Well Planned Life

I’m a very envious person when it comes to other people’s planners. Anytime I see another planner anywhere I always think it’s better than mine, has a better system, is organized better or gets better use regardless of who it belongs to or what it’s used for. I can be perfectly happy with my planner and the system I’ve got going, but show me someone else’s and I look for ways to improve my own while taking bits and pieces from the other person’s set-up. Borrowing ideas from other people is always great – that’s what often happens when discussing planners and systems on the websites and blogs we all belong to and peruse. And of course we all strive to make a good system better. But why can’t I ever be completely happy with my planner without longing for something new or different? This past weekend I got together with a friend of mine. She received her first Filofax for Christmas and is very excited to use it. So over coffee we both whipped out our planners and gave the other a tour of ...

Here in New York we are under a blizzard warning until Thursday morning. Every school is closed for the day. Many people have stayed home from work. Last Saturday the forecast called for lots of snow and then nothing happened here on Long Island. So some of us were a little skeptical as to whether or not it would snow at all today. Thus far, we have a few inches and it’s currently stopped for a while. But this afternoon is supposed to be a lot worse – heavy snowfall, blustering wind, cold temperatures. So my husband, the cat and I are cozy in the house, curled up to a roaring fire. Snow days are great; little winter surprises. And while we can predict the weather, we can’t always plan on an official snow day. Except that I did. When we were upgraded from a winter storm warning to a blizzard warning, we all pretty much knew that most of us would not have to go to work. With that in mind I made a small to-do for myself. Nothing big – after all, a snow day is supposed to be about re...

Since finding the Philofaxy blog about a year and a half ago, I have read every entry and every comment and continue to do so. I cannot tell you how thrilled I was and am to find a group of people who are as nuts about planners as I am – maybe some of you more so than me, which I used to think was impossible. But upon “meeting” Laurie , I don’t think I’ve even begun to scratch the surface of the planner depths. =) I keep a log of certain quotes from Philofaxers to read over once in a while – some are from main Philofaxy entries and some are from comments left by readers. They are just tidbits that strike a chord with me, parallel ideas that I have had at some point that someone else has put into words and written, ideas I didn’t have myself but agree with wholeheartedly. This is an on-going list, but here is what I have so far (I have stated which entry/reader has posted these statements by providing links, giving credit to those who have written these beautiful sentiments – I hope th...

I used to be a very busy person. When I was in my junior year at college I was part of a large campus organization. I was first the PR person, then the treasurer of this organization, which meant that I was busy all day long. I held office hours where students could stop in and ask questions. I had meetings with individual members of the organization as well as the entire group. We planned and held various programs for the entire student body living on campus. This was on top of taking 5 classes, holding down a part-time job, and doing homework and papers, all while keeping a fairly busy social calendar. So I was on the go from the moment I woke up (at about 6 or 7 am) until I went to bed (around 11 or 12 at night) almost every day of the week. That entire year I used what my friend and I called “The Hairdressers’ Planner.” It was At-a-Glance’s Classic Weekly Appointment Book that has slots for every 15 minutes of the day. I wish I had kept that planner to look back on – that thing wa...

One of my favorite products is 3-M’s Post-its . I use these little guys just about everywhere and for any reason. I have quite the collection at home which you can see from my picture. I also always use them at work. It’s fun to collect the different colors and styles, as well as the specially shaped Post-its. Some professional organizers don’t like Post-its, pointing out that they create more clutter. This can be true. Whether or not one should use them depends on the person and his or her organizational style. If you’re someone who needs major help organizing your home or office, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend them unless you are a visual person and need to have reminders in front of you at all times. But this only works if you actually look at them on a continual basis. Otherwise, the more you have, the more you use, and does something like that really stick out at you if you have a hundred of them posted to your computer monitor? But if you are already organized o...

There has been much talk on the Internet and organizing and planner blogs in the past couple of months regarding 2010 planners and what will be used and why. The great debate revolves around electronic devices versus a paper planner. The consensus is that you should choose whatever works for you – after all, a planning system is only as good as the user. If you don’t or won’t use it, its point is moot. I know a few people who have an iPhone or a BlackBerry . They use these devices for everything and wouldn’t think of using anything else. I have never used one of these devices and even if I owned one I don’t think I’d use it as my only calendar. Aside from having a preference for paper and the act of writing things down, I’d be too afraid that a device like that would fail just when I need it most. There is no need of “backing up” or “syncing” a paper planner. True, I could lose it, but the same could be said for an electronic device on top of the chance that it could malfunction or r...

For anyone who isn’t familiar, Upromise is an organization that helps you save money for college tuition. (From what I gather, this is an American company – I don’t know if there is a similar organization in other countries.) From their website: “We’ve partnered with hundreds of America’s leading companies to create a rewards network for Upromise members – whenever members buy something from one of our partners, they receive a portion of their eligible spending back in the form of college savings.” Individual merchants are not the only companies associated with Upromise – restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies, travel websites, and others are as well. There are over 500 merchants associated with Upromise. As I understand it, different merchants contribute a different amount of savings towards your account. They also run deals every once in a while, offering things like free shipping if you spend a certain amount or if you buy something specific. You may also find an increase in contr...