planner status, november 2017 edition

It’s that time of year when my planner and notebook posts are popular. I am pleased to report that my systems are mostly the same as they were a year ago. I am still pleased with my Quo Vadis Principal, it kept me sane while I assisted my mother and has helped me readjust back to regular work. I still have an A5 logbook, I’m currently using the Rhodia Goalbook, and an inexpensive composition book for brain dumps. The A6 notebook is still in use, but only for meal planning. The biggest change is I’m beginning to trust a few electronic tools and trying to more forcefully separate personal from work.

Continuing in my systems

1. Quo Vadis Principal® Academic Year planner: weekly planning, time blocking, and … daily log-journal
2. Rhodia A5 dot grid clothbound notebook: client/project work log
3. A6 grid notebook: meal planning.
4. an inexpensive composition book: for braindumps

What’s new

The technology consultant is using technology! I’m relying on and trusting google calendar more. It was easier to help manage all my mother’s doctor’s appointments, so I got into the habit of using it. I also shifted from my very customized todo.txt to todoist. I like the google calendar integration it offers and how it worked more seamlessly across devices than my previous ad hoc method. Plus trying to get the most karma points I can every day was a great boost when it felt like my life was only about poop. (Trust me, you don’t want to know.)

There is another notebook that I’ve added to the mix however it’s not for planning, it’s for recording. I’ll share more about that soon.

What I hope to modify

I want to move to a single highlighter colour. While I love being able to see (without reading) what day of the week I completed tasks in my planner, I’m tired of running around making sure I have the correct highlighter. The challenge is I prefer grey and that’s not the easiest refill to come by and why I abandoned it years ago. I guess the easier alternatives are green or blue, but then I have to choose. I’m not sure I can handle the use whatever after my system existed for so long.

I’m also likely going to stop with the morning planning posts to instagram. Editing them is taking too long each morning and delaying my actual planning. I will stop them for the final two weeks of November to see how that impacts my work and go from there.

What are you keeping the same or hoping to change for your planner?

• Category: tools
• Tag: notebooks, planning, quo vadis, rhodia