My entire life, I’ve taken notes and kept a journal. I have journals dating back from when I was about 11 years old, filled with moody pointless poetry and details of my crushes. I have notebooks and planners from junior high; dissecting work and my to-do’s. My desire to save memories and stay organized has been consistent throughout my life, but in this digital age – I’m finding it as difficult as solving the meaning of life.

Last week, I had a mental meltdown. It was not the first of its kind, I must add. From time to time, work piles up and my current process of recording it has usually failed me. Not to mention, because my work varies – my system of what I take to a meeting always changes…and as a routine loving Taurus this enrages me. It creates tension and anxiety in my already stressed out brain. Although, my obsession with being organized has been with me since day one – this recent breakdown has urged me to find a solution, especially since some of you have asked me for suggestions.

So…how does one stay organized in 2013?  Let’s begin with what I like, need, have and use…

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WHAT I LIKE & NEED…

HAND-WRITING/CROSSING OFF COMPLETED TASKS
PAPER PLANNER + NOTEBOOK

The ability to cross off a completed task from my TO-DO LISTS brings literally makes my mouth water, but in 2013…it’s hard to jot everything down. Especially CALENDAR DATES, etc. Sometimes I’ll write something down in my lux Louis Vuitton Planner which stays on my desk because it weighs a ton, but it will make me forget an important meeting if it wasn’t saved in iCal. Or sometimes I’ll make a note in my notebook for work I need to do and I might forget about it because I don’t get an electronic reminder.

I like writing things down and seeing them in real life. Digital notes and calendar dates are important, but it’s hard for me to visualize everything when it’s not analog.

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DIGITAL CALENDAR, FILES & NOTES
iPHONE & iPAD MINI

I have a management team that orchestrates my work and other things, so it’s important that they know where I am throughout the day so they can schedule me accordingly. If I schedule something on paper or verbally and not on my iCAL, I risk being overbooked or worse – forgetting I have a meeting in the first place.

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WHAT I HAVE & USE…

NOTEBOOK, PAPER PLANNER, IPAD MINI & IPHONE (not pictured)

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1. MOLESKIN NOTEBOOK

(USAGE: Always)

PROS:
-Taking Notes In All Meetings.
-Making Notes For Future Work.
-Writing Out To-Do Lists & Appointments.

CONS:
-Prefer That It Could Be Segmented Per Category For Every Different Job.

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2. iPHONE 

(USAGE: Always)

PROS:
-Absolutely Necessary For Scheduling Appointments By Myself & Management.
-Absolutely Necessary For Adding Due Dates For Work By Myself or Management.

CONS:
-Unable To Take Sufficient Notes.

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3. LOUIS VUITTON PAPER PLANNER

(USAGE: Sometimes)

PROS:
-Writing Out To-Do Lists & Appointments.
-Hand-writing & Crossing Off Completed Tasks.
-Super Nice (it was a gift a few years back)

CONS:
-Heavy
-Unable To Take Sufficient Notes.

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4. iPAD MINI 

(USAGE: Rarely)

PROS:
-Easy Access to iCal.
-Potential to Take Notes (Evernote, etc)
-Professional, Sleek & Light Weight.

CONS:
-Not Sure I Need It

My ipad’s name is “Vashtie’s Max -iPad”. You love it.

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MY (PAINFUL) RESEARCH…
PAPER PLANNERS VS. DIGITAL DEVICES

The past month has been dedicated to doing hours and hours of ridiculous research. Reading what other bloggers use and what other people have to keep their lives in order is beyond exhausting…it’s mind-numbing and absolutely insane, I do no recommend it but – I did it for you…so you technically owe me (you do).

What I’ve found is that, people are either more:

1. ANALOG (Paper & Pen)

2. DIGITAL (SmartPhones, Pads, etc)

Nothing I found in my researched showed people using both…but, I am both ANALOG & DIGITAL. Paper Planners satisfy my urge to use my hands and Digital Devices keep me and my management team on track.

Although some people find Paper Planners to be ancient – it was relieving to find countless others like me who need tangible paper and pens to be and feel organized.

SIDENOTE: I watched many videos of how people used Paper Planners and they all seemed to be the same kind of girl; high pitched voices (so high that I thought some of them were pre-teens), super girly and obsessed with details and decorating with stickers. I had to ask myself, am I this same kind of girl on the low? Maybe…just minus the high pitched voice and need to put cute stickers of on everything.

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MY SOLUTION…
INCORPORATING ALL ELEMENTS

It’s double duty the work, but it will be worth the try if I can feel organized and accomplished! If you are like me: ANALOG & (RELUCTANTLY) DIGITAL then maybe try this with me. Or you can just wait and see how it works out for me, I will keep you posted.

1. DIGITAL DEVICES WILL BE THE MAIN SCHEDULING COMPONENT:
As soon as I get an appointment to add (that has not been added by my management team), I will immediately add on my iPhone or Computer via Google Calendar.

2. PAPER PLANNERS WILL BE UPDATED (DAILY) WITH SCHEDULE & DUE DATES:
Taking lead from Digital Devices, my Paper Planner will be updated accordingly. As much as I love my Louis Vuitton Planner, it just doesn’t seem logical or useful for my day to day – based on how heavy it is to travel with me. I’m not sure I need my paper planner to travel with me or to stay on my desk, but I have opted to test out a new Paper Planner called Planner Pads. Out of competing brands like Day-Timer, etc…this Planner seems to be most logical, despite the fact that I had no visual attraction to it. It’s so business and boring, but maybe that’s what I need to focus. Anyways – it got a lot of good reviews from other bloggers.

It has 3 rows for filling in…ROW 1 is for Categories of things you need to accomplish. ROW 2 is for Things To Do to accomplish those Categories. ROW 3 is for Scheduling and Hard Appointments. We’ll see how this goes – if all else fails, I’m going back to my dude Louis.

3. NOTES WILL BE REVIEWED NIGHTLY & DUE DATES ADDED TO ANALOG & DIGITAL:
Making sure nothing has been missed.

Before leaving my desk or shutting down for the night, I will review my iCal and make sure appointments have been added to my Paper Planner. I will also review Notes from the day taken during meetings and make sure correlating due dates have been added to my Analog & Digital.

Let me know what you guys think. Do you have a great system for organization? Share your tips and thoughts! Thanks, Vashtie <3