One Confusing Planner Sighting

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a meeting.  We had a guest speaker come in to talk to the group.  The first thing I noticed about this woman was the huge planner she was carrying.  She carried it in the crook of her arm, not stowed away in a bag.  Naturally, I got excited, hoping to see this planner in action.

Once we all sat down, I could tell that it was a Franklin Covey binder, something along the lines of their Classic size.  It was black and shiny and wonderful.  It looked very new, which was confirmed once she opened the binder to that day’s inserts—the Monticello two pages per day, to be exact, with the matching tabbed months interspersed throughout.  (From what I could tell, she had the entire year in that binder.)  There was nothing written on that day’s pages.  My thought was, “Well it’s new, so I can understand that.  But she doesn’t even have this meeting written in.”  I wasn’t judging, mind you.  It was just odd to me, to have this beautiful binder with its beautiful inserts, to open it and presumably use it, but not have the meeting written in. 

But to each their own.

Once we started the meeting, she did use the inserts.  She wrote down the main points of our discussion.  She started on the notes page, and when that was full, she moved on to the dairy page.  This is certainly not how I would use it—the dairy page is for appointments and tasks, and the notes page alone should be for, well, notes. 

But again, to each their own.

(Though, let’s be fair—I tend to use things as they are intended.  I’m not creative that was at all.  You will not find doodles or decorations or washi tape in my planner, as much as I like seeing others’ planners done this way.)

And so it went on, until it was time to schedule our next meeting.  “Cool,” I thought.  “I’ll get to see her forward planning in action.”  Well, I was quite surprised when she took out her smartphone (an Android for anyone keeping track, though I don’t know the specific brand) and started perusing her calendar.

I get that people use technology in conjunction with analog systems.  I am one of those people.  But in my experience, it’s usually used the other way around—people use paper calendars (perhaps in addition to an online calendar for sharing purposes), but use technology for lists and tracking and archiving and the like.  So this was a surprise to me.  And I won’t lie—I was very confused by this choice.  It seemed as if she used the binder only to keep track of meeting notes and nothing else.

Of course, I could be wrong, seeing as I didn’t get to look further in her binder.  (Yes, I could have asked, but I’m afraid that I would have made an ass of myself.)  In one way, this use makes sense—she can turn to whatever page and see all the details of her meetings.  But how would she know which date to turn to exactly?  Of course, if that’s all she has in there, I imagine she’d just flip through her pages until she found what she was looking for.

Some companies/organizations will pay for calendars and/or planners for their employees.  (Mine does, but they allow only smaller calendars, such as At-a-Glance products, not so much systems like FC offers.)  So I can’t help but wonder if her organization paid for this beautiful system and she uses it for meeting record keeping, as opposed to actual planning.  Of course, this is just another assumption on my part.  Who knows? 

Like I said, to each their own.

We have another meeting in a few weeks, so perhaps I can peek a little further into the situation.

Stay tuned…

Comments

  1. Hmm...that is very confusing indeed! Maybe, she doesn't consider it a planner? That is the only reason I can think of to not mark down dates...in your planner! Please let us know what happens next!

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  2. I use an online calendar at work to organise meetings with other people (and quickly see their availability). I've also found it useful for searching past meetings. I can quickly find the meeting date searching by a person's name or meeting topic, and then find my handwritten notes from the meeting because they are dated and in chronological order.

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    1. I can see the benefit of online calendars, especially at work. I actually use a Google calendar for purposes of sharing my schedule with my husband. Once I've done my weekly planning in my planner, I will then add anything to the online calendar that isn't alreayd there. It's used more for reference, however. I don't actually plan from it. But that the beauty of all things planning, analog or digital -- it's up to the individual to make it work for them! :)

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  3. She might know how to USE a planner. Many people are so used to apps on their phones that they can't make the leap into Analog.

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    1. Very true. And maybe she just prefers the online calendar but finds it easy to keep her notes in the planner. Really, I always say that however a person needs to keep on track of their life is how it should be done. Each person is different, and therefore their means of organizing and planning is different. I just find it so interesting that her method of planning is the exact opposite of mine. Of course I've seen a lot of setups over the years and I am fascinated by each one. But that's what makes this community great, all of our differences, even under the same umbrella. :)

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  4. I am fascinated. I think I would have had to ask, ass or not! :)

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    1. Lol! I'll keep that in mind for our next meeting. ;)

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  5. It makes sense to me. I use the outlook calendar at work (same as everyone else in the company so I can see others availability and book meeting rooms etc) but use my DAP A5 hardback book for meeting notes and lists. To do lists are currently on a weekly knockknockstuff mousepad. Have ordered a clipbook to replace the diary when it runs out so will combine the weekly/dailies then. I do make a note of meetings on the weekly but not the daily sheets

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    1. Yes, some people prefer technology for planning and notebooks for notetaking. I guess the thing that suprised me most about this is that she used a complete planning system (as is FC's planner products) for just notetaking, as far as I could tell. Of course, people are welcome to use whatever products they like for whatever purpose. My post was more tongue-in-cheek, though it did suprise me that she would have a complete system and use it differently than I'm accustomed to. It intrigued me more than anything. :)

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