Tips for Finding the Perfect Daily Planner

Are you still looking for the perfect daily planner for yourself? I am! You would think that as a professional organizer I would have one, right? Wrong. I have gone through several in the last few years. Just as I think I have found the perfect one, a need arises that ensures me I have not… and the search goes on.

I was working with a client recently to try and help her find a daily planner that worked for her. She did use an electronic device, but still wanted to have the paper and pencil version as well, mainly for scheduling appointments. We took a look at the planner she was using and I asked her a few questions about it.

• What parts of it do you like? It is spiral; small enough to carry in my purse, can be viewed daily, monthly, yearly, and is college ruled.
• What features would you like to have that are not part of your current planner? I would like to have more space in each daily block to write information that is necessary for me to remember. It would be nice to have the monthly calendar included on the side of each weekly section.

The more we talked the more clear she became about what she was looking for. I suggested that she write down the features she wanted to look for when she went shopping for her next planner. Would this idea work for an electronic planner? You bet.

Start out the new year with the perfect (or as close to it) planner for you, whether it is the paper or electronic version. Look at the planner you have been using and decide if it works for you. Ask yourself the two questions above. Write down the features you want to have and take the list with you to the store or refer to them if you shop online. Knowing ahead of time what you are looking for will help you find the right planner.