What’s the best diary system for being organised this year?

[bellylaughs]

Just that really. 5 DC, 1DH, 1Dog, Job etc. Every September I try something different to be organised. Wall planners, notebook diary (week to view), I phone calendar and last year the Cozi app.

Yet still I make appointments and then forget to put them in the diary or I do put them in and then forget to check it. Forget birthdays (not my own DC obvs ) and other important things.

I just can’t seem to find a good foolproof system. I am very attached to my iPhone so I think that should be the key but then I found with the Cozi app that it took a while to put the appointments in so I often thought “I’ll do it later” and then forgot,

Anyone happy to share their organised appontment/reminder keeping systems?

My job is in front of a computer so I just use my work outlook calendar. My personal appointments are all day entries (so dd's dental appointment does not block out my work calendar) but I know it is happening even though I am working by setting reminders.

I also have a kitchen wall calendar which is just a paper-based calendar per week. All the family appointments are in there. So if my ds asks for the 10th time when his school trip is, I just ask him to check the kitchen calendar.

If I am out and about and don't have time to enter the appointment in the calendars, I send an email to myself so the next time I am in front of my computer/laptop/kitchen, I put in all my appointments at once with reminders.

I almost never miss anything, but I am a bit anal like that.

When I re-mortgage, I will put in an alert for when the mortgage discount period expires in 2 years' time with a 4 month reminder to re-mortgage. If I buy something from Amazon, I put a reminder in the calendar when I expect it to be delivered to check whether it has arrived. If the school is going to raise its fees, I put in another reminder so I know to expect an increased invoice at that time. There is a reminder to do my income tax self-assessment with deadlines ... you get it.

I’m the same OP! Every Sept I try a new system and it’s never quite right! We have a big wall-planner which is great and I use that a lot, but a bit useless when I’m away from home & someone asks me if I’m free next Wed

But, yes, I also find entering stuff into a calendar app to be a bit of a faff.

I must use the one on my phone now. I used to be a big fan of the organised mum diary and calendars but now find phones better.

We have different ones set up. So I have my work one and a joint family one with Dh and teen Dd. In the past we've had other ones too. I set up reminders for birthday etc on the calendar too so I remember to buy gifts and cards in advance.

Because I have an Apple Watch too I find my work one really useful.

Boxclever publishing family life book combined with the family planner. Everyone has a column on each ( I have two one for work schedule and one for home life).
I have tried others and on line ones and always come back to boxclever.

Bullet journal! I've been using one for about 6 years now and it's made me so much more organised and calm. I'm normally rubbish at sticking to new resolutions/systems, but not this one!

Following

Google. The calendar/diary/planner is brilliant.

Easy to share, easy to use (I just add things using Siri or Alexa) and free

I've been using Google calendar for years. It's supplemented by a magnetic whiteboard stuck to the fridge which has space for us over the next 7 days. At the beginning of each week, I pop in what's in my calendar on the whiteboard, so it's not up to me alone to have to remember everyone's comings and goings.

I use the Boxclever calendar too, but I also put important appointments on my phone with a reminder.

Boxclever Home Planner - the one with the traditional month to view. I tried the Family Planner with columns for different family members, but found things got missed. They do 16 month calendars so you can start either in September or January.

Theres loads of space to write in for each day and at the bottom there are boxes for 'Things to do', 'Things to remember' and 'Bills & budgeting'. If it is someone's birthday (or there is an activity/event) early the following month, I'll write e.g. Alison's birthday 2nd Sept at the bottom of August.

I really like the visual-ness(!) of having a calendar hanging in the kitchen. A few years ago, I tried just using my phone, but I couldn't get on with it.

If I make appointments when out and about, I'll ask for an appointment card or I'll type it into my phone to be transferred to calendar as soon as I'm home.

I also have an A5 notebook that I try to write everything down in to stop having scrappy pieces of paper everywhere.

I should perhaps add that I work from home, so that's probably why the calendar works for me, so work appointments, deadlines etc go on the same calendar as birthdays and social events. Might not work so well if you work outside the home.

Google calendar, split down between family members so it links in with their calendars.
Everything goes into it. I have a big wall calendar too that I update from Google. I like the boxclever 18m wall planner.

I've tried so many paper diaries but I only manage for 1 month max before it is forgotten about. I use a bullet journal for work tasks, that works well. I'm yet to find a decent to do app that works for me.

I use a paper diary - I have a Filofax which has my diary week to view and a monthly planner along with contact numbers for school, GP etc. Everything goes in my diary and each week I transfer the schedule for the week to a whiteboard in the kitchen so everyone knows where everyone is. The whiteboard has the meal plan for the week and a shopping list to add to as we run out of things. Letters from school are recorded in my diary and any reply slips completed and stuck to the whiteboard to be returned the next day.

I’ve tried planners, family books using my phone and all sorts and this system works well for us.

I have a bullet journal for myself & I also put everything in to the family calendar on my phone so that Dh sees it too. It is difficult when there are lots of you, I have 5dc, Dh, dog & 2 cats although I'm lucky & sah which makes it a little bit easier.

I am still using my bullet journal. Google calendar on my mobile for fixed appointments and outdoor reminders. But I really do not look at it for anything else. I need to write things down + I collect notes, lists, infos in there and need it to plan things.

I started a new one for this school year.

I use my iPhone calendar which combines my work calendar and personal. It’s also shared with DH and older D.C.

I heavily use recurring events and reminders. I put birthdays on people’s contact information in my phone which means they are auto added to my calendar and I have a rule set up to remind me a week before for those I would buy gifts or send cards. For people I would just text I have a midnight reminder so I do it first thing in the morning.

My biggest success has been involving DH. He is very diligent on the calendar so often when I am rushing and don’t have time to add an appointment I will text DH who will add it to o the calendar for me or I will remember to do so when I next text him. Makes me feel less annoyed about doing all the household organising too!

Thanks for all the suggestions, I’m off to google what is Boxclever, Bullet Journal and find out more about Google calendars! Somethings got to work.

(Annoyingly since I typed my OP last night I’m now getting loads of diary/planner companies coming up on my Facebook feed and I keep getting distracted and looking at them!)

@Prokupatuscrakedatus @lazylinguist @BernardsarenotalwaysSaints

I’ve been looking at the bullet journal, (I had never heard of it) and struggling a bit to get my head around it. I like the idea but it is it basically just a fancy set of to-do lists? And how do you use it to keep appointments if there are no dates in it?

Ok, if you search MN there was a series of threads on here about it (which I started under a different name). There's also the Bullet Journal official website, which has a video and an explanation of the basic method. Ignore all the fancy, arty stuff on Instagram unless you want that!

In a nutshell, the Bullet Journal is a bit like a multi-purpose DIY filofax that you design yourself. The idea is that as well as being a forward planner, calendar and diary, it can also be used for pretty much anything else too - wish lists, to do lists, present buying lists, lists of books you want to read, supermarket master list, holiday plans page, habit tracker, diy projects list etc etc. Everything in the same notebook.

The 'bullet' in the name refers to the writing out of tasks as bullet points, often with different little symbols (dot, circle, square etc) to denote different things (task/appointment/reminder etc).

It became a massive trend because of all the fancy stationery and fancy artwork people started using for it. But the person who invented the system was just this guy with ADHD who was desperate to organise himself.

Sorry - I didn't answer your question about dates. It does have dates in it. You set it up how you like, but the basic design usually has

1. a 'future log' (month by month 2 page overview of the year, for long-term plans and events)

2. Then a series of diary/planning pages as the year goes by. I do Sep-Aug academic year, as I'm a teacher. So I've just set up September in my new journal. A double page spread for Sep calendar and 'tasks for this month'. Then following that, a double page spread for each week. Some people do a page per day, but I don't need that much space! When I get near the end of September I'll set up my October section.

3. Then you add whatever else you fancy (lists, planning pages etc) whenever you like, on the next available blank page. These are known as 'collections'. There's an index at the front where you write the pages you've included so that you can find everything easily.

Examples of collections I'm using: a log of new walking routes we've been on, planning page for our new kitchen, diy jobs I need to get round to, new Podcasts I'd like to listen to, recipes I want to try.

Eek - apologies for the essay(s)! I can bore for England about Bullet Journal and nobody has asked me about it for a while.

I use my work calendar as well as that's the one I look at the most. As soon as we get term dates I add them in as private appointments (all day as per pp) and I colour code them for each child (different schools). Same with any school events etc.

I use the notes app on my phone for lists.

Also action everything immediately - if a note comes in from school read it / sign it / pay it and write it down.

We also have a kitchen calendar.

Here is a link to my original Bullet Journal thread, back in 2016.

I've been using my iPhone calendar for about five years and it is literally my brain now! I check it everyday.

I'm a SAHM though, so a separate work diary might be needed if I was working (for myself or another company).