DIY Planner - Sometimes you get a little thirsty. - Comments

I found a couple of ways but ....

scrivener — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:57:31 -0500

Can't do a pix (no digital cam) but what I have been able to do is print each page on an 11x17 and then tape them together to get a 22x17. I found that by setting the print properties as printing on 11x17 paper and then expanding to fit the page. I have an old printer (on its last legs) that can handle 11x17. A more accessible way is to print the page (8.3x11) and then enlarge it on a copier so I end up with four 8.5x11 sheets that I tape together. I have tried copying 1/2 of each pdf page as an image and then pasting to a doc and then stretching it to fill the page, but this had lousy resolution. A local copy center has the ability to print each page onto 11x17 but it is more than I or ocdgeek want to pay at this point.

The other thing we found is that it is best to write on this with a pencil rather than ink. When it is in the back pocket the ink gets smudged and runs if it gets wet from rain or snow.

I would love to have some easier ways to do this. The template really looks good blown up to this size. Lots of space to write on, draw arrows and reminders to connect events and due dates. The package you created is fantastic!
scrivener

Book layout

shris — Tue, 5 Jan 2010 21:48:07 -0500

Hi.

I think 11x17 is two letter size sheets stuck together on the long edge, like when you have a letter size planner open with a page on the left and right.

So you could do 2-up letter on a tabloid (11x17) sheet with no shrinking or squeezing. Or you'd enlarge the letter size image to fill a tabloid sheet, and then have another tabloid sheet next to it taped together, thus making a smallish newspaper. :)

shris

Glad you like my Dynamics

ygor — Tue, 5 Jan 2010 21:05:49 -0500

I would love to see a pic of this 11x17 setup.
Is it many smaller pages printed onto one big fold-up sheet or what ?

If I can see what you are trying to make, I may be able to suggest shortcuts.
-----------------------------------
"I think the surest sign that there is intelligent life out there in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." (Calvin and Hobbes/Bill Waterson)

Bob and Shris: Thank you! Dynamic Templates are another solution

scrivener — Tue, 5 Jan 2010 19:17:11 -0500

These are great ideas! ocdgeek thinks they can work for him: repetition and multiple reminders help the memory.
Shortly after posting we found that we can adjust the Dynamic Templates to print out a two page per month calendar on ledger size (11x17) paper. I have a big enough printer that it can handle it, but it also can be done by a copy shop. The trial ones I ran jsut need to be taped together in the middle. It folds up comfortable into a 5 1/2 " x 4 1/4 " that can fit in the back pocket. Some of the copy shops are very cautious about copying anything that is copyrighted or owned by anyone but the submitter (gotta love intelectual property laws!). I have been setting these up and saving them as pdfs. ocdgeek is going to drop the disk off at the copy shop and pick them up later tomorrow. When he called the shop they said they could stretch out a pdf file to just about any size. They also didn't have a problem with stuff on disk.
Thanks again!

Hi. On the subject of

shris — Mon, 4 Jan 2010 20:42:27 -0500

Hi.

On the subject of hand-drawing onto big paper, I *love* transparency projectors for this. Print the thing you want to draw onto a letter size transparency, then slap the transparency onto the projector and aim it at the flip chart. Trace the image you see onto the paper.

It would work for things you don't have to draw too often, anyway.

Alternatively you could check your local print shops and see if they can do large-format printing, and simply ask them to enlarge the calendar of your choice onto large paper..Dunno what it would cost but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Another alternative would be to take a bunch of smaller pieces of paper (just barely pocket size, for example) and bind them up into a book to carry. The pocket size nature of the book would be handy, and with enough sheets it would be bulky to remind him which pocket it's in. Some fold-out pages might be useful, as in the examples in my flickr pool (Linky). Foldouts might be small enough for him to print or copy on letter or legal paper..

shris

@Scrivener - Thanks

BobH — Mon, 4 Jan 2010 20:19:47 -0500

Thanks for the update Scrivener. Unfortunately injuries like this have their own timeline and all we can do is follow it, frustrating as it is.

Assuming we talk the same language here, have you considered simply hand drawing a calendar onto flipchart page. The size is I think about 50% larger in both dimensions though paper quality could be better. Not sure of pricing but I expect a pad of lower quality paper would be cheaper than a preprinted calendar pad of higher quality paper.

Once again my wishes to Ocdgeek for a complete recovery.

Bob H.

Thanks, Bob. ocdgeek is my neighbor...a progress report on him

scrivener — Mon, 4 Jan 2010 19:28:14 -0500

ocdgeek would have responded earlier but he forgot where he posted his comment! He is sitting right next to me so this response is not an end run around him. The biggest problem for ocdgeek is not making lists but remembering 1)where they are and 2)to use them. He is getting better but he still is pretty much in the here and now, with difficulty remembering the past and forecasting into the future. He explains it this way: it is like looking in the pantry: you know things are missing but you can't figure out what they are. Right now he is carrying around the January 2010 page from a large desk blotter/calendar (it must be 18"x24"). The thing is big enough that he can write everything on it, fold it up and put it in his pocket (the large lump reminds him where it is) and at the end of the day he pins it up on the wall.
The sad thing is that he is a doctoral student and halfway through his dissertation when this happened. It's getting better, but the prognosis of everything being back to normal in 6-9 months is frustrating. I might add that he is so bright that no one at work (he is a mid-level manager for a state agency) knows that there is anything wrong.
Another thing that is (hopefully) helping is a Commonplace Book. He takes all of his notes from meetings (very detailed, I might add) and glues them onto a page. Then he transfers the data onto his huge calendar page and puts the page number next to it. He has only been at this about a week but it looks promising.
Thanks for your help in this. If anyone has any other ideas, please let us know.

P.S. anyone got a template for a large monthly calendar? those desk pads are friggin' expensive and he needs a little bit bigger one than he can find.

Checklists

BobH — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:26:23 -0500

I don't have a full appreciation of your situation but I have always found checklists helpful as memory aids. The catch being to develop the habit(s) to check them so initially at least you may need to place a reminder somewhere obvious such as a tag on your house keys or stuck to a door in your house and/or at work.

The other thing I do for things that may not require action but need to be kept on the radar is post reminders in my planner. As well as 'waiting on' items like returned emails and phone calls I also post reminders about future events such as a department meeting next week, the car service I have booked and so on.

Hope this helps and my best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Bob H.

Some more ideas and a request for help

ocdgeek — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:40:07 -0500

ocdgeek
"when doing is more important than medications"

Love the site and the great tools!
But what I could use is a process or processes for tracking stuff. It has to be simple to remember. Let me explain. I had a mild traumatic brain injury several months ago (analog translation: I hit my head falling backwards). That night I had a small stroke (lacunar stroke). Things are OK but memory and cognition is still messed up. I am a project manager and a trainer so these problems have a tendency to really mess me up. The Hipster was great for tracking before the accident but now it is inadequate. There are many times that I think I got the gist of the conversation but then later on I can't remember it. I can't count the number of times I have left home without my notecards or full size planner. Writing stuff on scraps of paper is pretty much a guarantee that I will lose it.
Occupational therapists are great at helping people with major head injuries and strokes but all I get from them is "write it down on cards." Great advice, but I have trouble tracking the cards. Let's not even talk about managing and tracking emails (Gmail GTD is great when I can use Firefox-not possible at work).
The kicker in this whole thing is that my workplace had no idea of what happened and during this time of layoffs it is not smart to announce it (ADA does not work if the position you are in is RIF'd).
Sorry for the rambling but I am looking for anything that will keep me afloat until memory gets better or I have a process in place that lets me do my job.
Thanks and Happy Holidays!

I just jump on board! haha

jasonsmith — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:05:26 -0400

I just jump on board! haha

Flickr-ing

roketgrrl — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 08:18:08 -0400

Actually - a Flickr group is a great idea. So great, I guess some of our tireless leadership must have thought of it a while back... :-)

http://www.flickr.com/groups/diyplanner/

double ended highlighters at jetpens

daveterry — Sat, 6 Jun 2009 12:16:15 -0400

Check out jetpens.com, they have double ended highlighters in various colors.

...dave
insomnia cure

some ideas...

daveterry — Sat, 6 Jun 2009 12:14:28 -0400

- reviews of writing software would be good, or hacks to them. I know some writing software has been reviewed here but maybe a quick page of links to what's been reviewed with new ones added. (I'd be willing to do a MacJournal taco hack article. I've actually hacked the Taco and could even supply a taco.plist of journal prompts if anyone would like one.)

- hacks on index cards (I ONLY use 4x6 cards because they are the BEST size. *grin...troll bait*)

- browser only self-modifying files reviews/templates (WikiOnStick, TiddlyWiki, others?). These are all free and work on any OS so are interchangeable between work and home

- review of waterproof pens

- flickr group would be cool

...dave
insomnia cure

Sharpie Tip

thall — Sat, 23 May 2009 12:18:41 -0400

Thanks for the tip, Bob. Much appreciated.

Sharpie makes a mini

BobH — Sat, 23 May 2009 02:17:41 -0400

Sharpie makes a mini highlighter about 9cm/3.5" in length with a metal clip on the cap that can be used to attach the highlighter(s) to say a binding ring or similar. Perhaps not minimalist but at least not too bulky.

Bob H.

Sometimes you get a little thirsty.

dougj — Thu, 21 May 2009 05:22:33 -0400

"When the well's dry, we know the worth of water." - Benjamin Franklin

I used to store a lot of my articles-in-progress in Google Docs so I could work on them from any computer, but lately I've migrated most of them into regular ole' text files that sync amongst all my laptops using Dropbox (even my Linux boxes). That way I can edit HTML text in Emacs or TextMate, keep graphics and photos handy, and easily organize them in a logical directory structure. The system is working quite well, but it assumes that I have a decent memory for all those things that came before. (I don't. This is why I write things down.)

I was working on a rather involved article this long weekend. Despite my exhaustion at the time and the complexity of its structure, the words and the shaping of the concepts came quite freely. So much so, that I was feeling quite proud of myself. I was about three-quarters of the way through the rough draft when I said out loud, "This is going unbelievably well. It's almost like I wrote it before...." I paused. I thought about what I just....

Well... erm... that is... *cough*.

What I wrote was basically a carbon-copy of my old Simpleton and the Grail post from my much-fallow a million monkeys typing blog. In my defense, it was four years ago, and it didn't show up in my DIYPlanner.com search.

But the experience begs a question: am I just recycling myself? I know that some of us here tend to drift towards the same themes again and again (a lament I've heard Merlin bemoan on several occasions), and maybe those well-travelled paths form ruts that allow the carriage-driver to fall asleep at the reins, knowing that the horse knows the way. Sometimes it's hard to keep up the energy needed to spend a few hours writing when the scenery is the same.

To that end, I'm looking for ideas. What sort of articles would you like to see here on DIYPlanner? What reviews, what techniques, what products, what angles should we pursue?

Please tell us what you'd like to see, no matter how small, how grandiose, how wacky, how insignificant, or how out-of-place it might seem. Let's refill the well of our inspiration. Leave us your ideas.

D*I*Y Planner - Sometimes you get a little thirsty. - Comments

I found a couple of ways but ....

Book layout

Glad you like my Dynamics

Bob and Shris: Thank you! Dynamic Templates are another solution

Hi. On the subject of

@Scrivener - Thanks

Thanks, Bob. ocdgeek is my neighbor...a progress report on him

Checklists

Some more ideas and a request for help

I just jump on board! haha

Flickr-ing

double ended highlighters at jetpens

some ideas...

Sharpie Tip

Sharpie makes a mini

Sometimes you get a little thirsty.

DIY Planner - Sometimes you get a little thirsty. - Comments