward to give an extra tip at the end of the trip.

For this purpose, I bought a small notebook. It's a Franklin Covey 365 flip-top notebook that I got on clearance at Target. (By clearance, I mean it wasn't in their system but I begged and pleaded and told them how much I wanted it, so the manager sold it to me for two or three dollars.) I get refill paper and mini-pens to fit in the pen loop from Office Depot.

It has little pockets on the outside and inside (good for receipts or business cards) and I decorated it with some polka dot craft paper.

I wrote the day and date of each day of the cruise on the first few pages. If something day specific comes up that I need to remember, I'll write it on that day instead of in my planner.

In order to make sure I don't accidentally write information in my main planner on those days, I blocked them out on my monthly and weekly pages.

I will also create other pages, too:

Notes - for anything that I just need to remember (like "blog ideas" or "if stranded during excursion, call 1-800-Carnival") (I made that phone number up. Don't call it!)

Tasks - for anything I need to do during the cruise (like "tip Gina in Camp Carnival for doing extra for Loki")

Packing for Home - noting anything that I do not keep with my luggage that needs to come home with us (like "documents from safe" or "blow dryer in bathroom")

Post-Cruise - entries in my main planner that come up on the cruise (like, "call Carnival about booking next cruise within 30 days") (I am just kidding about that one, Husband.)

Budget - a log of my spending on flexible items (like drinks or meals on excursions)

I will also use the extra pages as a sort of journal of what we do each day.

Basically, it's a tiny little planner, just for travel. I'm really excited not to carry a planner with me for a whole week. I love my planner and it is a sanity saver, but oh the sweet freedom!

Etcetera.