To not know where on mn to post for advice on this?

[Gentleness]

Yep - a bit cheeky I know, but having trawled through all the different sections, it doesn't fit anywhere really and here gets enough traffic to at least hope I'll be pointed in the right direction!

I am fed up of trying and failing to manage a purse size diary, a wall calendar and a A4 notebook I use to make lists, organise priorities etc. Oh - and a large whiteboard in the kitchen which I temporarily can't reach because Someone has dumped stuff in front of it. Oh - and Google calendar to whack stuff straight into from emails etc. Oh - and a printout I use for meal planning. Too many options, not enough motivation to keep them all co-ordinated.

What I want is a diary/notebook combo with plenty of well laid out space but not so huge I can't fit it in my handbag. And someone to tell me about an amazing alternative to a wall calendar, which is the thing that gets filled in least but looks pretty. I'm a visual/chart/spreadsheet/flow-diagram sort of person and great with projects but not with the ongoing keeping track of things.

Is this as good as it looks? Diary made by someone who must think a bit like me.

Anything else out there going to change my life? (apart from cbt).

Or at least, anyone ready to tell me where I should really be posting this?

YANBU

It's a big board with lots of topics

Maybe ask MNHQ?.....

Give up on the wall calendar and just use Google.

It's saved my sanity.

And given me a lovely place on the wall to hang my son's art work instead.

I only ever use Moleskin, those who know, use these, pure luxuary. They even have a large pocket in the back.

"good housekeeping" may be the right place. They know all sorts of useful stuff.
I'd say you'll get more hits on AIBU though so you are definitely not.

YANBU.

here

outlook, and a blackberry :-)

Never write anything down, never have a clue when anything is happening, lose important letters with dates on them and frantically search when you 'sense' they are coming up. Forget which day of the week it is. So much easier than trying to be organised

Also, Housekeeping is probably a good place for this as they are all terribly, intimidatingly good at this sort of thing.

Google calendar is great for organising family stuff - we have 3 (one for each of us), all visible to each other and synched with DH and my phones. I've just gone through and updated it for new school dates etc. I don't bother with any hard copy ones as they never get kept updated.

If you have a smart phone, use that for lists, I have a note taking/list app and also 'our groceries' which is a fab app. Again it's synched with mine and DH's phones, we both update it as we notice we've run out of stuff and then whoever goes to the shops next has to buy the stuff on it. Because of the synching I can ring DH when driving home, get him to decide what we want for tea, check cupboards etc and put the list in and hey presto, it's there when I get to the supermarket.

I use a Moleskine, but the one with the week on one side and a plain lined page on the facing page. Excellent for making notes, lists etc.

You didn't think of Chat?

Thanks all - going through the advice now and I'll try Housekeeping. Never thought of Chat. I don't really know what Chat is there for or how it works and trying to resist finding anything else that will encourage me to procrastinate.

Moleskine - loved them in the past but the last notebooks I've had just disintegrated round the spine. And, the week/notes one looks great but not enough space per day really.

I have very little faith in my ability to stop myself getting distracted when using technology to do the job. With paper, I'm sitting there and have to focus more. Sad but true.

Sad really, but just checked dh's stash of "archived" moleskine and sure enough, all the spines on the newer ones are tatty and ragged and the binding is breaking. The ones from years ago are fine.

I love the OrganisedMum diaries. I have bought the LifeBook for the last few years, but they do a family version if you have numerous children Link

I use my Moleskine several times a day and the spine is completely fine. Maybe the diaries are made for constant use?

Organised mum pocket life book revolutionised my life when I discovered them four years ago. I compromised recently needed a desk diary at work for the first time so bought an ordinary Collins one oh how wrong was I next year I will get the main life book too.
The fact that they cover 15 months is brilliant as I am booking meetings for next year now.

molskin here too

Organised Mum. Wish it was called Organised Family but there you go.

Really, I've looked and looked at every one of the Organised Mum diaries and in each one there look to be loads of pages that just wouldn't be useful for me - finances, routines, holiday planning, Christmas gifts. I don't need all that. I just need a diary that has a well laid out week to view, month to view and lots of space for notes. If I could ONLY combine the Moleskine idea with the Organise-us then I'd be ecstatic. Or just interleave the week to view Organise-us with plain pages. Even better. Do I basically need to print my own diary?

Definitely going to ditch the traditional wall calendar and just print out the month from Google to put on the whiteboard. Why did I not do that years ago?