I’ve been looking into buying a new planner, since my old one died at the first of August and it’s something I need. However, I’ve been having a hard time finding one I like and I’m curious to know:
How many of you are using day planners?
What are your favorite formats? Monthly? Weekly? Daily? Horizontal or vertical?
What do you look for when you choose a day planner?
Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors 
I usually get mine at a college bookstore, so it is from Aug to Aug. I like weekly, with month view at beginning of ea month, vertical and no frills. My 10 cents :>)
I wish I had a college bookstore around here. As I remember they had a nice variety of planners to chose from. š¦
Thank you for the input. š
I used to be a dedicated Franklin Planner gal – loved the bags and gadgets that came with their usually fun and diverse planner pages. I’d used the daily and weekly versions, always in the binder format at the 5×8 size. But the expense got to be a bit much. I also needed a system that fit more closely with how I wanted to live my life. So, I designed my own :-). We are creative types after all.
My dad is a fan of the Franklin planners but I never did get into using one. Too much space that I didn’t need at the time. Now I probably need the space. LOL I’m looking into making my own also. I need more organized look at my day then what I’ve been using. I’d love to hear more about how you created your planner pages.
I created it based on the advice of a woman in the self-help (? – is it more than that these days) business, Ms. Danielle LaPorte (you can find a link to my fav program of hers on my blog, The Desire Map). She based it on some advice she’d gotten from a fellow guru – I forget his name. Anyway, I found the process to be a great approach to planning but of course, there wasn’t a pre-printed system to go along with it, so I combined the Desire Map and her planning advice and produced my planner.
Already though, I notice I want to tweak it to incorporate a writing project schedule. I’ll wait until December though to do the revamp.
I’d love to share more detail, pictures even. Just drop me a line with any other questions :-).
I would love to see the pictures of it! I’ve been searching the Internet for ideas for my planner for weeks now. My temporary one is just a notebook that I divide into days with space at the bottom for notes. It works but there is so much I’m missing that I want in it and writing and rewriting reoccurring entries isn’t fun for my hand. š¦ I fleshed out a draft of what I want and posted it on my blog last night, then proceeded to print out 4 copies in various sizes and layouts (portrait, landscape, one page per week and two pages per week.) It turned out better than I thought it would and now I can use each copy in the coming weeks and see which works best for me. š
I use the Google calendar. I’m sort of a geek, so anytime I can use the computer/iPad/iPhone, that’s what I do. LOL
LOL I so understand. I’m a tech geek with everything except my planner. It’s the one thing I can’t have digital. But I did like Google calendar it synced with all my devices. š
I get planners for school from B&N mostly, so they usually only cover one school year. Still, they are extremely helpful.
They are helpful. Which is why I’m lost without one. š¦
I understand the feeling.
Close to never, but I’m thinking of looking into one that will go with my Kindle. I don’t read from my Kindle unless I have too though. I think I’d like the comfort of knowing that it’s always close by. š
LOL I find them useful for planning my week and keeping track of everyone’s schedule in my family, Though once upon a time I never needed one. š
I do the Google calendar and print it out and have it next to my computer. Plus, you have it on any other mobile device if you need to look at it during times away from your desk. I admit if I am in a bookstore I will buy cute little planners. Can never have too many…;)
LMAO I love cute little planners and journals. Too bad more than one planner and I can’t keep track of everything and I don’t write in journals.
I use a pocket moleskine for my planner. Slips into my purse and never needs a battery. I also use Filofax agendas as organizing tools for my writing and other projects that I want to track. I love paper and will never go back to electronic based planning again.
I’ve heard of Filofax agendas. Do you like them?
I own a couple of them in personal size and one in pocket. I don’t use them as planners, although many people do! Mine are all dedicated to certain projects. One is an ink journal where I store ink swab samples, another tracks my blog posts and all the little details involved in writing, another tracks my household chores, ect. Filofaxes are beautiful planners/agendas and are very customizable. I recommend them.
If my customized planner doesn’t work out I’ll have to look into a Filofax. I’ve heard good things about them. š
Sadly I don’t use one. I have a combination of notepads and then I use labels in my email to keep track of what I’m doing with various projects – a sad method, I know, but it takes me so long to set up planners that it becomes inefficient, LOL!
LOL They do take some setting up. Planners aren’t really set up for authors and book cover designers are they? If you were to design a planner what would you like to see in it?
I do try to keep a schedule when I finally get my hooks into a working project. I use a yearly datebook so that I can plan a daily or weekly writing schedule & pencil in appointments & other things I need to remember. I like to keep the stuff in front of me on paper. Also, I’m more apt to follow a written schedule.
Me too. I’m more of a paper and pen sort of planner. Digital planners have never worked for me, no matter how many I’ve tried. š