Unique day planners

Posted by milkandcookies on May 9th, 2008

Posted in At the office, Time savers, Life balance, Toothsome products (for grownups) | Leave a Comment

For those of you who like tangible organization tools (as opposed to software), and you’re tired of the same old Day Runners, Day-Timers, Franklin Coveys, etc, this post’s for you. I’ve been looking at day planners recently, both because of a request to cover them here and the growing realization that the combination of two small children, a part-time office job, ongoing freelance assignments, and a swirling maelstrom of doctor’s appointments/errands/grocery lists/home and garden projects/ET-BLEEPING-CETERA is resulting in what you might call a need for improved personal productivity on my end.

Ahem. So, planners! Preferably interesting and/or unique ones! Let’s check them out:

Bubble Planner. Here’s a 100-page planner with “bubble map” pages for mindmapping/brainstorming activities. Each planner contains a section for goal-setting, roadmapping (using the bubble map design to help you along), ongoing task management, a calendar, activity log pages, and more. Cool idea for long-term planning, especially for the more visually-oriented folks.

momAgenda Day Planner. This planner is aimed specifically at busy moms, with space in the agenda pages for multiple kids’ schedules as well as Mom’s. Designed so you can keep track of appointments, playdates, school events, meal ideas, etc; includes a “momEssentials” notebook for important info like contact data, birthdays, medical information. Plus: it comes in a pretty pretty pink.

Moleskine Planner. People are downright cultish about Moleskines, so if you like Apple products, Star Wars, or refreshing mugs of Kool-Aid, surely the Moleskine is for you! I like the looks of the Weekly Planner, which features a week per two page spread, along with standard planner features like month/year-at-a-glance, note pages, and various travel data like time zones, dialing codes, and conversion info.

The Slingshot Organizer. This pocket planner features “radical dates for every day of the year, space to write your phone numbers, a contact list of radical groups around the globe, menstrual calendar, info on police repression, extra note pages, plus much more.” Um, AWESOME.

Handmade Dayplanner “Red Rome”. A beautiful red 9″ x 6″ handmade planner, with month/week-at-a-glance layouts, address section, and notes. The endpapers feature vintage Rome map graphics, and the hand-stitched binding allows you to lay the book flat.

Kate Spade “Jane Street” Organizer. An uberfancy organizer with calfskin lining. What, no giraffe fetus lining? I am disappointed, Kate Spade. This planner includes a weekly and monthly calendar, ruler, storage pouch and tabbed sections for addresses, notes, restaurants and birthdays . . . and a shiny shiny cover.

Hipster PDA templates. If you’re a fan of the index-cards-and-binder-clip method of staying organized, check out these templates for adding some flair to your cards. Never heard of a Hipster PDA? It’s too geeky to explain, I swear to god.

How about you? Do you use a day planner, or something similar?

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This entry was posted on Friday, May 9th, 2008 at 2:15 pm and is filed under At the office, Time savers, Life balance, Toothsome products (for grownups). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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11 Responses to “Unique day planners”

• Ashley says:
  May 9th, 2008 at 3:01 pm

  Why is that bubble planner in the dirt?

  I used to keep a planner, then I lost one and my life ended. OK not really, but it was a gigantic pain in my ass. I went digital with a backup after that and I have never looked back. So I suppose I can’t help you here.

• Nataly says:
  May 9th, 2008 at 3:15 pm

  I am loving that bubble one — have never seen it.

  I use a day planner. I’ve always found that I need to actually write something down for it to stick in my mind. I like paper, writing, planners — kind of an obsession of mine:)

• Jenni says:
  May 9th, 2008 at 3:49 pm

  I have a little pocket planner that I got for $1 at JoAnns and then covered it with pretty paper and put a ribbon in to use as a bookmark. It’s nice because the inside pages were already done, but the outside is completely unique since I did it.

  I also do lots and lots of sticky notes.

• leanne says:
  May 9th, 2008 at 5:04 pm

  It’s not unique, but I’ve found that Franklin Covey makes a line of planners for Target (the 360 line) and they’re much cheaper than what you find at office supply stores. PLUS, the refills are cheaper, too. The covers on the planners are cuter, too - not so stuffy with the black and, um, black. I bought a pink and brown one a few years ago and now have a blue and white patterned one. Plenty of room for weekly and monthly layouts, notes, task lists, address, post-its, pockets, and a vinyl envelope for odds and ends.

• Lylah says:
  May 9th, 2008 at 5:18 pm

  I’m a Google calendar person, mostly because I can log on from anywhere to check it. I have a PDA that I really ought to back up more, but I’m always forgetting it in my desk, which does not do anything for my improved personal productivity.

  My to-do list, though, is always on scraps of paper that end up all over the place. Must get better about that!

• allison says:
  May 9th, 2008 at 7:41 pm

  I am fan of the 360 line from target too. I have a fun green one. But i think the bubble planner is very cute and would work well with how I think. If the bubble planner pages will fit in my 360, that I am sold!

• Melissa says:
  May 9th, 2008 at 9:29 pm

  I have the pink and brown 360 organizer as well. Love it…..
  But, I love all of my organizers until the kids start coloring in them. I then HAVE to replace them. I’ve been through a lot of them-LOL.

• Liz says:
  May 9th, 2008 at 9:59 pm

  I’m a hospital resident with no desk or dedicated space, so everything I use has to be carried around in the bulging pockets of my white coat. Therefore I use a smartphone and occasionally Google Calendar for organizing my personal life. For hospital work, like all residents everywhere, I make a to-do list for all my patients every morning with dozens of little hand-drawn check boxes, and then carry it around in the aforementioned pockets ticking things off.

• allison says:
  May 9th, 2008 at 10:22 pm

  I emailed the company and discovered thatthe refills are compatible with our target franklin 365 planners:

  http://www.bubbleplanner.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=28&category_id=11&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=58

  Just thought I would share in case anyone else was wondering!

  Looks like I know what I am buying myself this Mother’s Day.

  Happy Friday!

• mrsgryphon says:
  May 9th, 2008 at 10:44 pm

  I am a Google Calendar user… it’s all fancy and colour-coded, and linked in to the calendars for my work and my husband’s schedule so it’s all neatly in one place. Granted, I can’t check it when I’m offline, but I can’t think of a time lately when that’s been an issue. All of my “scheduling” is done with the computer in front of me, so it seems to work.

  “To-do” lists are also in Google, and then whatever is on that day’s list gets scrawled on a scrap of paper and shoved in my pocket on my way out the door!

  Paper planners make me crazy because I hate when I have to cross things off or change plans and they get messy. Then I have to buy a new one and… yup, it gets expensive.

• Daisy says:
  May 10th, 2008 at 4:17 pm

  I like the idea of the MOM planner with room for several different family members’ schedules. In my planner (also from Target!) I use pens in different colors to indicate my schedule, my son’s, and my husband’s. Keeps it simple, and it’s always in my schoolbag, the bag that travels with me to and from work.

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