Late summer is one of my favorite times of year. For a long time it meant back to school for me, which I loved, but now it means back to work after a summer filled with vacation days and long lunches outside in the sunny weather. This is also the time of year when I feel a burst of energy to get myself reorganized, and I don’t know if its because academic planners are just everywhere this time of year, but its the perfect time to check up on your planner and calendar system that you may have set in place at the start of the new year or to implement one if you are not currently using a reliable system!
When it comes to using a calendar and planner system, the biggest choice you have these days is to choose digital or paper. Each system has their own benefits and drawbacks, but your habits and needs will ultimately affect how useful one type of system is over the other.
iPad or other Digital Calendar System
Pro’s: iPads really excel as personal planner and calendar systems because of the variety of applications you can use to get yourself organized. While there are plenty of apps for individual note taking and calendar optimization, there are also plenty of all in one apps that can keep you organized throughout your day. IPad’s are also great because normally within the apps you can choose to view your information in a variety of ways, like in daily, weekly or monthly formats. If you need flexibility in your daily life in order to get things done, an iPad may give you everything you need.
Con’s: While iPad’s make great planners because of their array of apps, they are still sometimes cumbersome to use. Many people find input via iPad difficult and slow. Since the iPad also needs to be charged in order to function, your planner system is completely dependent on your ability to keep it charged or have access to an electrical socket. Now, of course there are many portable charging systems you can purchase for your iPad if you work in the field or out of an office, it is still more cumbersome than a traditional paper planner.
Filofax or Paper Planner System
Pro’s: One of the best things about a Filofax organizer is that they are nearly infinitely customizable. There are a multitude of planner pages, calendar views and notepads you can use with a Filofax that it makes finding your ideal system a breeze. You can also use a Filofax to store additional papers, sticky notes, and business cards so that you can keep important information close by. Since your dealing with paper and pen/pencil, you never have to worry about being without your notes or calendar, no matter how long you are away from your office. As long as your Filofax is by your side, you can keep yourself organized and on task!
Con’s: Although Filofax organizers have a variety of formats for calendars, notes and to-dos, once you have written in a to do item or scheduled a meeting its permanently there and if you need to change or update information, you often need to erase and rewrite it over again. The flexibility of editing information is much more difficult with paper planners and once you are set with your “view” (daily, weekly, monthly, etc) you cannot easily convert to a new one without purchasing more inserts and rewriting all your information over again.
So, what sort of calendar system do you use? What apps do you keep on your iPad or iPhone to keep you organized? Are you a paper planner person? Which planner system do you use?
I really wanted to find an effective way to plan my schedule on my iPad so I only had to carry one thing, but there was not app that could really replace a paper planner for me. I use the Martha Stewart/Staples Arc system, and so far that’s been working amazingly for me.
I have been using part of the Martha Stewart arc system as well but I don’t like the personal sized calendar pages so it hasn’t been an all in one solution for me. Thanks for reading! I appreciate the nice comments!
Ive tried keeping track of things on my ipad but its never really worked how i needed it too…ive been faithfully using paper planners for years! Just ordered my first lilly pulitzer
I’m always torn. So I use both xD May be more work for me, but I need to do it to keep my head.
I’ve tried all these apps! Also several others including Bizzy, Opus Domini, Omnifocus etc. For me, it’s a balance between something that’s reliable and dependable (beware of Opus Domini!), fun to use (Things just didn’t do it for me) but not over complex. Pocket Informant Pro (don’t bother with the Lite version shown in your photo) is probably the best on balance.
I still use Filofax for long-term planning, overviews and note-taking. So for me it’s iPad AND Filofax!
I don’t have an iPad (sad) but I am dedicated to my FiloFax thanks to Kate. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to fully switch to electronic management, but I do use it for contact info!
I like to use paper so I use a filofax but my jib gave me an iPad so I Have to use the iPad. So for me it is both
As a professional life coach I can confirm that the best way to organize your life is still a paper based planner and this will probably never change. Smartphones and tablets are great for storing thousands of contacts, calendar entries and mails. But there is also a lot of distraction. There is nothing like writing down your personal vision and goals with a nice pen and then track your progress in a Filofax (or similar product) or personalize it to suit your needs.
While a smartphones and tablets make you more efficient, a Filofax makes you more effective.
Life is analog.
Going old-school…Recently I was told by my j-o-b that I needed to sync my personal calender from my phone to my computer based calendar at work. Email needed to be synced as well. After syncing email & calendar my phone started making all kinds of notifications sounds. About an hour later I needed to send a text, only to look at my phone and realize my contacts were all numbers. (no names showing at all!!) As I scrolled through I quickly realized I lost 75% of my contacts! Not just contacts, ALL notes, passwords…& ALL of the other important things we keep in our phones. As soon as I returned home I quickly plugged into the “cloud” thinking all could be restored. NOPE!! Not there either!! I just received my refills for my Franklin-Covey planner. Technology is wonderful, but pencil & paper doesn’t need a cloud to be there.
Very true!
I have been a paper planner enthusiast for years. I have recently realized how much paper I accumulate so I always have what I need no matter where I am. I travel between two offices and inevitably I am in one office and need the file from the other office. I decided to try Planner Plus and come up with a system to cut down on how much paper I collected and keep myself organized. I now use Planner Plus, Google Drive, Notability, and a Bluetooth keyboard and feel more productive and organized than ever. I can take notes, save to Drive, and email to everyone. I save PDFs to Drive to have information accessible where ever I am, I keep tasks, meetings, and reminders in Planner Plus. Between these three apps I have been more organized, more effective, and more prepared than ever before.
I am using kind of a hybrid system: i use Google Calendar but only to share or synchronize my agenda, so I have it on the phone or Computer or iPad with me wherever I go.
The real planning however is done in an A5 Filofax Kendal (W2P horizontal, inserts from Succes and FF).
I have tried to switch to all digital several times, but it always ends with it that my world is engulfed in chaos: syncing problems, dates or times changed accidentally without me noticing, forgetting about them despite a reminder, etc.
So by now I know better and my trusty Kendal has also become not only a memory support of sorts, but also an emotional one: this classy, smooth leather binder with the Rotring pens offers me something to hold on to, to balance me even in the most difficult negotiations. Something that the iPad can’t even begin to mimic.
However, I do scan my (meeting) notes and to-do lists regularly into Evernote. For the moments where it’s simply impractible to have the binder with me.