There are many ways that you can organize your life. You can use todo lists that you cross items of like a shopping list, but those have been proven to be more of a time waster than a time saver for anything other than shopping lists. If you want to design your life and make sure that you put more time on the most important tasks that will lead to the future you want for yourself and family, then you need something more robust.

Electronic tools like software can help, but unless you are on your computer 24/7 then you are still not completely connected to your plan. I am always online, or that’s what it would seem like if you spent a day with me. But even with my Outlook calendar, online email and blackberry, I still find it hard to take the notes I need during my daily meetings and make sure I have all the information I need all of the time. I have adjusted to a 2 step process that seems to work very well for me.

I have use too many products to gain this edge to go over. I have even tried putting together my own system but all I felt like was that I was trying to reinvent the wheel. There had to be something already available that was scalable to my specific needs. So I asked some respected friends and did some research and found the solution.

So I have not throw out the Blackberry or my other assortment of synchronized hardware and software, but I do keep a written process that helps with the times that I am not online. I use a system designed by Franklin Covey. It is a
Monarch Simulated Leather Zipper Binder.

All of my contacts are on my devices, but I have copies of my most important business and personal contacts in my binder. This is how I make sure that I never miss anything. When I am on the road, I get reminders on my phone for calls that need to be made or upcoming appointments. But when I am on a call or in a meeting and I need to set a follow up, and there is no way to get online to track my calendar, having a paper system saves the day.

I have 3 months worth of calendar items in my binder. I print off 3 months of the calendar from Outlook on an ongoing basis. and I may have to print the current month multiple times depending on how often the calendar changes. But thats what needs to be done.

Because it’s a binder, I can also keep any important datasheets, or other documents that I need on hand at any given time. Having this paper based system is the ultimate backup to my digital lifestyle and I have tried many different types of planners or systems to achieve my goals.

Franklin Covey has the most scalable planning systems around. The binders come in so many different sizes and you can make it as basic or customized as you need. They have pieces for general business people, real estate, soccer moms and even scale to allow you to create and print your own forms that can pull data from spreadsheets you have on your computer or in Outlook.

If you are having the same problems and need a supplemental paper based planning system, look at FranklinCovey.

Here is an example of the system I use.

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