Day planners: the joy of paper and writing things down

I collect moleskins and pens. Not on purpose – I just tend to get moleskins in press kits or randomly. Yes, random moleskins. I love each of them (equally) because each one is full of potential just before I write in them.

Day planners fall into this group. I’m quite bad at remembering appointments or get-togethers. I’ve been known to double-book things and then have to cancel one or both in a flurry of apologies. This always happens on Thursdays. Toronto really likes to do things on Thursdays.

Anyway, to prevent this, I need to write things down. Not type them into my phone. Smartphones are smart but their batteries always manage to die on you just at that perfectly inconvenient time. And you can never find an outlet to plug in for a few precious minutes.

I tuck a small day planner in my bag. (I use the one in the image above.) The daily slots are tiny, just enough to write the event, the address and time. I have a bigger one at home where I add more details. I forget to fill out that one but really, it’s an excuse to buy a pretty day planner and leave it on my desk. 

The act of writing things down means I don’t forget.  I also like to flip through my day planner to see what I’ve done and what I’ve got planned. It’s fun to see family and friends’ birthdays, movie nights, date nights, big parties, christenings, patio time, house parties, drinks – all the physical indicators of friendships. I also add work deadlines, meetings, pitches, renos, big purchases, etc. At the end of the year I like to flip through it and see what I’ve done. Most of the time, I feel quite accomplished.

What do you use to write in your day planner? A fountain pen, obviously. Thanks to Kath, I plan on buying one for my birthday.