smartsizing

once more unto the blog dear readers...

I watched someone listing mistake purchases 'stuff you'll always regret buying' and what came up first was paper planners or what people in the UK commonly call a filofax™.

This gave me pause for thought since I often recommend a belt and braces approaches which includes the use of 'filofaxes'. I certainly do not recommend giving everything over to digital just because it's the current year.

This is because:

• digital devices do go down/get lost/run out of battery
• items are easier to visualise/recall on the page than digital
• repetition writing something increases chance of memorising it
• If you change your digital calendar/online planner you'll always have your 'filofax' to fall back on

Here's how I recommend using paper organisers:

Copy all important dates/appointments to a A5-sized desk diary or wall calendar. Again, writing out in longhand aids the memory process. Write contact details in pencil for backup of your digital systems - pencil can be easily rubed out and amended/updated. When you're talking on the phone, write notes directly into the desk diary. You can photo these into your phone later for reference. Keep your desk diary front and centre, readily at hand -not on some bookshelf or hidden in a drawer.

I recommend NextCloud for your digital life but if you use another service such as Google calendar (not recommended) or some other you might either find it unavailable or find yourself acidentally locked out. It's good to be able to just pick up your desk diary/filofax and continue as if nothing has happened. This is the same reason I recommend having a spare back up mobile phone