Your Thought On "Planners"

[mshimko]

Any recommendations on “planners”, both hard copy and electronic?

Here’s my history, thoughts, and desires:

1. I’ve used in the past DayTimers, both small and medium size. While I saw many advantages, I found replacing and storing a large volume of paper every month a pain.
2. I often use “steno-pads”, the 6”x9” spiral notebooks, which I simple replace the “old” with a “new” nearly every month. I have years worth of these, which I find helpful when I occasionally need to look at my original notes from a meeting in February 2001. However, it is cumbersome to track schedules with these.
3. I use three distinct computer systems, each with their own OUTLOOK calendars (different offices, projects, customers). I’ve not found an easy way to “synchronize” these, even though I work off a laptop. Hence, when I accept a meeting or appoint on one system, I “cc” my other systems in my acceptance. I then go to the other systems and manually input the appointment, so my OUTLOOK calendars are hopefully up-to-date (why I have three systems is another story, I support multiple customers/projects, and they each want “their” system used).

What I'm seeking is a computer-hardcopy hybrid that can:
- import/export info to/from my various OUTLOOK accounts in an easy manner (automatic would be great, but I suspect that’s pure fantasy),
- easily print out “to do” lists and monthly calendars,
- mesh with a hard-copy version so I take my notes with me, and take notes wherever I happen to be.

Any suggestions or thoughts?

 

[joekm]

If you are using a PDA or Planner to actually assist you with orgainizing your life work as opposed to a "Geektoy", then yeah, it's worthwhile. One thing that I find particularly useful is that, since the planner stays with me, I can used it to organize both my personal and professional lives. I mean, there are a few things I'd rather not have in my office Outlook calendar.

In my present situation, my PDA has been invaluable for another reason. Nobody here pays much attention to e-mails, it's kind of a status thing. The idea is that everybody wants to look like they have so many e-mail communications that they simply don't have time to track them all. So, if I actually need something from somebody, I have to track them down and get a verbal "face-to-face" commitment from them.

Now, here is where the PDA comes in.

Verbal commitments can be "plausibly denied" because, everybody talks to so many people and goes to so many meetings that, without followup, they can't possibly be expected to recall a 5-minute conversation they had two days ago. So, whenever I get a verbal commitment, I log it to my PDA with an alarm set to go off the next day - preferably near the end of a meeting I might be attending with them. Then, the alarm will typically go off in front of witnesses and I'll casually glance at it and say, "oh {whoever}, remember that {whatever} we were discussing yesterday?, when can I expect that?".

That has worked so well here that, these days, people are starting to get back to me *before* my alarm goes off.





--
Great Spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds
-- Albert Einstein

 

[Boothby171]

Palm-based PDA's can also run a great little HP Calculator emulator. There's one less thing (again!) you have to carry.

But all the info you can store on these things is amazing! Plus phone. Plus Outlook. Plus Excel & Word & (so-so) PDF reading, Camera, Video, Dictionary, Avantgo (so you get the NY Times, Wired, Sci-Fi channel, Mapquest directions, etc.), personal diary, storing password-protected personal info (who remembers their kid's bank account numbers, eh?), quick voice memos, a great travel alarm...and so on.

Plus, most important of all...the Magic 8-Ball!

And I don't even use the Internet-enabled functions, or e-mail!

Just say hello to your inner geek. Give him a Twinkie & a bottle of Jolt Cola.

 

[wjsd]

Errr, I am embarassed to say I am going backwards technologically.

One of my Mantras is "The Tool should fit my style, I should not be forced to fit the Tools' style". I find this especially true of PDA's and laptops.

This means that I have tried PDA phones, plain PDA, day timer, yellow pads, sticky notes, and sometimes all of these at once.

So, finally (don't laugh ) I decided to try a DIY planner. I made the pages I wanted in a DTP program and print them out as I need them. They fit on 5"x8" note cards and go in a small 3 ring binder. I am still working on the shuffling of appts./to do lists/etc. but so far I am pretty pleased with the system. I like the flexibility of the system, and I find paper and pencil still more enjoyable and intuitive than digital. I always found PDAs and computers have an "out of sight out of mind" factor that did not lend itself to my style.

If you are curious there is an interesting web site developed by a DIY group here:

http://www.diyplanner.com/