Yesterday I spent $80 on a new Debden Executive diary (pictured above). Mrs. Daily Minder wasn’t very happy.
I went down to my favorite office supplies warehouse called Officeworks thinking that I could pick up a diary on the cheap. I was wrong. All they had were fancy covers that cost $50+ and then you had to buy the pages seperately. It turned out to be quite an expensive exercise. However, I am hoping that the diary will make me more productive, less stressed and a heck of a lot more organized.
It got me thinking about how other people stary organized. There are so many different options out there these days that I am wondering if there is a better way to do it than a traditional diary. I am a visual person and like to see things laid out in front of me so it seems like a diary is the best option. However, I would love to hear from our readers and see what else works.
Please leave a comment telling us how you stay organized, what resources you use and whether or not it works.
Originally posted on June 19, 2008 @ 1:13 am
I use Outlook Express for everything. It does my emails, feeds, dairy appointements, meetings, reminders, everything. I don’t know where I would be without it.
Sometimes I still write things down though. Having something on paper seems to make a big difference.
Jane
I use a small pocket size dairy. Plain and simple and it works. That way when you are away from teh computer you still see your appointments.
I tend to use Moleskine notebooks of various sizes and styles. I used a medium one for daily note-taking and to-do list handling. Then I keep a calendar one to handle my calendar.
I used to use all computer-based solutions until the past week when I decided to go back to paper/pencil, and I have found that my productivity has gone up. Hopefully it will last and is not just initial momentum.
The nice thing about tangible planners that are a convenient size to carry is that I can always have it available no matter where I am and I need not worry about things like battery life, etc. Additionally, it cuts out things like PDAs and smart phones which just further complicate organization under the guise of being portable. Too bad portability just means more synchronization and data entry work which means less time to actually accomplish the tasks needed.
But that’s just my opinion. I like the new executive diary you purchased. I have something similar, and my calendar, a Moleskine notebook, some pencils and pen, and various papers fit comfortably in it to carry about.
Ian, why did you stop using the computer based stuff?
My favourite new piece of software is the google calandar synchroniser. Now I sync my laptop and desktop Outlook express calandars with my online google calander so I can check my appointments anywhere as long as I have access to a computer. You can add a PDA too which I would do if I had one cause it would make it easier to add appointments on the spur of the moment before you forget.
That looks like a bit of an ad but seriously its quite impressive
You forgot to mention Facebook Alex…
Used to own a PDA — one day fell off my hands and getting it replaced was a nightmare especially if one forgets to sync with the computer. Then blackberrys did not help as well stuck with emails, notes etc. I loathe being addicted to technology!
I revisited the traditional mode– the pencil and paper approach. I bought the right size (pocket size) with an attached pencil. Only drawback is the eraser. Ever since I have used it — I can see clearly everything in one page as the pocket size you can see the whole week in one page. It has been two years since using this method and I like it though I became more pragmatic devising abbreviations and acronyms as it is too small to occupy more than 5 events in a small space each day! All in all, love the small size + pencil 😉
I used to be very, very disorganized.
I eventually began using a Franklin Planner. If one pays attention to the little training aids one gets explaining how one should prioritize tasks, and so forth, one can get quite a bit of mileage out of it. I’ve got a post on my personal contact/calendar tracking experiences here:
http://jadedconsumer.blogspot.com/2008/06/organization-tools.html
I’m interested in how folks like what they use. I think my phone should probably solve my problems, but the user interface has some limits that make me dislike using it much. I probably just need to get over it ….
I use a white board at home to list down the things which have to be done in the week.
It is more helpful when the board is attached near to the mirror. Usually when we get ready looking in to the mirror, the things written on the board are visible to us.
So definitely every day we will see through the list of things which should be done. Hope this idea would help as a good reminder technique.
Great tips guys, love it!