Planning the New Year
2009 has been a trying year and one of my New Year’s resolutions is to be more organized in 2010. I usually use a calendar at home in addition to a work scheduler, but this doesn’t always help with planning. Karen of Exaclair recently offered planners on the Quo Vadis blog and kindly sent me a copy of Journal21 to try out. See it here.
The Clairefontaine paper is incredible … smooth as silk and wonderful to caress. It is IMHO the best paper for fountain pen ink – no bleed through or feathering. I write with an XF nib so there is almost no show through onto the back of a page. Even with a very wet Lamy nib or a M nib, there is only minor show through.
Although I haven’t had much of a test drive for daily pages, I have been using the monthly planning pages to schedule leave time and group meetings. These pages will also be good for planning vacations.
The monthly view pages are great for planning events.
 Each day of the year has its own page with half hour lines from 8am to 9pm. I’ve always wanted to track the dates when wildflowers first bloom and times when the sun hits different areas of the yard and this format will be perfect for this use. I also will use it as a daily check in, a brief musing that will supplement my regular journal, which is rarely brief. I’ve filled out the yearly planner in the back with birthdays to help me keep track of when to send cards. I’ve been terribly bad about being late this year for some cards and resolve to be on time next year. An address book caps off the planner. Yes, I have all that in my PDA, but the battery is dying and I just prefer paper. The size of the planner is perfect for tucking in a card or two to write when there’s a moment while out and about. I almost forgot to mention that there’s a list of time zones in the front – something I’m terribly dyslexic about. I can never remember if Hawaii is 3 hours behing or ahead of us … I need to see the picture of the map and clocks. Also in the front is a semi-annual planner that runs from the fiscal year starting in July, which happens to be the agency’s planning year and the range for getting in CEU’s for licensure. This will be so much easier for tracking CEU’s than setting up a spread sheet or list. The planner stated that it is the Ultimate Tool and I agree wholeheartedly. Thanks, Karen, for giving me a chance to try out a new planning tool that is much more useful than my work scheduler!
