09 January 2015

Free for All Friday No. 321 by Nan

Here we are a few days into 2015. Most of us started setting up (or at least dreaming about) or 2015 planner setups back in the autumn of 2014. But we all know that the tweaking and experimenting doesn't stop on January 1st.

So now that we're a few days into 2015, here's the question: How many times have you changed your setup so far this year?

(Me: None yet. It took me a while to find my favorite format -- 2 pages per day -- but now I've been happily using it for a week!)

12 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. I have just done a blog post about how my current 2015 set up is working out so far! https://myfilofaxfixation.wordpress.com/2015/01/08/2015-is-now-in-full-swing/
    I am using an A5 with a page a day format which I am LOVING so far! I haven't changed it what so ever since the start of the year, although I added a finance section! Although the A5 is quite big to carry around, the space it gives me to do in-depth planning etc is perfect!

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  3. Sadly, I don't even have mine finalized yet. I was figuring it out when the month of December changed on a dime and I spent the majority of time visiting the hospital or providing at home care as recently as Wednesday. This week I have two grandkids staying with me. If ever I need a workable system it is now but I've barely had a moment to open the planner to jot a note, let alone do any actual planning. There is no planning going on, just putting out fires moment by moment.

    For the time being I'm using inserts I had on hand for 2015. Next week, actually starting this weekend, I'm 'off duty' so to speak. My main priority is to get the rest of my Christmas decor packed up and stored, reflect on the past month and set up a workable system for 2015.

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  4. Got my 2015 FC classic DO2P last May, I will keep them & grumble all year that they never start their appt. schedules early enough. I had decided that I would keep my food/health log right there instead of seperate, but that only lasted a couple days and I went back to keeping it in a seperate place.

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    1. Hi Cassandra

      This really resonated with me, as I'm an early starter and am regularly at my desk for 6.00 a.m. Although I don't usually have appointments at this time, I *do* like to plan my work (as in what I'll be working on), and the lack of planners which take this into account really irks me. The Plannerisms planners do it by leaving the days without timed appointments, but I like the structure of the weekly 'grid' (or even daily grid), and in any case I don't think could live with a bound planner - it has to be ring-bound.

      It's also surprising how many planners don't have appointments extending into the evening, although I think this is less common.

      My old TMI inserst, although having nothing printed for appointments prior to 8.00 a.m., did at least leave two blank boxes each day above the main section for early appointments (or scheduled tasks). Ideal for anyone catching early flights/trains (which applies to me), or just for those of us who choose to live outside the 9-5 (or 8-6) routine.

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    2. Hi David,
      Unfortunately, our schedules are earlier morning. My husband's work can start anywhere between 2-5:30 am, 2 kids that are CNA's, one working ranch or construction. During the school year they have a class at 6:30 or 7, one teacher even started at 6. So I find the top of my appt. schedule is very very messy. I have learned through trial and error that I need a DO2P with a vertical appiontment schedule.
      I love time blocking as well because my day slips away into rabbit trails-I really should be a beagle.
      I have really really wanted to try the Plannerisms, but being a bound book and having to carry a second book for daily notes & journaling has held me off. Someday I may give it a try because it really is a great option with a great price.

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  5. None yet as I am about to make some changes shortly. However, I am happy about that as I didn't want to rush & will be returning to some things that have worked well previously. Post here to come :)

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  6. I've accidentally settled into use Moleskine Week + notes, in ring binders.

    Work is the large size - I just tuck the whole notebook into my Franklin Covey Classic binder's front vertical pocket.

    Family is the same format - just Pocket size. That one I cut up and punched for my Panama. Got the idea from Jagged Little Thoughts' blog.

    Both are working great for forward planning, but I'm struggling a bit with planning my days. I used DO2P last year, and I think I might need to add that back in somehow, although I may just use an undated daily layout as needed.

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  7. This year, I'm trying FC Compact. Tabbed M2P, W2P, and a daily and task list as needed. Appointments and recurring events go on the month tab. Day specific tasks -must do, should do, on the weekly, and then want to do's on an interleaved list that is trimmed so that the 2nd part of the week is still visible. Trying to keep it so simple that I'm not tempted to waste time switching.

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  8. I'm still in the Hampstead, although find myself 'playing with' the A5 bridle quite a lot, especially as January is such a busy month for accountants everywhere, with so many loose ends to tie in with statutory deadlines. I still harbour the wish that one day I'll learn to love the lack of portability of the A5, but in my heart I know 'it ain't happening'. Not now or ever.

    However......while out today I 'accidentally' bought a new Troop London backpack - very smart and more than capable of carrying the Bridle if I need it to.

    http://www.simplybagshop.com/lg_images/Troop-London-Large-Canvas-Laptop-Backpack-Rucksack-TRP0257.jpg

    Oh me oh my.........

    Of course I blame my lovely wife for egging me on into this.....I don't think she knows what trouble may lie ahead!

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    1. David, I think that's why I can carry mine everywhere and not be bothered by the weight of it. I love my backpack.

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  9. Last year I bought a personal green Dundee, and having decided that it is 100% the only binder for me (...imagine having no temptation to even browse other models let alone buy one...it's a wonderful feeling after years of "collecting/trialing") everything else (the planner format/internal layout) has since fallen into place quite naturally.

    After 4 years (!) of experimentation and figuring out what is best for my real life, as opposed to some aspirational life, I ended up changing my set-up in Oct 2014 to a MO2P (filofax brand) and WO2P (qimmis brand - love their products) and I have found that it shall serve me very well this year and have no intention of changing it for the whole of 2015. The benefit of the filofax MO2P is the margin list of the dates - I can keep my shift schedule in there like a mini year planner.

    Planner nirvana? I always thought that was a stationery addict's dream, but I've been proven wrong :)

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