I just got back from a one day class that my supervisor strongly encouraged me to take, that taught me how to use a Franklin Covey dayplanner. I’ve never used a dayplanner before but it seems like a great idea. I can’t tell you how much of my life was at the mercy of the backs of envelopes, napkins from seedy bars, fast food wrappers etc. I know I’ll use the address book and the section where you write down great ideas and information that pops up each day, but I’m not so sure about the hopes, dreams and lofty aspirations that the teacher wanted us to plan for. Does this make me a bad person?
Could those dopes who use and like/dislike dayplanners answer this thread and let me know how they use their dayplanners and how they get along now vs. how they got along before? Also, are there other types of dayplanners that you like better? I was getting a little uncomfortable when the teacher suggested that I teach someone else some of her ideas within 48 hours (sounded like pyramid selling). I guess I just wanted something to keep all my information in one place.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m glad I’ve got a dayplanner and will put all sorts of useful stuff in it. I just thought that the Franklin Covey Company sounded a little too cultish.
Well, I’d be lost without my day planner, and I don’t quite know how I was able to get along with out it before. My day planner, haven’t named it yet (its on the list of things to do :)) essentially tells me what I need to do each day. It alerts of b-days and the such, it tells me when my current work contract will expire, and any time I am on the phone any notes that need to be taken are written in the back of it
Now if your wondering if this planner has any hopes, dreams and lofty aspirations within it? Ummm not really… thats not to say that I have none, it’s just that they don’t end up in my planner.
I’m not too particular with what type. I don’t like the electronic ones, I loose them too much, so I stick with the refillable pen & paper ones.
About telling others about it within 48hrs. hmmm sounds a little fishy to me. Almost like a chain letter that you have to verbaly pass along.
I’ve purchased and attempted to use day-planners in the past, but they don’t work for me. I just don’t read the darn things. Taking it out, opening it, and finding the page that corresponds to today just seems like too much work to me (Yup, I’m lazy). I have a calander hanging on my wall, and writing important dates there works a lot more than writing them in a book I carry with me. And if there’s something I absolutely must remember, I write it on my hand. It may be primitive, but it’s foolproof.
It depends on what kind of person you are. Day-planners are just a useless pile of paper to me, but I have known people who can’t live without them.
Medstar, are you talking a little calendar book or a PDA? Seems like the calendar, and if you find that useful you would probably find a PDA even more useful.
From what I’ve seen of them, Franklin Covey is more selling a way of life and a philosophy than just a planner. Not saying it’s necessarily good or bad, just be aware that it all seems to be geared toward more than the planner itself. If that’s not your cup of tea, try a DayRunner or something else.
I have a PDA (Handspring Visor Neo), and like it because it gives me incentive to carry it around. On my long train commute to and from work I can play games and such, to keep myself entertained. I had the worst trouble trying to keep using and carrying small planners before, a PDA has really done the trick though.
It depends, what do you need it for? Do you think you’ll carry it around? Use it, keep it updated? Check out the planner options out there and see if they have the things you’re looking for.
Yah, that’s for sure! Hopes, dreams, and lofty aspirations? I use mine to write down my haircut appointments!
I have a Filofax brand “pocket” size organizer, which is about 4x5 inches. I have a calendar in there (2 pages to a week), an address book, a little calculator, and some notepaper. I also have some plastic sleeves in there where I stick important business cards and postage stamps. Most importantly, I have a cute picture of my dog in the pocket.
There are boatloads of different types of inserts that I could get, ranging from much more detailed calendars to menstrual record-keepers (really). I just use what I need, and that’s all.
I like the one that I have because it is very small, and the Filofax brand inserts are not all gooped up with Franklin-Coveyish crap. I had another one that I didn’t like as well, because it was too big. I paid big bucks for my Filofax–$100–but it was well worth it. It feels good and looks sharp.
Maybe a day planner would be of help to you. Having one sure helped me. It didn’t help me in any overwhelming metaphysical or psychological sense. It helps me because now I know where Aunt Estelle’s phone number is.
I carry the tiniest, cheapest, drug-store calendar/planner available and yes, it does help in keeping myself somewhat organized on basic stuff. I can jot down appointments and reminders with minimal fuss.
A Dilbertesque note: since I’m a public employee, according to state law my daily planner is theoretically subject to retention as an Official Document. Fat chance, folks. I bought it, it’s scrawled w/ cryptic notes ranging from work appointments to hair cuts, mammograms, impromtu grocery lists and stray impassioned notes to myself so it’s a messy, real-life working tool. A tiny clasp gizmo keeps the pages for past weeks and a few stray coupons neatly out of the way. I dutifully copy work appointments into the work GroupWise system solely to keep the suits happy.
Hopes, dreams and lofty inspirations dependent on a planner? Well…(long, dubious pause)…I guess it could work for some people. It sounds more like a marketing ploy to me.
Though I’m also prone to small, inexpensive notebooks for jotting down book titles, particularly apt thoughts, scraps of overhead dialogue, etc. And they’re the farthest thing from organized. So maybe a system for integrating everything could work. YMMV.
I also carry a Filofax brand refillable organiser. It’s about 8 by 5 inches and has a zip running around three sides of it. Looks smart and since it zips up, I can keep my mobile phone, loose pieces of paper - notes to myself, business cards, receipts - and computer disks inside. It also has a couple of holders for pens inside.
I previously never used a day planner, but since I bought this one ($75 - but well worth it) I rely heavily on it. Use it mainly for things related to my uni course that I would otherwise tend to forget, but also haircuts, phone calls and the like.
I threw out the phone book inserts. My mobile phone does a much better job of recording phone numbers.
I didn’t buy Filofax brand inserts this year. They are outrageously overpriced ($20+ for less than 30 small pieces of printed paper :rolleyes:) so I bought an Australian-made substitute that provides the same information and writing space for about $6.
I don’t get dayplanners et alia. What sort of insufferable life do people who thing they need them live? I just can’t imagine living such a hellish existence.
Thanks for all of your replies. I’m glad I’ve got my dayplanner; it’s past due that I should finally be able to put my hands on my sister’s phone number who lives in Pennsylvania. I’m a single person with an uncomplicated life, so I think I will use my planner as I originally intended to, for the note taking, special occasion brainstorming and address book.
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I’ve got the full fledged dayplanner in the Classic size, which is too big to fit in my humongous purse. However, I can return it to Franklin Covey and get a much smaller one, which is all I need. I don’t think I’ll get a PDA just yet, I want to see what features I end up using the most.
A Dilbertesque note: since I’m a public employee, according to state law my daily planner is theoretically subject to retention as an Official Document–TVEblen
Are you kidding me, TVEblen? I guess I’d better hide it really well. If I’m going to put my life in here, I don’t want any nosy nellies scrutinizing my life. Thanks for the heads up!!
Again, thanks to all of you who responded to my question. It’s kind of a shock having to grow up and be responsible. I guess I just wanted validation that I didn’t need to suddenly start making detailed plans to take over the world, just start making grocery lists. Thanks a bunch!!!
I have a day planner that I won but I’ve never used it despite the fact that it is supposed to be Astoundingly Helpful.
I rely upon my memory, procrastination and the odd notebook that I carry around with myself which tends to be filled with story ideas and gaming concepts than anything “adult”, “responsible” or “practical”.
My company sent me to a Franklin class at a cost of about $800. It did not help me one single solitary bit, nor my company. I still take notes on post-its and electronically (Outlook calendar).
I didn’t have a planner my freshman year of college, and I consistently forgot assignments. This is the third year running that I’ve used an academic planner put out by the New York Public Library. I love it, which is why I buy it every year (only one little bookstore seems to carry it). You see, I’m very anal about school supplies, and the only pens I use are uni-ball vision ones. Unfortunatly, these will bleed through cheapo paper. But the NYPL planner has high quality paper, so that never happens. It also has ample space under every weekday so I can write all my assignments in it. I like how it has both weekly and montly calendars. Each cover has a different, but nice, picture of the famous lions outside the main branch. The back of it has things like Canadian holidays, conversion factors, and all sorts of information resources. Every week has a quote associated with it–that’s where I got my sig.
I also have some small notebooks that I use to write shopping lists, notes to myself, music playlists I intend to make, etc.
I don’t think I’d like a PDA, because I like flipping through my book during boring lectures, reading the quotes, and making random doodles. I also use it to help me remember chronology when I write in my journal (it’s sad that I can remember what happened in my life by looking at what assignments I had in a particular week).
I didn’t have a planner my freshman year of college, and I consistently forgot assignments. This is the third year running that I’ve used an academic planner put out by the New York Public Library. I love it, which is why I buy it every year (only one little bookstore seems to carry it). You see, I’m very anal about school supplies, and the only pens I use are uni-ball vision ones. Unfortunatly, these will bleed through cheapo paper. But the NYPL planner has high quality paper, so that never happens. It also has ample space under every weekday so I can write all my assignments in it. I like how it has both weekly and montly calendars. Each cover has a different, but nice, picture of the famous lions outside the main branch. The back of it has things like Canadian holidays, conversion factors, and all sorts of information resources. Every week has a quote associated with it–that’s where I got my sig.
I also have some small notebooks that I use to write shopping lists, notes to myself, music playlists I intend to make, etc.
I don’t think I’d like a PDA, because I like flipping through my book during boring lectures, reading the quotes, and making random doodles. I also use it to help me remember chronology when I write in my journal (it’s sad that I can remember what happened in my life by looking at what assignments I had in a particular week).
Anthracite, your comment about post-it notes hit home with me. My instructor said it was okay to use post-it notes, just make sure to stick the note inside the planner. I guess it makes sense so you don’t lose your lucky numbers for Powerball that you are sure are going to win . . .
Er, thanks for your comments, all. Exciting new idea, I don’t have to follow the instructor’s teachings slavishly; I can use my planner as much or as little as I choose. Boy, I catch on so quickly, it’s a wonder you all will put up with me.
I use Yahoo! Calendar for my stuff. I can enter events and times and notes and stuff, and the private stuff can stay private, for those who wish to look at the minutiae of my life. I’ve found that if I write stuff down, it stays pretty random. If I have a form to fill out, it forces me to go into a lot of detail.
Hey easy-e! I looked at the NY library book store and saw the academic planner for $10. When is the time go get the new one? That is, what month do you replace your old planner?
What kind of hellish existence do you have? Don’t you have any family or friends? Don’t you have any events to keep track of?