DIY Planner - Forum Topic: On top of your game - Comments

Thank you, that helped me

PJango — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:04:02 -0400

Thank you, that helped me see what you were doing, although I can't figure out how to size Paint, it did give me some ideas...my three kids use paint rather obsessively, and I keep them on my screen saver slide show. From really young, when they misspelled things (miney van), to current day amazing artwork.

I think after reading your post, I just decided to not use outlook (okay not really) but it helps explain why I hate it...not interesting, I do need to keep the contacts and repeating appts. for syncing with my cell.

I did some landscaping this summer, and took some closeup photos of plants - I need to make some photo id plant stake thingy's so I know how to care for what I have, and I think I'm going to use some of those photos for my calendar also...

each of my three kids are amazing artists, each having their own bent. Usually, since with my ADD, I have the attention span of a gnat, I usually ask one of my kids to complete a project for me...it's so little kiddish I know, but the days my husband is home, I get SO much more done.

One of my sons - who sketches, is making me a large landscape canvase of pussywillow things for my fireplace wall

and my daugher, who does watercolor, is painting one as wide as our bed for a headboard.

ONE more question,

I'm still unclear what you're using for your basic calendar form?

Photos in my planner

GG — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 05:02:00 -0400

First, if I want to crop the photo I open it in Paint and take care of it there. Then I copy it and paste into Word onto a page set up in Classic (8.5 x 5.5). There I can see how it will actually look, whether I need to crop it more or whatever. And just print the Word page on a color printer.

I've saved the photos I used this year in separate documents so I can print them out for use next year.

Your stickers are great, and in the same vein I'm trying a couple of other things this year---

Take a photo of autumn leaves or spring flowers etc and reduce the color intensity. Then print them out onto a planner page. So there's enough color to cheer you up and be noticeable, but not enough to obscure penciled in notes about appointments, etc. I've reduced the color intensity on my color printer but I think that could also be done in Paint, and probably with more control and less waste of ink.

Also, download clip art to paste onto your calendar pages before you print.

Or you can get some seasonal and holiday stamps from the craft store and after printing the planner you can stamp the appropriate days. Then you'll have something to color. I have so little artistic ability that even doodling is beyond me, but coloring in the stamps would be fun. And you can stamp envelopes and color those in, too.

I'm ADD too, and anything I can do to encourage myself to love my planner and look at it regularly and before I set up an appointment helps. I hate planning and being locked into a schedule, but that doesn't work in my job, so I have to make schedules and appointments more pleasant to deal with, one way or another. On the other hand my ADD mind gets distracted so I don't want to do too much of this. I tried some of the DayTimer pages with the themes one year but they were annoying. And I like a clean, uncluttered look, also, so I don't get too enthusiastic about this.

I've seen some Flickr photos of filofaxes that people have obviously spent lots of time decorating, pasting magazine pictures, lines of type from magazines, etc, and I really marvel at them. They're works of art. And I really admire people who can do that. Maybe I can try something similar. But I'm afraid I'll get obsessed with that and will spend so much time admiring my pages that I won't get anything else done.

question about photos

PJango — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 21:44:27 -0400

how are your photos in there? are they pulled into the word document? or a separate page inserted? I would love that look to personalize it.

I bought a page of small pastel floral stickers so for my once a month garden club meetings, I just put a floral sticker on the date. times never chnage and it's pretty to look at.

what would really hlep me is to keep a month at a glance photo calendar in the bathroom upstairs, two of my kids wear contacts, and DD changes hers out every three weeks, I don't really think she keeps track of it too well, and I can't know - but to have her face closeup just be on one of the dates every three weeks might be a clue for her?

less contrast ink

PJango — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 21:40:36 -0400

I'm a new member going back to read old posts, and it's so interesting to see others with similar 'issues'. I learned this past year how reducing visual contrast can lessen my visual stress and overall stress.

I try to not print anything out on white paper anymore, using very soft pastels, and making ink either light grey or even blue grey. so much easier to read.

I can also slip paper into a polyvinyl pocket, and lessen the contrast of black ink on white paper.

yes, I have ADD, inattentive type, but I also rate very high end on the visual sensory scale, so to bring down the contrast has helped me immensily...DH not happy with the 'redecorating' bill at the house (changed out drapes to be much more similar in color to whatever the wall color is).

What is ideal for me...

bzimmerly — Sun, 6 Jul 2008 20:35:18 -0400

I like the complimentary features of my Palm Treo 755P Smartphone (small), my Dayrunner (medium), and my Franklin Planner - Monarch size (large).

The Treo is portable, easy to use, and with a 4 GB miniSD card can store a whole library of eBooks. Favorite programs include Plucker (for converting websites to eBooks), SpaceTime Mathematics (a powerful symbolic algebraic calculator), Agendus, xWeather, etc.

The Dayrunner serves me as a great little note-taking tool when I attend meetings or lectures. It will often be where my raw ideas and discoveries are first recorded - later to be refined, filtered, and formatted more formally for -

The Monarch Franklin Planner - which is where I keep printed PDF files, electronically transcribed research notes, and other important papers that fit the standard eight and a half by eleven inch paper size.

I take the Treo with me everywhere, the Treo and the Dayrunner to meetings and lectures, the Treo and the Franklin Planner to work. (I should clarify that I "took" them to work, because I am now retired.)

What really works is the discipline to use the tools periodically, and every act of note-taking and transcribing passes the ideas through the brain, so the net result of this labor is that you really learn your subject well. No tool can substitute for the self-disciplined habits that lead to success.

Accounting system...

Glenda — Thu, 3 Jul 2008 14:02:11 -0400

I saw the form, and liked it, but expenses and reimbursement aren't an issue for me. I'm self-employed (so no reimbursement, just record-keeping for taxes), and pay all my expenses by debit or credit card and download everything into QuickBooks, so I just keep the point of sale receipts in an envelope. The binder I carry around in the car is my accounts receivable system--I go to my clients' offices a lot and give them an invoice as I leave, so I use a paper invoice book with three parts. I've got it worked out pretty well, but it's just bulky to carry around, and it's another binder. Which I don't combine with my calendar because I need to be able to whip out my calendar whenever someone calls and write down an appointment or whatever they're calling about. The calendar needs to be with me almost 24/7, while the invoices don't, so I carry the calendar in my purse.

I've tried to reduce the bulk by disassembling the invoice books (they come in books of 50, with an original and two copies) and stapling them back together with 25 invoices to a pad, but then they get separated and the numbers get out of order, but maybe I'll go back to that.

I'll probably retire about the time I get it all worked out.

Accounting system

jonglass — Thu, 3 Jul 2008 10:51:33 -0400

Also, an accounting system that I need to carry around with me but don't because it's too much to tote around.

What kind of accounting system do you need? expense reports? or more? I ask, because I put up some templates last year for expense reports. The nice part about the system is that you only need one week at a time, and it carries a running balance. Yes, you do have to keep up with it weekly, but that's a good thing, right? If this is what you need, let me know, and I'll find it here on DIYP.

-Jon

Glenda and Binders

nay nay — Wed, 2 Jul 2008 21:01:54 -0400

I like using binders too instead of file folders. In your biders for accounting and journal, etc. do you carry around the entire year or possibly more than one year? Could you cut this down to the current month and fit it in your calendar binder so it is all together? Try to think how to simplify and archive. I think you will be happier if you can carry exactly what you need and know that everything else is archived somewhere.

Keep sending all of us questions so we can help lighten your load. Don't worry, you are not alone!!

Smiles,
nay nay

Thanks, Nay Nay!

Glenda — Wed, 2 Jul 2008 20:52:16 -0400

I'd seen the ten-year journal pdf but since I didn't get started on it last year, I thought the 2007 space would be wasted, so was going to do something starting with 2008. Now I'm thinking I'll just go ahead and print the pdf off and use the 2007 space for notes.

I re-thought the food diary -- it definitely requires one page per day, so I think I'll just print it in Classic size. My food lists are pretty short -- just a list of the lowest foods on the glycemic index, and the carb, protein, and fat counts of some standard foods, and I'll put them on a couple of pages I can turn to and use as a reference. The blood sugar log can go in there,too So I'll be carrying my agenda/calendar and my food diary around--not too bad. And I won't need the food diary most of the time--like when I'm at clients' offices.

Thanks for thinking about it--I don't feel so alone in the wilderness now. I'd given up on ever getting it more together and actually using it. Instead of spending time on organizing it all, I got it started about five years ago and then abandoned everything except my calendar, which was a necessity for business.

I like binders for organizing information and keeping it where I can refer back to it. Instead of file folders I tend to start up a new binder whenever something new comes up, or add it to an already-started binder. Maybe because of ADD, I like to keep things out instead of putting them in a file drawer. But then there's the problem of getting them organized somewhere so they're not just stacked up on the living room floor.

Yes, but...

Friend of Pens — Tue, 1 Jul 2008 18:34:24 -0400

My fountain pen won't write on the screen. :-)

I prefer low-tech with physical reminders, I've never liked software-based organizing solutions, since that typically means I can only be organized when I'm sitting down at my desk. That won't help me when I'm standing in the bookstore, trying to remember the name of that author... who was that? ... "G" something... or maybe "H"... arrgh!

Glenda - 10 yr calendar

nay nay — Tue, 1 Jul 2008 14:08:31 -0400

Here is a 10 year calendar template... http://www.diyplanner.com/node/5766

I think you definately need to simplify your system. You have too many binders that it probably takes longer to find the one you need at that moment than it really should - causing stress!

I would look at how to combine some items into smaller versions. For example, "And I have a food diary and blood-sugar log and lists of good foods and dietary inspiration" Could the diary and log be on one side of the paper and the lists of food ideas and inspiration on the back? Then maybe this one page could cover an entire week and you would only have to carry this one page in your planner with your calendar??? Or maybe this info goes on a fobster on your keychain so it is always with you! Just some thoughts. Hope we can help you with this - anyone have other suggestions for Glenda??

Best of luck,
nay nay

Technology & Paper

Forenpsych — Tue, 1 Jul 2008 03:53:37 -0400

I suppose I like overkill, or maybe I'm just paranoid. I use a Palm TX for contacts, diary, todo. It is also good for carrying ebooks. Unfortunately in the past, I have lost data because of batteries going flat then resyncing with my desktop only to find I have stupidly set the PDA to overwrite the desktop. (Yep you then loose the data on the desktop).

I now have a circa PDA & Junior. I print useful pages from DIY for meeting agendas etc for the Junior and print my weekly schedule, contacts and Todo's for the Circa PDA. I seem to be able to get to all of my meetings without hitch. The advantage of the Palm TX is the ability to pre-set alarms (no matter how good your paper system is it will never ring to remind you, you have another meeting in 40 minutes).

Nightmare...what happened?

Sara — Tue, 1 Jul 2008 03:02:11 -0400

Actually I know exactly what happened... things changed and I failed to keep up with things.

Work is the better are of my life (organizationally speaking of course ;) )

I need to sit down and re-assess every aspect of my personal life - what I need to track and how I can do that quick and effectively.

I am considering blogging about it on my DIYSara site... but thats another problem - I never have time to get online! lol .. well obviously not 'never' but definitely not as I was used to for so long.

change is not bad... I just need to evolve and adapt, right?

my artwork | my blog

For implementing GTD you

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:10:23 -0400

For implementing GTD you might try out this web-based application:

Gtdagenda.com

You can use it to manage your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, schedules and a calendar.
A mobile version is available too.

As with the last update, now you can add or invite Contacts, and share your Projects and Contexts with them.

Hope you like it.

fragmented but working

Katrina — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:20:56 -0400

My 'near-ideal system' for me uses a collection of different things. I happily break the "everything in one place" rule as my worklife is full of rules and my life isn't all in one easy to label planning-box.

I have a separate work planner and personal planner.

Work - the office's Outlook calendar, which I must use on pain of nagging from my boss ;) , and a week-to-an-opening A5 (half letter) diary for time dependant tasks (essentially @computer) which lives on my work desk.

Personal - I like to carry as little as possible so my 'planner' is: a small Moleskine week-to-an-opening diary, with an A4 print-out of work's outlook calendar to avoid clashes for personal appointment in work hours; a fobster - business card sized lists of things to do (essentially @housework), contact phone numbers, DVDs & books to buy, etc; a Hipster Journal/Notebook (about 10 3x5 cards and a hair elastic) for scrawling notes.

I also have a Filing device (a ratty old shoebox for the journal and obsolete fobster entries) and a Syncing device (a wall calendar for capturing family birthdays, appointments etc for my husband and I).

It's worked well so far as it reflects how I compartmentalise my life.

Forum Topic: On top of your game

circac — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:14:16 -0400

Hey! Does anyone out there feel that they have a near-ideal system that maybe has worked for them for a long (or short) time? This ideal system makes you feel on top of things most of the time and you may even be secretly (or publicly) quite proud of it and yourself? How does it work for you? Details please. OR.....maybe you have one that sucks raw eggs. Let's hear about that also. thanks.

D*I*Y Planner - Forum Topic: On top of your game - Comments