My paper planner has been gathering dust for quite awhile now as I switched to other tools which are more portable and practical. Lately I’ve been thinking it could become a tool to use at my desk for the weekly review. This should clarify the process for me and make it more visual. It needs spiffing up to be more attractive, so a trip to the office supply store will be needed to replace tabs with ones that aren’t worn and that are customized to my needs.
Set Up Part One
Permanent printable 4×5 cards with general information to consult on each process:
- Daily (to-dos/next actions, use the terminology you like):
- Calendar
- Weekly Plan
- Project Plan
- Projects/Goals
- Follow Up (Waiting for/Pending)
- Ideas (Someday/Maybe)
Set Up Part Two
Personal lists that change frequently:
- Next Actions or tasks
- Repeating tasks for work
- Projects
- Goals
- Follow up
- Mission statement
- Ideas
These I keep in Yahoo notepad to be easily updated, but often forget to look at them. I will make it part of the weekly review to print these out. This will make them more visually accessible than a computer list and more visually attractive than a hand-written, scribbled up paper version. Adhesive plastic pockets (for business cards or floppy disks) will be applied to appropriate index tab dividers to hold these 3×5 print-outs. I may try printing out two copies, one for the desk planner and one to carry with index cards in a holder.
Update: The portable gtd mini system includes nine information cards in one pdf file. I found slash pockets for the planner that work well for the frequently changing lists.
June 16, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Nice post. Would it be possible to some how package all your PDF’s for this into a single file for users to download? That would be super swell!
June 17, 2007 at 8:24 pm
I use a hybrid system (half paper / half Outlook) in my productivity system as well. I’ve tried to eliminate paper several times, but I keep coming back to it. It seems to be a combination of the visual layout and physical motion (writing / moving pages) that makes paper ideal for certain things.
Right now, I use a paper planner from the Bubble Planner for my daily and weekly reviews. The activity log is perfect for tuning up my system. Outlook is still my preference for both the Calendar and Contacts.
June 23, 2007 at 4:10 pm
[...] newly spiffed up paper planner for the weekly review is working well. I found nifty slash pockets that fit the planner to hold the frequently changing [...]
September 19, 2007 at 10:09 am
[...] Lists and the Weekly Review / Rosemary Hohn [...]