249. Planner hacking with Rhodia the MW way
January 20th, 2010 § 15 Comments
After some years of using planners, iCal, and Stickies on my desktop, I’ve finally hit upon what I think is the best method, for me, of staying on top of all the great stuff (and not-so-great stuff) that I get to do in my life. I thought that you might be interested in seeing how it works; let me know if you end up trying it out!
It starts out with the Rhodia 6×9 Weekly Notebook. (Or any other planner with a weekly planner on the left side and a blank page on the right.)
I know that there are so many more tempting notebooks out there. The Moleskine, for example, is very popular, and there are something like five or six versions of them, including the crazy-phantasmagorical multi-colored 12-month box set, which I was very tempted to buy this year, but realized in the end would not serve my purposes. This is the Rhodia 6×9 Weekly Notebook, and you can buy it here: (and no, I’m not being paid to write this — I actually bought THREE PLANNERS this year, and gave away two of them because they just weren’t cutting it for me.)
images taken from here
That strip, by the way, does not appear on the actual notebook; it’s just a piece of cardboard that goes down the middle. This is what my Rhodia notebook looks like:
As you can see, I’ve customized the outside. I’ve also customized the inside — little inspirational things, photos of things I like, and the like. I’ve even used the back of the book, which has some black “address book” pages (no, I don’t use them for their usual purpose), for Susannah Conway’s “Unravelling: 2010″ workbook pages. They keep me focused on my goals for this year, both emotionally, physically, and mentally, and can be found at her delightful, Polaroid-filled website here.
Okay. So what’s the plan for actually, like, using this thing?
I use the right-hand blank page for two purposes: 1.) to keep a running To-Do list for the week (this includes everything, from buying nail polish remover to making my fourth lesson plan of the semester to writing 500 words a day) and 2.) writing daily To-Do lists.
There are a few key elements to making these To-Do lists. The running To-Do list can be as ambitious as you like, but be careful to not overwhelm yourself, because usually putting too many things on your plate will just make you feel like a huge loser in the end when you can’t finish them all. Also, the To-Do list should be very specific. Not “Write” — “500 words.” Put down everything and anything, even the little things, because putting down the little things makes them easy to cross off and is very satisfying.
Okay. Let’s look at the left-hand page.
This is where you make your normal “planner notes.” Birthdays. Meetings. Rhodia separates the day hour-by-hour, so feel free to put in your meeting with your advisor, your boss’s special dinner, or a date with your friend. (Hint: Plan some time for things like “taking a walk” and “relaxing,” otherwise you will go insane.)
How do you figure out what to put in the daily bits? Take a look at your weekly To-Do list, and split it into different parts. Plan out days that seem REASONABLE. I cannot emphasize this enough. Prevent the temptation to become a planning maniac in which you put ten thousand things in one day.
All right! You’re ready to use your plans! Now what?
Follow your plans as best as you can. If you can’t finish something that you’ve planned, put a box around it and move it to the next day. If you realize something doesn’t belong in your schedule anymore, cross it off and move on with your life. When you cross something off on your daily list, cross it off on your weekly list.
Sometimes I also make daily To-Do lists on the right hand side, but that’s because I really like lists. If you do too, this might be something that you’re interested in.
I hope that this has been helpful to you. Let me know if you found this interesting — I know it’s not fashion-related, per se, but I find it easier to make room for fun if I get all of my other stuff out of the way first.
xo, mw
I just ordered one of these based on your post! I’d been trying to decide whether to ride out the year with iCal alone or spring for a planner. I love the idea of the scheduled days (broken into hours) with the blank pages all coordinated in, instead of lumped at the front or the back like most planners. Plus, the orange color is great. Thanks for posting!
Yay! I’m so glad! Let me know how it works out for you — I think Rhodia makes a great product!
Oh gosh, that is EXACTLY the planner I visualised this year, but I had no idea they actually made them. And I already bought a Moleskine. But next year…
PS you have very charming neat writing!
Thanks! What kind of Moleskine did you get?
I love this! It’s very helpful. I get overwhelmed by all the daily planners out there, but this looks like it might help me with organizing my time. I work from home, so I need a lot of routine and structure in my day, otherwise everything just goes to pot. I made a Control Journal (http://www.flylady.net/pages/cjmain.asp) that keep my housework in check and also make sure that certain work-related tasks don’t snowball. I’ll try your hints, especially the one about breaking down tasks into small parts — you are right, it’s very satisfying to cross them off!
Oh, I’ll check out that link! Thanks! Routine and structure is DEFINITELY important for me — it gets cah-razy around here. Anyway, thanks, as always, for your comment…
MEGGY! I think you may have saved 2010 from being another disaster from me. I’m following your how-to be organized guide to a T. Thank you thank you thank for this. I’m going to try and get a Rhodia book from the bookstore today.
love, Jenny
PS, I agree with woodscolt! You are the most charming neat writer:))))
Rhodia planners seriously are amazing. I hope you can find one!
xoxoxo
I have recently discovered the program Things for macs…but I’m getting ahead of myself here. I used to use a daily academic calendar from quo vadis pretty faithfully for like 6 months of the year, and then stop for a year, and then get a new and use it for like 3 months…and so on. Maybe it was just too difficult to open up to a new day everyday, I dunno. I never really liked using iCal because the format for the to-dos wasn’t very fun, and it just wasn’t very fun to look at either…
So then I discovered Things, which is based on Getting Things Done. What I like is that although it is based on my computer, whenever I think of something I need to do, I email it to myself from my phone and can just press 3 keys when I’m looking at my email to add it to my to-do list. I really like the Getting Things Done concept, so that works really well. However, what Things lacks is a useful calendar… I had to print off calendar months for 2010 to keep track of things that occur regularly, such as rehearsals and my (irregular) work schedule, so I’m not sure if it’s a perfect fit right now. I kind of miss having a physical planner to carry around and decorate the outside of and put stuff in at a moment’s notice, but I think I inevitably get tired of lugging it around and pulling it out all the time. So I dunno. I do like the concept of having that blank page next to the planner, though.
Yeah, I’ve heard a lot about GTD — I’m glad that it works so well for you! I like having the physical planner because I like to doodle and jot notes down while I’m at boring meetings and the like. I’ve also tried Things, but it just wasn’t for me. Thank you for the astute comment!
thank you so much! i had been wondering about the planner since you posted it in a prior photo.
Thank you for commenting, and for reading!
hi meggy! can i just say, your planner system is amazing and i’m totally sold and gonna buy one of these asap. love yr blog! xoxo.
Yumi, you’re fantastic! Thanks for reading, and for commenting; I didn’t even know you came here! xoxoxo
It is now September, and the “Reorder Now!!!!” page in my planner reminded me of this post. I just ordered the 2011 Rhodia agenda, and I think it’s going to be a breakthrough. I need to simplify my life, and the Dayplanner + everything-book combo is just not cutting it. So thanks for sharing your methods. And thanks also for Susannah’s Unravelling worksheets: I just filled them out for the last quarter of this year, and I’ll be looking for them at New Year’s. I’m not usually into goal-setting-gimmicky things, but I am realizing that shit needs to get done, and I need to be accountable. So THANK YOU! And I love your blog. Yours in intelligent-fashionista solidarity, Allie