My planner ........

When I worked in banking, I used a planner to keep track of appointments and meetings, to organize tasks, and to keep notes.

When I retired, I wanted to continue using a planner, but I could not find one that had the features I needed. My time is flexible - I have very few set appointments, so I don't need a daily schedule broken down by hour. I wanted a place to list things to do, a place to plan menus, a place to record expenses, and a large area for notes.

I designed the above planner in excel. Each month, I change the clip art to suit the season, then print out sheets for each day that fit my binder. I usually do a month at a time - it doesn't take long.

I also designed other sheets for my planner to suit my needs. I have sheets to record donations, medical expenses, vehicle mileage and maintenance, household maintenance, etc. They are all decorated with clip art and are colorful. I keep copies of all forms on the computer so I don't have to redo them.

I've been working on setting up my planner for the new year with forms for 2009 and sheets for January.

I'm one of those people who love to organize. I spend more time planning and organizing that I do on actual work. It's a great way to procrastinate.