In 2017, I was using a digital calendar and a notepad for lists. While I was hitting some work goals, I felt like I was always completing things at the last minute and not turning out things at the quality I wanted. That meant more required revisions on my manuscripts that needed to be responded to prior to acceptance from journals, my proposals were close to getting funded (scored just below the ones that were funded) and I unintentionally was short with graduate students in my group. I was frustrated and knew something had to change. So, I applied for a sabbatical in hopes that realigning my research priorities and purging some service activities would help me juggle the tasks associated with my job a little better. I took the first few months of sabbatical completing papers, closing out projects on the periphery of my research focus and writing a new proposal. During the third month of sabbatical, my parents called to let me know that my mom had cancer. It had been a while since I heard from them and so I knew that diagnosis was serious. A few weeks later she passed, and I was left trying to help my dad with the after math of my mom’s passing (plan a funeral, settle affairs, etc.) while also continuing my own life (finishing out my sabbatical). My management system (paper lists and digital calendar) stopped working well. It was hard to keep track of which to-do items needed to get done on which day. I realized I needed a paper planner with space to identify both my scheduled appointments and the activities that needed to get done each day. I could easily see my schedule in black and white, allowing me to quickly commit to a meeting time or write down anything I was committing to. At first the Mole Moleskine Weekly Diary seemed like it would be enough. Using it, I could see that I was keeping track of appointments better, but there was not enough space for the to-do items I had related to my family, my work and my own selfcare. I kept supplementing the Moleskin with Expedition Waterproof Notebooks, small field notebooks that I could write my to-do lists. I got them because the ‘Expedition’ name and feel would make me tough like geologists on a field study. And, I loved the yellow color that made me smile each time I pulled it from my bag. This worked for about four months before I started googling planners trying to find the right one. I landed on daily planners and here are my review of three that worked for me at different times (DapperDesk from Simplified, Daily Duo from Emily Condren and most recently, the Simplified Planner).
DapperDesk: When I first transitioned from the Moleskin, I wanted a planner that looked professional to me (think neutral color and no pattern) and had a full page for each day. DapperDesk met both of these requirements. Each day had a full pace with an hourly agenda on the left and a blank to-do list on the right. At the bottom of each page was an area for notes too. I liked the paper quality with the DapperDesk, that the design was minimal (no colors or designs on pages) and the layout worked well. However, the binding started to wear out soon, and the cover started to separate from the bound pages. Since the DapperDesk was a bound book, it would lie flat on the table. However, I always saw two days. This turned out to be bothersome if I wanted to begin on a clean slate and was stuck looking at the note from a contentious meeting or missed deadline etch. Nonetheless I used DapperDesk for two years because it was comfortable. I finally moved to another planner when the DapperDesk cover colors for the third year were only offered in white and mauve. Neither color seemed practical for my life (being thrown in a bag for my commutes) or matched my personal aesthetic. Why carry a planner that you don’t like the look of? (Note: They are selling a Conac colored cover for the 2022-2023 Dapper Desk.)
Daily Duo: This planner is sold by Erin Condren can comes as two six-month books that span an entire year. Each day has its own page, and because each book covers only six months, books are relatively lightweight. The downside was that I could not see an entire year with each book, and I could never figure out whether to store the second book with the following 6 months in my office or home for reference. It seemed like it was always in the wrong place. I did like having a coil binder opposed to the binding in the Dapper Desk. The coil lets you bend the cover back fully so that just the current page (day) is visible. This also mean that the footprint of the planner on my desk was smaller than the DapperDesk. These books held up well, including being transferred to the diaper bag on weekends and commuting in my work bag. One thing that I did not anticipate loving, was the ability to change the covers. I was able to get covers that reflect things I loved (I got covers for RGB and to celebrate the release of the Mandalorian).
Simplified Daily Planner: I eventually got tired of keeping track of two books for each calendar year and so I ordered a Simplified Daily Planner. It has the coil and a page a day for Monday-Friday, but a combined page for Saturday/Sunday. While I initially thought I would hate the combined weekend page, it did not actually impact my scheduling since my weekend activities are really set around the needs of our two toddlers. With them, I can have at one anchor activity in the morning, such as trip to the zoo, and one afternoon activity, such as a playdate with a friend, each day.
Currently, I am using out my Simplified Daily planner combined with a digital calendar. I use the digital planner to send events to my spouse (daycare holidays, babysitter schedule, etc.), colleagues (research meetings) and students (advising meetings). I am pretty happy with this combination currently, however, can’t recommend this planner for all my friends. My job it fairly unusual in that work is confined between Monday to Friday, which is not a luxury everyone has. For example, my friend H, is required to work some weekend shifts at a manufacturing plant and the shared page layout for Saturday/Sunday page does not allow her to outline those work days well. It would be great if this company would provide a daily planner option for people who do not have the luxury of working only M-F.
If you are trying to find a paper planner, I would strongly suggest utilizing Amanda’s Favorites (YouTube channel). Amanda does detailed reviews so that you can see the components of planners and comments on things like the weight of the paper and the layouts. I particularly like her Top 5 videos, which list out her 10 (there are five runner ups) favorite planners. The podcast ‘Best Laid Plans’ with Sarah Hart-Unger is also a helpful resource. Sarah is a physician who uses planners to manage her household. This podcast gives thoughtful commentary on planning, planners, etc. Having a planner that matched my needs really did improve the flow of my days and using these resources might help you have the same luck.
Acknowledgements: This blog post was edited by Kate Epstein of EpsteinWords. She specializes in editing and coaching for academics, and she can be reached at epsteinwords at gmail.com.
In 2017, I was using a digital calendar and a notepad for lists. While I was hitting some work goals, I felt like I was always completing things at the last minute and not turning out things at the quality I wanted. That meant more required revisions on my manuscripts that needed to be responded to prior to acceptance from journals, my proposals were close to getting funded (scored just below the ones that were funded) and I unintentionally was short with graduate students in my group. I was frustrated and knew something had to change. So, I applied for a sabbatical in hopes that realigning my research priorities and purging some service activities would help me juggle the tasks associated with my job a little better. I took the first few months of sabbatical completing papers, closing out projects on the periphery of my research focus and writing a new proposal. During the third month of sabbatical, my parents called to let me know that my mom had cancer. It had been a while since I heard from them and so I knew that diagnosis was serious. A few weeks later she passed, and I was left trying to help my dad with the after math of my mom’s passing (plan a funeral, settle affairs, etc.) while also continuing my own life (finishing out my sabbatical). My management system (paper lists and digital calendar) stopped working well. It was hard to keep track of which to-do items needed to get done on which day. I realized I needed a paper planner with space to identify both my scheduled appointments and the activities that needed to get done each day. I could easily see my schedule in black and white, allowing me to quickly commit to a meeting time or write down anything I was committing to. At first the Mole Moleskine Weekly Diary seemed like it would be enough. Using it, I could see that I was keeping track of appointments better, but there was not enough space for the to-do items I had related to my family, my work and my own selfcare. I kept supplementing the Moleskin with Expedition Waterproof Notebooks, small field notebooks that I could write my to-do lists. I got them because the ‘Expedition’ name and feel would make me tough like geologists on a field study. And, I loved the yellow color that made me smile each time I pulled it from my bag. This worked for about four months before I started googling planners trying to find the right one. I landed on daily planners and here are my review of three that worked for me at different times (DapperDesk from Simplified, Daily Duo from Emily Condren and most recently, the Simplified Planner). · DapperDesk: When I first transitioned from the Moleskin, I wanted a planner that looked professional to me (think neutral color and no pattern) and had a full page for each day. DapperDesk met both of these requirements. Each day had a full pace with an hourly agenda on the left and a blank to-do list on the right. At the bottom of each page was an area for notes too. I liked the paper quality with the DapperDesk, that the design was minimal (no colors or designs on pages) and the layout worked well. However, the binding started to wear out soon, and the cover started to separate from the bound pages. Since the DapperDesk was a bound book, it would lie flat on the table. However, I always saw two days. This turned out to be bothersome if I wanted to begin on a clean slate and was stuck looking at the note from a contentious meeting or missed deadline etch. Nonetheless I used DapperDesk for two years because it was comfortable. I finally moved to another planner when the DapperDesk cover colors for the third year were only offered in white and mauve. Neither color seemed practical for my life (being thrown in a bag for my commutes) or matched my personal aesthetic. Why carry a planner that you don’t like the look of? (Note: They are selling a Conac colored cover for the 2022-2023 Dapper Desk.)
· Daily Duo: This planner is sold by Erin Condren can comes as two six-month books that span an entire year. Each day has its own page, and because each book covers only six months, books are relatively lightweight. The downside was that I could not see an entire year with each book, and I could never figure out whether to store the second book with the following 6 months in my office or home for reference. It seemed like it was always in the wrong place. I did like having a coil binder opposed to the binding in the Dapper Desk. The coil lets you bend the cover back fully so that just the current page (day) is visible. This also mean that the footprint of the planner on my desk was smaller than the DapperDesk. These books held up well, including being transferred to the diaper bag on weekends and commuting in my work bag. One thing that I did not anticipate loving, was the ability to change the covers. I was able to get covers that reflect things I loved (I got covers for RGB and to celebrate the release of the Mandalorian). · Simplified Daily Planner:I eventually got tired of keeping track of two books for each calendar year and so I ordered a Simplified Daily Planner. It has the coil and a page a day for Monday-Friday, but a combined page for Saturday/Sunday. While I initially thought I would hate the combined weekend page, it did not actually impact my scheduling since my weekend activities are really set around the needs of our two toddlers. With them, I can have at one anchor activity in the morning, such as trip to the zoo, and one afternoon activity, such as a playdate with a friend, each day.
Currently, I am using out my Simplified Daily planner combined with a digital calendar. I use the digital planner to send events to my spouse (daycare holidays, babysitter schedule, etc.), colleagues (research meetings) and students (advising meetings). I am pretty happy with this combination currently, however, can’t recommend this planner for all my friends. My job it fairly unusual in that work is confined between Monday to Friday, which is not a luxury everyone has. For example, my friend H, is required to work some weekend shifts at a manufacturing plant and the shared page layout for Saturday/Sunday page does not allow her to outline those work days well. It would be great if this company would provide a daily planner option for people who do not have the luxury of working only M-F.
If you are trying to find a paper planner, I would strongly suggest utilizing Amanda’s Favorites (YouTube channel). Amanda does detailed reviews so that you can see the components of planners and comments on things like the weight of the paper and the layouts. I particularly like her Top 5 videos, which list out her 10 (there are five runner ups) favorite planners. The podcast ‘Best Laid Plans’ with Sarah Hart-Unger is also a helpful resource. Sarah is a physician who uses planners to manage her household. This podcast gives thoughtful commentary on planning, planners, etc. Having a planner that matched my needs really did improve the flow of my days and using these resources might help you have the same luck.
Acknowledgements: This blog post was edited by Kate Epstein of EpsteinWords. She specializes in editing and coaching for academics, and she can be reached at epsteinwords at gmail.com.