Maybe I’d prefer some things to stay predominantly analogue, but that doesn’t mean that I completely shun digitalisation! On that note, let’s talk about planners.
Last week, I realised that I’ve never created a review of a planner at KraftyCats. This is for the simple reason that I never use them.
Why is that? The idea appeals. There are some gorgeous planners out there that I’d definitely love to get my hands on. It comes down to this.
I cannot remember to look at a planner. I need my schedule to buzz, beep or even scream at me if necessary. Furthermore, I guarantee that if I write in an impeccably organised planner that I need to be at an interview at 10AM on Wednesday morning, I’ll forget to check it. In fact, I’m not sure how those that use an actual notebook to plan their weeks ever get anything done. They exist in some kind of alternate Universe where their planners send push notifications straight to their brain, I assume.
It’s not like I haven’t tried it before, either. I’ve used notebooks to track my learning. To create reminders for articles that need writing before a certain deadline. Only for the refractory book in question to inexplicable lose itself in the ether until it catches my attention again, at which point it’s usually too late.
As a result, you’re unlikely to ever see a planner grace the review section here, because while I’d love to be one of those people that brandishes a Filofax in a spasm of productivity, I can’t be. Half-hearted Luddite that I am, I begrudgingly turn to my phone calendar to alert me when necessary since I’m seemingly incapable of picking up a book that’ sitting on my desk to check it every morning…
You’ll often see me exhorting my readers to include more analogue into their lives or complaining about some new sin of the digital age. But amongst all that, remember that sometimes a nice notebook just won’t cut it. The message is, everything in moderation! A good app or even just your phone calendar can be an extremely good tool that will always be in your EDC kit since the majority of us carry our phones around on a daily basis. Just don’t go on to use ChatGPT to write an article for that gig you’ve got a tight deadline on!
