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David Allen's Paper Planner

Anybody look at David Allen's Paper Planner setup?

Seems like a good general guide to use when starting to design your own paper planner.

Does anyone implement this?
Or has anyone modified this to their own needs and if so how?

TOPICS: Lofi
Stew's picture

DA's setup is pretty useful,...

DA's setup is pretty useful, but I've modified it slightly. I use a letter-size Circa notebook for my paper planner, populated with DIY Planner pages for the calendar and the included Circa paper for project planning, notes, and lists.

For the calendar, I print out a combination of weekly and monthly views, classic size, 2 pages per sheet: 1 month of classic-sized weeks, and monthly views for the rest of the year. I've found this to be the best system for short and long term planning. Occassionally, I will jot a few agenda items on an index card and insert it into my calendar next to the date of an important meeting.

Next, I keep recently used addresses. I cheat with this a little. I store my addresses in Evernote, tag the most important and frequent ones, and print them out on 1-2 pages.

Behind this go my project plans, one project per page. The first page of the section is my active projects list. I can always insert project support materials as needed. Items that don't fit into a Circa are stored in manila folders and referenced in the notebook.

The next section is for my someday/maybe items. Some of these are simply listed, where others occupy full sheets with notes.

I also keep various lists in another section. Things that might go here are borrowed library books, read/review items, my shopping lists for Christmas, etc.

Finally, I have a section of blank paper, which ends up taking about 1/2 the notebook. I use this for all sorts of notes, creative thoughts, drafts, and drawings. These are all removed from the notebook and processed accordingly.

I have another section marked "Travel" that I remove when not in use. This is for when I am away from home, but not tied into a specific project. Printed maps, things I want to do while visiting, receipts, and important travel numbers might go here. Anything I obtain electronically gets stored in Evernote and printed for the notebook. The section is removed and processed when I get home.

Hope this helps. Hmm...this might turn into a blog post.

 
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