Why I’m Changing My Calendar System

I have been a devoted Franklin Planner user since 1991. I discovered the Franklin Planner when I was still in Corporate America. I admired a colleague’s desk calendar and she told me that it was made by Franklin and that if you take their one-day time management class, you get the planner for free. I was intrigued and signed up for the class. It changed my life.

I have always been a list-maker, but one of the most important things I learned at that one-day class was that you shouldn’t have multiple to-do lists. You should have only one to-do list and it should be prioritized daily. This is a principle that I have followed for over 30 years and that I teach my clients about time management.

The Franklin Planner comes in a looseleaf binder. It has a two-page spread per month, followed by a two-page spread per day with a daily to-do list on the left and a space for taking notes on the right. Another important principle that I learned at the class was: eliminate floating paper from your life. Everything that you write down during the day should go onto this notes page. If you’ve ever hunted frantically for the napkin or back of an envelope on which you scribbled a phone number or an important piece of information, you understand the wisdom of this principle.

The Franklin Planner I received at the class in 1991 was in the size known as Classic, which is 5.5 inches wide and 8.5 inches high. I found it a bit too large for shlepping on public transportation, and over the years I have switched to smaller versions a couple of times. I’m down to the smallest size they make: the Pocket size, which is 3.5″ x 6″ and is pictured below.

So why am I changing my calendar system after 34+ years? It’s because we no longer live in a paper-based society, and I’m dedicating space to carry my iPhone instead. I can stick my iPhone in my coat pocket or, if I’m not wearing a coat, in my small handbag. However, the planner’s bulk requires that I carry a separate bag for it.

I take many fewer handwritten notes than I used to. Mainly, the information I want to reference is in electronic files. Even if I take notes in my planner, if it’s important it gets transferred to my computer. I especially like to add information to Evernote, as it is accessible from any of my devices – computer, iPhone, iPad – and can be viewed when I’m out of the house.

For most of this year, I’ve been photographing the calendar pages in my planner so that I can refer to them when I am making a client appointment. Then I e-mail myself the details of the appointment for entry in my paper calendar when I get home. It’s not an ideal system and I knew I needed to come up with something better.

Most of my clients use electronic calendars, but I like to look at an entire month at a time. I add appointments to my electronic calendar if I need to record details that don’t fit into the little square on my paper calendar, such as Zoom info or a physical address. Otherwise, looking at the full month at once gives me better control over my time management.

So what are the two things I wanted to carry forth into my new calendar system? A monthly calendar and a daily to-do list. Franklin was not offering any products that would give me those two features, so I’ve defected. I purchased a Day-Timer 2-page per month wire-bound pocket calendar. It’s very slim and light and will slip easily into my handbag on those days when I need to carry a calendar. Between each monthly two-page spread, there is a blank page that will enable me to take any notes.

What about the to-do list? Day-Timer sells a sticky note to-do list that’s about the same size as the calendar. I can use it separately from the calendar, or peel off today’s list and attach it to the calendar if I want to take it with me.

It’s a little scary to be shifting systems after 34+ years, but I’m excited about keeping my favorite habits and jettisoning the rest.