Are any of you guys organization-obsessed?

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I am sure my former secretary would be glad to hear I "haved" her.

My pants are feeling funny again...

The diction is actually fitting with your avatar...

 

[chinaco]

In the past I always used Daytimer or FP. Stopped using them when the Palm Pilots arrived. Now I use a Palm Pilot and a plain Notebook (for notes). Need the Palm Pilot and a desktop calendar to keep me on schedule... too many meetings. Sometimes 5 or 6 a day... not to mention a huge number of small tasks (to do) that accumulate in those meetings that would otherwise be forgotten. That plus keeping up with regular projects... too much going on and my schedule is far too crowded.

 

[Zathras]

I tried a number of Palm Pilots, the interface just didn't work well for me.
Now I use my iPhone Calander, lists/notes, contacts and maps all in one place which automatically cross references and allows me to email, and fits in a shirt pocket
Tried a number of franklin planners too. Loved the system, hated carrying it around

 

[deserat]

For my calendar, I use the one on my Treo and synced to my work computer - my workplace uses Lotus Noted (blech). For personal stuff and to do lists - good old pen and paper work - I've found that writing it down helps to get it done and the satisfaction of checking it off is great. We have a family calendar - usually one that was given to use by some organization or something - it gives the big picture - otherwise, I don't use any other tools - when the tools to manage my time become time-consuming, something is wrong

When I'm retired, who knows - I have an old Palm that might work or a little pocket calendar - I do like having my contacts list (addresses, etc) on a computer in some way - maybe I'll import that info to some cheap (free) address book software - or a cell phone database that syncs up somewhere - or maybe I'll just become a hermit and not care about this crap.

 

[calmloki]

... I do like having my contacts list (addresses, etc) on a computer in some way - maybe I'll import that info to some cheap (free) address book software - or a cell phone database that syncs up somewhere - or maybe I'll just become a hermit and not care about this crap.

Speaking of which: My honey was giving it the old college try synching our Nokia 6230b's up to our outlook database on her computer to update the phone logs. Surprise! Vista says Unh-unh. Not for you. Will not play. Just another of the New! Windows! Vista! features. Sometimes older is better. Case in point: those Nokias. Voice dialing, easy menus, good cameras, and with a 1 gig upgrade memory card a real decent MP3 player. Durable. Comparing the features we use to new phones we just can't justify an upgrade - if one exists! Good we haven't tossed her old 'puter - we can synch from there, after she links to the new one. Just cumbersome. Like Vista.

 

[Fireup2020]

I have tried Palm pilots, Navy planners, Outlook calendars, etc...I find the best thing is a happy combination of cheesy check book sized bank calendar, work issued big 'ol desk calendar - and sticky notes! BF keeps suggesting his new wonderphone or giving me his barely used Treo....I just know myself well enough to shake my head for no!

 

[Achiever51]

While I was working, I bet I had just about every organizational tool on the market. First we had those desk top planners, then ginormous wall calendars. When the Franklin Covey planners came out, all in management had to go to Planner school -- we actually had a joke in the office about everyone looking like we were in a choir as we would all turn to page XX in our Franklin planners to schedule a meeting. Then we went to Palm Pilots, Outlook, Treos and finally CrackBerries. Seemed like we couldn't be organized enough as MegaCorp was always offering some new twist on planning.

Been retired since December. Funny, I haven't missed any of those old tools at all. Now I rely on a cheap month-at-a-glance calendar to schedule doctor appts and other important dates and a sheet of paper for my to-do list -- and I've rediscovered the simple pleasure of using an old fashioned Ticonderoga #2 pencil to make my lists! (Still do the NYT crossword in pen, though. A gal's gotta have her pride!)

 

[Olav23]

It is funny how everyone keeps "coming back" to the luddite-interpretation. With all these iPhones, PDAs, crackberries, people keep running back to note-cards and post-its. Amazing how much money is spent on technology to solve this problem, but always misses the mark somehow.

There is a huge amount of interest in paper-planners as-of-recent. A book called "Getting Things Done" was published a few years ago, and since then, it has sorta gone on an uptick.

Lots of blogs like:
Lifehacker, tips and downloads for getting things done
43 Folders

And more keep sprouting up. One really cool place is:
D*I*Y Planner | Paper, productivity & passion

It is an entire community of people developing paper-based forms to print on various size paper to enhance personal productivity. One that has gained popularity for its low-fi nature is the hPDA (hipster pda).

I've toyed with it, and if I hadn't moved to the plannerpad that I mentioned earlier, I'd stick with it due to its size.

Hipster PDA - 43FoldersWiki

It is interesting that no digital solution has gained acceptance. People just like the motile aspects to scribbling notes on a paper, I guess. I had an Axim that quickly became a gameboy during meetings, and nothing more