What format or size for 2011?

Yes folks it's that time of year to make up your mind about what size to use or format to use next year.  We got a 'plea for help' today on this topic from one of our 'established readers'... they said:

Is it just me or as the New Year approaches, am I the only person madly deciding between 2 or 3 different Filos and/or the insert format?  

Do I go large with the A5 and by mid-January I am cursing myself for having to carry something that large and bulky around all year, or do I go lean with the personal and then lament that I don't have something big enough to write all of my thoughts/dreams/personal notes on etc? 

My first and foremost New Year's Resolution is to stick with ONE planner and ONE format the whole entire year. 

Or, as another blogger/friend and I discussed via email recently, do I run 2 systems?:  The A5 for the "mother ship" of planners that is kept at home or the office and the personal for "with me all the time/in my bag/etc" planner?  Maybe I need to start my own blog about this?

What is everyone else doing for 2011?!?!

I've edited their quote slightly to preserve their privacy, but I'm sure this person isn't the only one to be going through this angst at the moment, reflecting on how their current format has faired so far this year.

I have been there myself, I started off 2006 in one format only to discover to my cost that I was not using the right diary format for my needs at the time.  This year I also swapped in September in to a format that better suited my needs.

How do you decide what size/format to use? Share your thoughts in the comments please.......

Roll Call: What's Your Format?

Hey everybody, we haven’t had a Roll Call for awhile! (And for those of you who follow the Roll Call link you will notice I shamelessly re-used Inky's bugler image!)

So now's the time to step up and be counted among the ranks. Tell us who you are and answer these:

1) What’s your current diary/ planner size and format? A5 week on 2 pages horizontal? Personal day per page? We want to know. And:

2) Are you planning to stay with the same format for 2010?

Me first! I’m Laurie. After much flitting about and numerous episodes of Calling the Dog, I have finally settled on the original, basic Personal size week on two pages, unlined. After all the millions of planner formats I’ve tried over the last few years, I am absolutely shocked that this basic format is turning out to work the best for me. I guess there is a reason why it’s so popular!

Do I plan to stick with it for 2010? Well, I have very good intentions. I have filled out all the holidays, birthdays, and other events in my 2010 pages. But I will be the first to admit, if I actually stay with it for the entire year it’ll be a miracle. From January to October 2009, I used 12 different formats/ sizes/ planner books in my search for what works best! And frankly, I’m tired of tweaking so let’s hope I have found my solution.

Your turn!

Calling the Dog

Seems like there are a million movies with a variation on this theme: Person and dog love each other. Dog somehow gets separated from person and lost. New person finds and adopts dog. New person and dog love each other. Then one day, Original Person finds dog, and the argument ensues with New Person over whose dog it is. He was my dog first, he’s my dog now, etc.

So to solve the problem, they let the dog decide. Both people stand far apart with the dog between them. Then they both call the dog at the same time. Whichever person the dog goes to, gets to keep him.

I do a variation of this when I am trying to decide which planner/ diary format will work best for me. I often find myself trying out a new format or size to see if it will work better than what I am using.

The way I decide between two formats or sizes is: I fill out my entire week in both formats/ sizes with my appointments, tasks, special events and everything else for the whole week. For example, if I am having a really busy time, I fill out the week in my A5, and also in my Personal size to see if I can figure out techniques to make my Personal work well enough when I am very busy, or if I have to have the larger page size of the A5 to write everything in. During the course of the week, I pay attention to which one I look at and use more. The one that works better for me at the time is the one I either switch to or stay with. Usually the winner is apparent after just a few days.

I’ve just now realized that it’s my planners calling me, and whichever one I go to gets to “keep” me. Which means I’M the dog!! Maybe I should come up with a different name for this!

Does anyone else “call the dog” and use two planner/diary formats at the same time to see which works better?