For six years I?ve been using a paper planner system with elements of Franklin/Covey and GTD. I have a nice compact-size FC binder, and have had everything in it: monthly calendars, daily pages, next action and project lists, gift lists, sections for various projects and roles, inspiration quotes, planning notes, lists of things borrowed and lent?you get the idea. For a long time it worked quite well in some ways. I wrote daily to-do lists on the daily pages and used the note side of each day for capture. The GTD stuff wasn?t working as well. I tended to write things on Next Actions and then not do them, and not want to look at the NA lists out of guilt. Then this year I started not using the daily pages either. So I?ve done a complete system revamp.

One reason I?ve changed is that since a car accident three years ago I?ve had trouble with my arms and hands. Writing by hand isn?t as easy as it used to be, although I still enjoy it. I therefore find myself wanting to type things on the computer rather than write them. Also, I work at home, so my context is almost always the computer, with Internet always accessible now that I have DSL (another change this spring). I?m out of the office on errand days (which I try to consolidate) and when I travel. I?ve never wanted a PDA because the view is too small. I like expansiveness.

So here?s my new experimental system. It has a couple of elements I haven?t heard of other people using so far. I?d love to hear if anyone has tried something similar.

At home I?m based on the computer in several Word documents which remain open all the time, and a hard copy monthly calendar (just switched from the FC planner to a thin simple At-a-Glance).
Planning: Daily appointments and assigned tasks for the day, to which I refer repeatedly during the day.
AND a tickler file right in Word! I?ve always resisted taking the file space for the tickler file. So what I have is a list of the days for the rest of the month, and then a list of months. Under each one I can type reminders or whatever. So part of the file right now looks like this (with some things more spelled out than they really are). In Word I?ve set up a style with the heading and subheading levels in bold and not bold type.

Thurs 6/15:
Partner?s last day of school for the year
Four hours: start with SI presentation, set up Smith [current indexing job]
Call re flower quote (with phone number)
call photographer: (with phone number)
call Mel re sound system
Burn CDs for Anna
Call Mom re BBQ
Softball 8:45? Out to dinner?
Fri 6/16:
Call Parties to Go with final number of glasses
Phone appointment 12:00
BBQ with Mom?
Sat 6/17:
Friend?s graduation party?
Sun 6/18:
Mon 6/19:
Tues 6/20: daughter arrives
Wed 6/21:
Pay VISA bill
?
September
Get car serviced
Smith River art weekend? (Sarah and Mary)
Friend?s birthday Sept. 3
Art class I?m teaching starts week of Sept. 25
First Friday Sept 1: DIVA demonstration?
mail Oct interest check

Other Word files:

Next Actions, divided by context (I?m currently experimenting with some more mood-based contexts like ?mindless,? ?create,? and ?concentrated time.?)
Projects, divided by role (one of the things I love about Covey?s stuff). In the Projects file, I can type in next actions, ideas and information about each project. Hard-copy stuff goes in files in my file cabinet right next to me. Large projects (like our upcoming commitment ceremony) get their own Word files.

Away from home: everything goes in my bag, a messenger-bag shaped canvas bag with a couple of pockets on the outsides.
--9x12 pad holder notebook, with a top-down lined pad (thus no annoying spiral scraps when I tear out a page) and a pocket on the left. This holds a printout of my Next Actions list (which includes errand details) and sometimes a paper project to work on or ongoing notes on something (on pages torn from the pad). It?s not too bulky or heavy, and I can flip the cover to the back for a smaller writing surface.
--small spiral notebook for capturing information. (I?m waiting for someone to give me a moleskine for this purpose!) This gets ideas for next actions, money spent, people?s phone numbers, etc. Then at home I process into appropriate places, including the Word files. I?m loving the expansiveness of a whole notebook to write whatever I want (instead of the one daily planner page I was using for this purpose). I have found myself thinking of more, and more interesting, things to write down.
--At-a-Glance monthly calendar.

When I'm traveling I often do planning/review work, so I will print out the Project and Planning files and stick them in the big notebook too.

I?m still figuring out where to put a couple of pages of reference information that I want with me on errands. For now they?re tucked into the big notebook pocket, but I?m not sure I like that.

I?m feeling very nervous, having moved from the everything-in-one-notebook, infant method (never let it out of your sight) to basically four different sites (Word files, monthly calendar, big notebook, small notebook). But it also feels good.

Thanks for listening! I?d love feedback!

Do Mi