Comments on: Keeping It Personal

By: Steve Sherlock

Steve Sherlock — Sat, 09 Apr 2005 10:49:43 +0000

Yes, I agree. It does not take much of an effort. It is more of an effort when you start. But then it should become a habit, a good one at that, and one you won’t want to get rid of.

By: Neal Dench

Neal Dench — Sat, 09 Apr 2005 14:28:25 +0000

I’m interested that you keep your journal with your planner. I keep my journal (a Moleskine, sic) completely separate from my planning system (which is mostly on Palm, but which I’m thinking of making more analog using the marvellous DIY Planner). Perhaps because of this, I have a bond with my journal that I don’t with my planning system. Reading between the lines, it seems that your suggesting that the way to make a bond with your planning system is to include all the personal things that you’d normally put in a journal, and that you need that bond to have a trusted system. Is that correct? Do you think it’s important that they are physically kept in the same location (i.e. in the one binder)?

By: Dan Robbins

Dan Robbins — Sat, 09 Apr 2005 16:54:40 +0000

This is an awesome post - very inspirational. I’ve been meaning to give more thought to journaling and these are just the right ideas to tip the scales towards that effort. Thanks!

By: dougj

dougj — Sat, 09 Apr 2005 17:42:05 +0000

Neil, you’ve summed up my point perfectly. And my take on the need for a physical “co-location” of both planning and personal/journal materials really boils down to how one satisfies a psychological need. By infusing your planner with your own personal thoughts, it becomes a more vital extension of your life, and you are more likely to carry it with you. Now, that’s not saying that you can’t tuck a journal into your planner (and there are some planners that have a nice little flap in the back to facilitate this). But ask yourself: what if you were to separate the two? Wouldn’t you be more likely to just take your journal and leave the planner behind? …And so one is back at the beginning, with a system neither vital enough to be carried everywhere, nor trusted enough to be seen as a personal extension.

Just my take, but I believe that it’s pretty important to either make the personal writings or journal part of your planner, or develop the very disciplined habit of keeping the two together: they should become a yin and yang impossible to separate without losing the essence of the whole. That way, the bond and trust will come naturally.

By: podoule

podoule — Sat, 09 Apr 2005 17:51:11 +0000

Stupid, stupid, stupid! if you can’t seperate your business and personal lives, you will be in for trouble. Ask my exwife.

Why don’t you get a REAL organizer like Outlook and never worry about appointmnts and things every again.

By: RhymerOne

RhymerOne — Sat, 09 Apr 2005 17:53:27 +0000

I think you’ve hit on my biggest problem! Thanks for the great post!

By: jj

jj — Sat, 09 Apr 2005 19:38:45 +0000

podoule point taken, but I don’t think it’s as much about keeping things separate. it’s about thoughtfulness. one part of your life should in an ideal world support and reflect the other (or so Covey seems to suggest.) take it or leave it.

btw was that a reference to an ed wood film? (^;

By: Jonathan Aquino

Jonathan Aquino — Sun, 10 Apr 2005 00:13:05 +0000

Yes, Graffiti will cramp your hand. Better to go with Fitaly.

By: open_heart

open_heart — Sun, 10 Apr 2005 14:30:15 +0000

Great idea! I think I’m going to borrow back the Cheryl Richardson book I bought for my mum a few years back. This will be a great way to combine it with my new snazzy DIY planner templates. A good way to kick start a journal, and seek balance.

By: Neal Dench

Neal Dench — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 04:40:31 +0000

Thanks for replying back Doug. I think this is a fascinating take on planning. I’m not convinced it would work for me, but you’ve certainly given me more food for thought on the planning/organizing front than I’ve had in long long time! (In fact, probably since I first read GTD). Thanks

By: the Daily Irrelevant » Blog Archive » Keeping It Personal

the Daily Irrelevant » Blog Archive » Keeping It Personal — Tue, 12 Apr 2005 12:12:48 +0000

[…] ws Sony’s core dilemma | The Register Keeping It Personal [Quote:] How do you make a “trusted system”, the term Da […]

By: HYPERGURU » Personal Analog Organizer

HYPERGURU » Personal Analog Organizer — Tue, 12 Apr 2005 22:57:10 +0000

[…] About organization, life_skills. Personal Analog Organizer a20million20monkeys20typing20C2BB20Keeping20It20Personal 1. Eve […]

By: Chris Hansen

Chris Hansen — Tue, 26 Apr 2005 06:42:54 +0000

podoule noted that it thought it was ’stupid’ to keep work and personal life separate. I’ll disagree with that bit though.

When you interweave your professional with your personal life you remove the need for multiple ‘faces’ or personalities. You simply are - there isn’t a work ‘you’ and a home ‘you’ (or a bar ‘you’ along with a gym ‘you’, etc.).

I’ve done both - rigorously separated who I was at work from my personal life and, as now, integrated them. I’m far happier with both aspects integrated.

Perhaps that is just me.

By: BLAH! » Blog Archive » Planners.

BLAH! » Blog Archive » Planners. — Fri, 06 May 2005 07:40:57 +0000

[…] 230; but after talking to W for a while and after some reflection… and after reading this- I realized that this may not be the best way for me to go… […]

By: Riley Wilkinson

Riley Wilkinson — Sat, 06 Aug 2005 00:14:42 +0000

Great site. I too used to journal daily and also carried a heavy sketchbook wherever I went. Now I have my Fraklin and I write down everything. There is something magical about putting something in writing….things just start to HAPPEN! The message about incorporating the journal with the planner is particularly inspiring to me, and I sometimes just want to dump out my brain when I am out and about. I do find that I keep to many previous months in my Franklin, rendering it a bit heavy. I am a designer by trade, so today I am going to hole-punch some beautiful Arches watercolor paper and create a sketch section. I’m so happy there are others who are equally obsessed about keeping life organized and our cluttered minds spilled onto paper.