The Single Most Important Organizational Tool I Own

It’s that time of year again – the madness that we call the Holidays. It’s a time filled with family gatherings, hardy meals, festive parties and holiday events galore!

So how do we keep up with it all?  

What’s the BEST way to plan and organize all the areas of our lives – from family to professional to personal.  Knowing how I do it and realizing I definitely have room for improvement, I’m always nosey curious to know how others do it as well.

Are you a paper or a digital organizer?
(or somewhere in between)

Ever since I can remember (think middle school years), I’ve been a paper girl.  I love paper planners/calendars/organizers of all varieties.  I’ve been a Franklin Covey user, a Day Timer, Day Minder, & even a cutesie, colorful student organizer-type.  

One might think this means I’m not keeping up with technology, but alas, I have the typical tools of the trade – from the home computer to the tablet computer to the almighty smart phone.  And as much as I know I can’t live without these wonders of technology, the single most important tool of them all continues to be my paper planner.  There’s just something about being able to put pen to paper.  Not to mention, I prefer the week-at-a-glance view, and if the iPhone is capable of it, I haven’t figured it out yet (oh wise ones, please enlighten me!).

My every breath is planned out on paper.  Okay, that may be a bit dramatic, but I do write just about everything down. I’ve done this for many years, and although I’ve never been a consistent journal-keeper, I can look back at an old planner on any given day and recollect at least part of the day’s activities.  It gives me the ability to uncover memories that otherwise would have been lost forever.  Ahhh, nostalgia!

In true nerd fashion, I’m always on the look out for the perfect paper planner.  

A couple of years ago, I joyfully stumbled across the magic that is Erin Condren Life Planners – my newest planner obsession! I could go on and on about all the things I love about this planner, but that would warrant a blog post all to itself.  What I will tell you though is that this little beauty is what has currently prolonged any thought of a move from paper to all-digital.  In fact, my shiny, new 2013 edition arrived in the mail last week, so I doubt I’ll be making major changes to my system anytime soon.

This doesn’t mean I’m not constantly looking for ways to better organize my life.  

With the advent of smart phones, I’ve been forced to lead a dual calendar life.  I use the paper calendar for everything, and I also use my smart phone for my business/work appointments.  This allows me to keep my Outlook calendar synced and up-to-date for the purpose of scheduling meetings with colleagues and customers.  I can’t tell you how many times a day I hear “send me a meeting request.”  And it doesn’t stop with my professional life.  Even my (paperless) husband wants an appointment/meeting request for all family events, outings or dates.  Not that this ever happens, but if he “forgets” about an upcoming event on our calendar, the first thing he’ll ask is “did you send me a meeting request for that?”

With all the pros and cons of paper vs. digital, what is your preference?  

What’s your favorite family planning and organizing tool?