Off-Topic Planners

[Demeris]

Originally Posted by Rivercat

I
One of the YouTubers I follow often reviews some of the pricier options in a very blunt and honest way (with much salty language, so avoid if that bothers you!):

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...Je-njvjnq00UvO

Holy Moly!!! She's got a bazillion reviews on that playlist. I'll pick and choose and pretend I'm with my potty-mouthed brothers while I watch them.

[Demeris]

Originally Posted by bzar

i agree.

it comes down to a behavioral thing - if you decide to go in a certain direction, you can make it work. back in the 80s, Franklin planners used to have a full course on this, that integrated with time management. i took a time management class (from a trainer at work) that covered a segment on using an organizer (or anything really). Palm Pilots were just starting out! anyhoo, the takeaway was you can make any calendar system work for you based on your needs and motivation.

I remember the Franklin Covey method (and the training!). I found it overwhelming and unyieldy.

But I did love my Palm Pilot back when they were all the rage. I had a Palm Pilot before I ever got a cell phone. In fact, I remember sitting in a meeting with a woman who had a small, portable keyboard that she plugged in to her palm pilot. She told me it was the best thing for note-taking when she needed it.

[Rivercat]

Originally Posted by Demeris

But I did love my Palm Pilot back when they were all the rage. I had a Palm Pilot before I ever got a cell phone. In fact, I remember sitting in a meeting with a woman who had a small, portable keyboard that she plugged in to her palm pilot. She told me it was the best thing for note-taking when she needed it.

Same! I was very attached to my Palm Pilots until I got tired of the batteries dying just when I urgently needed to look up a phone number and went back to paper. My mom hung onto her Handspring for years even after getting a smartphone til it finally died.

Another great source for stickers is Tuesday Morning. They carry the American Crafts books from various designers and sometimes Happy Planners, especially the big size.

Staples carries some Erin Condren planners that often go on clearance for about $25 in the summer even though they still have at least 6 months left. Even if you don't like the covers, the EC site has different ones that are easily swapped out.

[hypnomoon]

I am going strictly digital. I like the ability to change it out without wasting an entire paper journal/planner. I can create the notebooks and trackers I want. Etsy sells digital stickers I can use just like the paper ones, if I so desire.

I'm tired of having separate journals for everything. And, with a digital planner, I'll never run out of paper or run on into the next page. You know how you fill up your contacts for letters S and T and then you have to bleed over to the U contacts. Doesn't happen in the Digital world. Ha!

[Demeris]

I want to thank EVERYONE. You've all posted great ideas and extended my own question beyond what I thought I needed to know.

I thought I'd post an update on what I'm doing regarding planners.

First off, I do use the Google calendar. I'm quite grateful for it, especially when I am out and about and need to remember what time to show up somewhere. HOWEVER, I am offline & disconnected for most of my day when I am at home (my phone is in the charger and set where I don't see it when I'm in my office but where I can hear it if someone needs me). I need a paper planner to help me move through my days and weeks productively, especially since I am retired.

Someone upthread (forgive me for not remembering who) called a planner bossy. That has been my experience with past planners (passion planner, Freedom Journal—to name only two with which I have experimented). YET I still like a number of the features those bossy planners offer, except most of those features I'd rather use for reflection in my journal—my regular, everyday journal, not my planner.

SO I plan to buy something like a Blue Sky planner for my calender, every day work (yes, I'm retired, but I'm juggling several projects as well as caring for my 88 year old father).

BUT I scoured each webpage for every single planner suggested, and a few others, and took notes on the features that I liked. I plan to meld the various feature ideas into simple daily/weekly/monthly templates that I will create myself and use as bookmarks in my regular journal.

I might, MIGHT, make a separate, but very simple, workout journal. Right now all I do is note the workout I did and how I felt during the workout and immediately after.

[sherry7899]

Originally Posted by Cleda

I'm so glad you guys all brought this up.
I was wanting a planner or journal or something.
My Facebook feed knew it also! I had ad after ad. Mostly for the "Commit 30" one. I clicked on it (over and over and over) hoping for a better price. I couldn't justify spending that kind of money if I couldn't see it, feel it, etc. I have a journal sitting next to me from 2 years ago (non dated, so I can still use it.) But wasn't happy with the size. . . .

I did tons of research today and headed out to Aldi's.
Sherry! You come up with the best bargains. Thank you sooooo much !!!
They had the "wellness" journal (with 2 pages of stickers in the back) and a regular calendar one ..... I got the wellness one.

It's the larger size (no purse size here). But I write big and bold. I am happy to have this. and yes! for $7.99 I can hardly go wrong. I have been using a plain "year at a glance" by month for the last many years. I already have one for 2020 and 2021, which I'll probably still do. I just put down what workout and look at the months in total. The Pembrook one has more thoughts and goals for me.

So I just wanted to pop in and say THANKS!!!! for mentioning all the above brands. You never know who's reading and/or who you might enable er . . I mean HELP to make a decision.

Make it a great 2020.
Cleda

PS .... I can always get more motivational stickers from Amazon or anywhere. LOVE ME SOME STICKERS. . . .

Cleda,

You are very welcome! Ironically i have not been able to get to Aldi for the wellness planner because I have been sick with a virus since Thursday. I hope they have some left next week.

[sherry7899]

My sweet husband drove me to Aldi since I feel better but too shaky to drive yet. I did find the wellness planner.

I have a bad track record of keeping up with using planners. Hopefully I will be better this year.

[donnamp]

Sherry - I'm glad you are feeling better. I almost bought the wellness planner at Aldi but I talked myself out of it. I may go back though, LOL!

I did see something interesting at Michael's which I may get - it is a night time journal where you write about your day - what went wrong, what went right and what you hope to accomplish the next day. I'm thinking it may help me sleep b/c I can write it all out, close the book, and forget about it until the next day.....

Demeris - I like the idea of creating your own pages - that sounds good. So many of the planners have features I don't need/want and are missing some of the things I do want!

Donna

[bee]

Originally Posted by donnamp

I did see something interesting at Michael's which I may get - it is a night time journal where you write about your day - what went wrong, what went right and what you hope to accomplish the next day. I'm thinking it may help me sleep b/c I can write it all out, close the book, and forget about it until the next day.....



Donna

A friend of mine who has crazy sleep issues is taking part in a sleep study with Stanford. One thing they have her do is exactly what you say -- get that stuff down on paper so it's not bothering you when you're trying to sleep, but.... they have her do it a little earlier in the day -- not right before bed. But yes, I think you'd be onto something with that idea.

[sherry7899]

Originally Posted by donnamp

Sherry - I'm glad you are feeling better. I almost bought the wellness planner at Aldi but I talked myself out of it. I may go back though, LOL!


Donna

Donna, thank you so much! My energy level is still low, but getting better. I started filling out the Wellness Planner, and I think it is is going to be really useful for me. I am not going to stress out about filling in every single thing, though, because then I'd just give up on using it. It is a really comprehensive planner for my focus for this year. I have a much smaller planner I keep in my purse for appointments, reminders, etc.