Calendar Queen

The onslaught of New Year's resolutions begets planning. And planning begets calendars.

Over the years, I've used Palm and Handspring handhelds, and like everyone else I use Outlook for business. Digital solutions are great for beeping reminders, planning years into the future, or recurring tasks.

But I've found that I need the tactile sensation of writing on paper. Faster to write, easier to check off. Nothing to charge up. Done!

However, using a Franklin Covey 5x8 calendar over the past year (with spiral-bound booklets for each month), has introduced more frustrations.

While the thing is large enough to write in easily, it's a horse to lug around.

You'd think swapping months in and out wouldn't be a big deal, but when the folio is only large enough to house three spiral-bound items at a time, it's a pain. Having only a three-month view of my schedule at any given time is . . . well, it creates its own little kind of stress.

It always felt like I was missing something, or that a deadline was lurking in the shadows of the future.

Plus, the thing is so large that it doesn't fit into my everyday handbag. That is a problem.

For the moment, I'm mostly working on short-term projects, but most of the time I tend to work on longer-range projects that span multiple months.

So after much hunting around online and in neighborhood stationery stores, I located this. And so far, it's the perfect solution.

Portable, a year in your palm. It's a chunk of a calendar, but everything is within reach. And that coral-lipstick red cover shines like a beacon in my purse, making it easy to spot.

What kind of calendar do you use? What makes it work for you?