I Mean It… DIY Planner
The following is a copy of my blog post from coachblog.com. CoachVille is my day job, and I actually do serious things over there from time to time…
Today’s Coach Tech Minute, as heard on CoachVille Caffeine, is all about those of us who love the art of putting pen to paper. I may be a technogeek™, but I love my old-fashioned three-ring planner. Give it a play:
As a visual person, I find the act of writing something down really stabilizes it in my mind. As a creative person, I never found planner products that totally suited my needs. I always wanted to tweek with something. I wanted a form to be THIS way, not the way Franklin Covey THOUGHT I wanted it (no offense to Mr. Covey, a fine fellow, indeed).
Also, as a person with ADD, I have problems with all the cool, organizational products for my computer. The PRODUCTS are great, and I’ll throw a few your way in a later post, but with my ‘special’ ability, I would never actually USE the software. Twenty minutes after sitting down to schedule something, I’ll find myself looking up something on Google, following some random thought, with no entry ever made in the software. Paper and pen help me to focus – so I’ll stick with them, thank you very much…
That’s where D*I*Y Planner comes in. Here is where I can be my tech geeky self, and use my computer to make my planner a creative home away from home. D*I*Y Planner is a community of creatives, time managers, and the project-driven personalities: All those who use a piece of paper to help them organize a thought, plan a day, or build a business.
There are articles to stir your creative self, challenge you to get organized, or tell you about the newest, slickest writing instrument. That would be great all by itself, but on top of this, is the D*I*Y planner kit: a downloadable package of planner pages, built for the size of your favorite planner. Douglas Johnson, creator of the site and the system, based the kit around the book Getting Things Done by David Allen. Then, as quite the creative guy himself, he added quite a few flourished of his own. Grab a calendar, a list, a form, and print out what you need. Hole punch it and stick it right in your planner – a job well done, and a feeling of satisfaction that you made it yourself. You’re your own person, and don’t answer to the local Staples for your planning needs.
Can’t find exactly what you need? There’s a template that allows you to create your own page. Then, if your form is masterful enough, and you’re feeling the urge, you can share it with the world, as registered users (it’s free) can upload their creations to share with the rest of the community.
D*I*Y Planner will inspire you to get more creative, and challenge you to be more organized. You can join in with the community, and be the Master Of Your Own Planner. Besides, with all the money you’re going to save on planner refills, you can finally get that $150 dollar leather planner you’ve been eying at the Franklin Covey store…