Thank you for the video. As a woman with ADHD, I use my bullet journal like a Franklin Covey planner. Unlike you, I heavily rely on the monthly calendar to tell me at a glance where I'm going to be when. Where am I going to be in space and time? I have tried using digital calendars, but I just ignore them - I can't see the whole picture and I get lost in it - and distracted by other apps. The only time I do use a digital tool is to set an alarm the day before to remind me of an event. Otherwise, I have a future log to put in my appts and events, then migrate those to the monthly calendar, then weekly view, and plug into dailies. I find the repetition helps me to remember. My dailies are exactly like the Franklin Covey style, with the to-do- list and the hourly with the half hour breaks. It works like a charm.
FYI, for fountain pen aficionados: For those in Japan, or with access to Amazon Japan, they produce Franklin Covey inserts for the Japanese market that are delightfully minimal and the paper is much more fountain pen friendly (and thin!) compared to the American offerings. All mostly in English/Arabic numerals, so not much of a bother if you don't read Japanese.
Your experiment inspired me to go back to a Bullet Journal. As you mentioned paper makes you rewrite and think about your tasks. I found with ToDoist it was so easy to just keep moving things into the future because "maybe I'll get to it". I found going back to paper has lowered my feeling of overwhelm. I am still managing more complex projects in Evernote it would be to much hand writing for what I do to make that analog. Thank you for allowing yourself to play and experiment in your process, it is great to do the same alongside you. Cheers and blessings. - Jeff
For years, I’ve been intrigued by the Franklin Planner system, and I finally decided to give it a go. I bought a pocket FP last year, and I used it for about half the month and gave up on it, using it infrequently. As much as I loved the portability of the smaller size, I decided to try again with the larger monarch size paper. I used it pretty frequently, but then the bulkiness of the binder I was using got to be a lot. A few months ago, I bought a faux-leather FP in the classic size, and it is definitely a game changer. My favorite thing about the classic size FP is that it has ample room for my iPad Mini (and even fits a keyboard), so I have an analog AND digital workstation wherever I go. It took some time (AND some money), but I think I’ve finally landed on something that’s working for me. I look forward to further updates from you, and I might even continue to share mine in the next video!
Hi Carl, thanks for the update on your Franklin Planner experiment! I was eagerly awaiting it. My experiences are exactly the same as yours: a digital calendar just can't be matched by an analog one. But sifting through all my tasks in Todoist and writing my priorities for the day and week down on paper is a very helpful and fulfilling experience. At least for now Todoist (which I still love) is more like my universal Inbox, and my analog planner is where I focus and set priorities. Hope a video is still coming on combining the best of the digital and analog worlds in a hybrid system.
Excellent points. I am loving the Franklin because all categories about my day are on one spread, instead of scattered in multiple books and notepads all over my house. My meal plan is there. My weight lifting schedule is there. My work tasks are there as well as personal friend tasks. And totally agree about the Notes page finally making sense of random notes by giving the context of the day they are on. For the Month view, use it as a zoomed out version of your digital calendar. Mark your day as ‘Work 8-4’ rather than specific appointments. Mark days off, evening events, and trips or holidays. For example, it’s nice to see three days simply blocked off as ‘London Trip’ rather than hour by hour flight details. It’s just an overview to place yourself within the month and what’s coming down the line.
I have been using the Sharpie S-Gel 0.5mm tip with the Franklin Green Classic pages with no bleed though. It is no fountain pen but it is a bit smother than than the ball point pen.
If you like the Franklin Planner I recommend watching the short seminar they have on their channel on how to use it. You can use it as you say, but there is a whole philosophy behind it that makes it a great tool to improve all aspects of your life.
I've incorporated the Franklin 2-page spread design into my BuJo. On 1 page, left column is tasks at the top and notes at the bottom, right column is a schedule 2 lines per hour, 6 am - 10 pm. Being a BuJo, I can always turn to a new spread for a larger project or extended notes. Thank you for sharing how you update the monthly index during your weekly planning. That is a task that kept getting away from me, but using your technique I'll stay on top of it from here on. Cheers - AnnDenee
Love it! You also inspired me and I've been using my Franklin planner since your other video. I also found myself not using the monthly calendar for exactly the same reasons! And for the pens, I have about 50 of them in my office, I buy them on the school sale for $.10 a pack :) What a fun experiment, so glad you shared it!
I love my Franklin, I am much more productive in the analog system because as you said, "it's right there in front of me" and a quick glance tells me everything I need to know. And having written it down I tend to remember the task or event and just check when I need to be somewhere or do something. Disappointed in the leadership pages paper as well, my TWSBI 580 with an EF nib and Pelikan ink bleeds right on through as well. Oh well I'll resurrect my Parker Jotter Ballpoint (click click) LOL :)
I used to use the Franklin planner in the 90s for work. I loved it. I've tried tons of digital planners and never keep any of them going for long. Back then the paper quality was great. 😢
I was thinking of going back to my ancient Franklin planner. Still not sure about it. I think I will try your little note pad for top daily tasks. I'm tired of putting out so much money and then not using it because it dosen't fit my needs. Thank you for you input.
Thank you for the update 😊 I am using monthly as the future log for a lot of stuff, e.g. expiry dates, future payments, reading logs, netflix notes while appointments are digital.
Without igniting a digital v paper argument (as I found the video enjoyable with points to consider) I do find the tasks that will get you in trouble (ie the washing) are more achievable with a bit of digital work. Connecting todoist to your calendar and then feeding it into something like Home Assistant means I get reminded without fail. I have a code on the todoist description which means either it can either get pushed as a notification on my phone or, for the really important ones, Alexa will break into whatever I'm doing (except for video meetings) and announce what the task is to really "motivate" me not to miss it. Bit geeky and a few minutes work to set up but works seamlessly.
Hi Carl - I switched to a split analogue/digital system about 5 years ago and really enjoy it. I use my weekly paper view to note my daily meetings and, as you said, priority items for the week. My work is filled with daily meetings and while we live by the google cal - the paper one lets me really see what space I have available for other tasks. It also lets me journal what I ACTUALLY got done in the empty spaces - this gives me a real picture of my work completed for the week. I go back and forth with notes. This year I am doing my meeting notes in a google sheet, but my running to do list is on a piece of paper. :) Hope you continue this series.
Great video - I am paralleling you with my Franklin use - I've used it for over 30 years (off and on) and keep coming back to it for all the reasons you mentioned in the video. We 'stylophiles' are always in search of good paper - and, to your point, the Franklin varieties are not up to par for my Mont Blanc (or others) - therefore, I use the Frixion Ball (.5mm) - any color - and they are erasable - a much-needed attribute when moving entries around -- Cheers from Texas!
Haha I have that exact ball pen in my hand right now as I watch this. I remember the pens without the hole and the subsequent child choking story! I love your observations Carl, I am using digital for a master task list but write down my daily and weekly tasks on paper - out of sight and then out of mind. Although in filofax, I have the same set up as the Franklin Planner with daily schedule and to do etc. on one page and notes opposite. Tried other systems over the last couple of years and this works everytime for me. I'm just learning to add key points from meeting notes into a digital system for work to have them on the go but it's hard. Very unnatural 😂
Interesting to hear about the paper quality and I’m glad I waited to hear your views before even considering buying a Franklin Planner. I’m quite happy using my digital calendar and Todoist … but supported by A5 notebooks that I can lay flat on my (small) desk that show me my weekly and daily tasks and commitments. I use a Parker Duofold fountain pen and no ink bleed!
The Filofax paper is fountain pen friendly and the one day on two pages has a comparable setup: left page for daily notes and scribes, right page for agenda and tasks.
Great video. One of the things I like about the loose-leaf concept is the ability to print stuff you need onto paper and to then insert it into the relevant place in the binder. I realise this is a bit old-fashioned but arriving at a venue with a printed ticket that looked at you when you got to that date (and reminded you if you'd forgotten!) obviates the issue of a flat phone, or poor internet signal. (There are get arounds but I like a hard copy.) Not to mention that the print is bigger than a phone screen!
The questions is... Did you also DRY and FOLD the laundry. (Gets you treats at my house.) This is a really good video. I've bounced back and forth from a weekly planner to considering going back to Franklin. I ended up with lined sticky notes to place in my weekly calendar. If the list gets too long, I had another note. I travel alot and quick access to appointments when I am on the road at a glance is huge. There is not a good place to take notes though. Franklin would solve that.
A big part of Franklin training was not day planning, they even started their training program telling you this too. It’s first about setting your life’s priorities (your virtues). They pushed figuring out who you are & what’s important. Only last few classes quickly did day planning.
That's true. Sadly on TH-cam, nobody wants to go through the process of establishing governing values, they just want to the "sexy" bit 😞 (And I've tried for several years to get people engaged in that critical part)
Thank you for this update Carl. I've been looking forward to your FP reviews since you started this project. I'm trying to imagine/devise/create a system for myself for planning and "doing stuff". I'm looking for an option that will actually stick for me. Cheers!
For your fountain pen (I have a Lamy 2000 too!), get yourself some Noodler’s X-Feather bottled ink. You can get Black or Blue. Doesn’t bleed or feather on poor quality paper. I’m fond of the blue - plus it has. Churchill on the label!
I’m really glad you found a fun challenge to work around the Franklin Planner not being fountain pen friendly…it would’ve been a dealbreaker for me 😂 by the way, do you write your daily schedule at the beginning of each day? And how do you handle sudden changes in your schedule (could be a sudden appointment or just a task taking longer than planned) on the Franklin Planner? Looking forward to more updates of this series, it’s really interesting!!
I used to use a Franklin planner but it's just about impossible to get their products here. I love the monthly paper planner and use it to see a broad view of my upcoming commitments at a glance. I use it in conjunction with my work Outlook. I use a custom Traveller's Notebook now.
I would love to hear how you use the FP master task list with your COD system. I love my paper planning for taking action in my day but I still struggle with keeping my master list updated in either my FP or things/MS to do.
Very interesting video, I loved using the Time Manager system and then the Franklin planner and now use the Bullet Journal system. My favourite digital system is OmniFocus. One thing I noticed, in the video you said that you MUST take the laundry out of the machine by 4 but you gave it a C classification. Isn’t MUST the definition of an A task?
I wish todoist would add a feature that would allow us to order our lists by priority number. My priorities change from day to day and I want the things I need to do to be in the order I need to do them in (like the FP ABC/123 method)
@Carl: Are you still using ToDoist with your layout as your ‘master task list’. Then using filters, as part of your daily review are you copying from TD to FP? That is how I have been experimenting (Bought a package of 2pg per day sheets so I can test without going all in on the planner.
Todoist is taking care of the lower value routine tasks and acts as a mobile inbox. In my FP I only write out the important things that need to be done today. I know the lower value stuff can wait if I run out of time.
I love the Bic Cristal ballpoint pens. But my only issue with disposable pens vs refillable pens is that they’re an environmental nightmare. They are more disposable, toxic plastic filling up landfills and probably even waterways.
Not at all. Amazon delivers the products. Usually, it takes around two weeks. I can also buy Korean language products here in Korea as they have an agent here.
Thank you for the video. As a woman with ADHD, I use my bullet journal like a Franklin Covey planner. Unlike you, I heavily rely on the monthly calendar to tell me at a glance where I'm going to be when. Where am I going to be in space and time? I have tried using digital calendars, but I just ignore them - I can't see the whole picture and I get lost in it - and distracted by other apps. The only time I do use a digital tool is to set an alarm the day before to remind me of an event. Otherwise, I have a future log to put in my appts and events, then migrate those to the monthly calendar, then weekly view, and plug into dailies. I find the repetition helps me to remember. My dailies are exactly like the Franklin Covey style, with the to-do- list and the hourly with the half hour breaks. It works like a charm.
FYI, for fountain pen aficionados: For those in Japan, or with access to Amazon Japan, they produce Franklin Covey inserts for the Japanese market that are delightfully minimal and the paper is much more fountain pen friendly (and thin!) compared to the American offerings. All mostly in English/Arabic numerals, so not much of a bother if you don't read Japanese.
I'm retired now and hardly ever on my computer so the paper Franklin Planner has been a game changer for me getting organized. Love this system.
Thank you, Liz. It does have an amazing ability to keep you organised and forcused.
There is something so satisfying about getting to the end of a Bic pen. Also, they are perfect for reeling errant cassette tape back into order.
Hahaha so true (And I've done the cassette reeling in the past with a Bic pen)
Back in the 1990s I used a Franklin. I loved it.
Your experiment inspired me to go back to a Bullet Journal. As you mentioned paper makes you rewrite and think about your tasks. I found with ToDoist it was so easy to just keep moving things into the future because "maybe I'll get to it". I found going back to paper has lowered my feeling of overwhelm. I am still managing more complex projects in Evernote it would be to much hand writing for what I do to make that analog. Thank you for allowing yourself to play and experiment in your process, it is great to do the same alongside you. Cheers and blessings. - Jeff
Love that, Jeff. Have fun.
For years, I’ve been intrigued by the Franklin Planner system, and I finally decided to give it a go. I bought a pocket FP last year, and I used it for about half the month and gave up on it, using it infrequently. As much as I loved the portability of the smaller size, I decided to try again with the larger monarch size paper. I used it pretty frequently, but then the bulkiness of the binder I was using got to be a lot. A few months ago, I bought a faux-leather FP in the classic size, and it is definitely a game changer. My favorite thing about the classic size FP is that it has ample room for my iPad Mini (and even fits a keyboard), so I have an analog AND digital workstation wherever I go. It took some time (AND some money), but I think I’ve finally landed on something that’s working for me. I look forward to further updates from you, and I might even continue to share mine in the next video!
Ooh, I hadn't thought of that--having the iPad Mini in there too for the digital parts. Thank you for sharing that.
Love the BIC pen!! I also began using that with my Franklin Planner about 6 months ago. 😀 Retro!
@@dwolf3571 Hahaha they don't need updating either. 🙂
Hi Carl, thanks for the update on your Franklin Planner experiment! I was eagerly awaiting it. My experiences are exactly the same as yours: a digital calendar just can't be matched by an analog one. But sifting through all my tasks in Todoist and writing my priorities for the day and week down on paper is a very helpful and fulfilling experience. At least for now Todoist (which I still love) is more like my universal Inbox, and my analog planner is where I focus and set priorities. Hope a video is still coming on combining the best of the digital and analog worlds in a hybrid system.
I've found the same thing. I let Todoist take care of the recurring routines and my FP only contains the important things that much happen that day.
Excellent points. I am loving the Franklin because all categories about my day are on one spread, instead of scattered in multiple books and notepads all over my house. My meal plan is there. My weight lifting schedule is there. My work tasks are there as well as personal friend tasks. And totally agree about the Notes page finally making sense of random notes by giving the context of the day they are on.
For the Month view, use it as a zoomed out version of your digital calendar. Mark your day as ‘Work 8-4’ rather than specific appointments. Mark days off, evening events, and trips or holidays. For example, it’s nice to see three days simply blocked off as ‘London Trip’ rather than hour by hour flight details. It’s just an overview to place yourself within the month and what’s coming down the line.
Thank you for ahring thoae ideas. I've sort of moved into that direction 🙂
I have been using the Sharpie S-Gel 0.5mm tip with the Franklin Green Classic pages with no bleed though. It is no fountain pen but it is a bit smother than than the ball point pen.
If you like the Franklin Planner I recommend watching the short seminar they have on their channel on how to use it. You can use it as you say, but there is a whole philosophy behind it that makes it a great tool to improve all aspects of your life.
I've incorporated the Franklin 2-page spread design into my BuJo. On 1 page, left column is tasks at the top and notes at the bottom, right column is a schedule 2 lines per hour, 6 am - 10 pm. Being a BuJo, I can always turn to a new spread for a larger project or extended notes.
Thank you for sharing how you update the monthly index during your weekly planning. That is a task that kept getting away from me, but using your technique I'll stay on top of it from here on. Cheers - AnnDenee
Love it! You also inspired me and I've been using my Franklin planner since your other video. I also found myself not using the monthly calendar for exactly the same reasons! And for the pens, I have about 50 of them in my office, I buy them on the school sale for $.10 a pack :) What a fun experiment, so glad you shared it!
Hahaha so true, it is a lot of fun. 🙂
I love my Franklin, I am much more productive in the analog system because as you said, "it's right there in front of me" and a quick glance tells me everything I need to know. And having written it down I tend to remember the task or event and just check when I need to be somewhere or do something. Disappointed in the leadership pages paper as well, my TWSBI 580 with an EF nib and Pelikan ink bleeds right on through as well. Oh well I'll resurrect my Parker Jotter Ballpoint (click click) LOL :)
Hahaha the Parker Jotter - great little iconic pen 🙂
You had me up to the point of ditching a fountain pen for a Bic ballpoint! LOL
Hahaha sometimes needs must.
I used to use the Franklin planner in the 90s for work. I loved it. I've tried tons of digital planners and never keep any of them going for long. Back then the paper quality was great. 😢
Yeah, I seem to remember paper was better back then.
I love the prioritized list on paper - it has made me much more focused! Thank you 🤩
Glad you've found it helpful, Sally.
I was thinking of going back to my ancient Franklin planner. Still not sure about it. I think I will try your little note pad for top daily tasks. I'm tired of putting out so much money and then not using it because it dosen't fit my needs. Thank you for you input.
You're very welcome. 🙂
Thank you for the update 😊 I am using monthly as the future log for a lot of stuff, e.g. expiry dates, future payments, reading logs, netflix notes while appointments are digital.
Great idea!
Without igniting a digital v paper argument (as I found the video enjoyable with points to consider) I do find the tasks that will get you in trouble (ie the washing) are more achievable with a bit of digital work. Connecting todoist to your calendar and then feeding it into something like Home Assistant means I get reminded without fail. I have a code on the todoist description which means either it can either get pushed as a notification on my phone or, for the really important ones, Alexa will break into whatever I'm doing (except for video meetings) and announce what the task is to really "motivate" me not to miss it. Bit geeky and a few minutes work to set up but works seamlessly.
I use my paper monthly to remind me of my focus , category or theme for the day . Etc admin time , mtg time
Hi Carl - I switched to a split analogue/digital system about 5 years ago and really enjoy it. I use my weekly paper view to note my daily meetings and, as you said, priority items for the week. My work is filled with daily meetings and while we live by the google cal - the paper one lets me really see what space I have available for other tasks. It also lets me journal what I ACTUALLY got done in the empty spaces - this gives me a real picture of my work completed for the week. I go back and forth with notes. This year I am doing my meeting notes in a google sheet, but my running to do list is on a piece of paper. :) Hope you continue this series.
WOW! Love that, Heather. (and don't worry I'll be doing more updates)
Great video - I am paralleling you with my Franklin use - I've used it for over 30 years (off and on) and keep coming back to it for all the reasons you mentioned in the video. We 'stylophiles' are always in search of good paper - and, to your point, the Franklin varieties are not up to par for my Mont Blanc (or others) - therefore, I use the Frixion Ball (.5mm) - any color - and they are erasable - a much-needed attribute when moving entries around -- Cheers from Texas!
Thank you for sharing Jeff.
Haha I have that exact ball pen in my hand right now as I watch this. I remember the pens without the hole and the subsequent child choking story! I love your observations Carl, I am using digital for a master task list but write down my daily and weekly tasks on paper - out of sight and then out of mind.
Although in filofax, I have the same set up as the Franklin Planner with daily schedule and to do etc. on one page and notes opposite. Tried other systems over the last couple of years and this works everytime for me. I'm just learning to add key points from meeting notes into a digital system for work to have them on the go but it's hard. Very unnatural 😂
Thank you, Nicola, for sharing that. 🙂
Interesting to hear about the paper quality and I’m glad I waited to hear your views before even considering buying a Franklin Planner. I’m quite happy using my digital calendar and Todoist … but supported by A5 notebooks that I can lay flat on my (small) desk that show me my weekly and daily tasks and commitments. I use a Parker Duofold fountain pen and no ink bleed!
The Filofax paper is fountain pen friendly and the one day on two pages has a comparable setup: left page for daily notes and scribes, right page for agenda and tasks.
Thank you, Henri for sharing that.
Great video. One of the things I like about the loose-leaf concept is the ability to print stuff you need onto paper and to then insert it into the relevant place in the binder. I realise this is a bit old-fashioned but arriving at a venue with a printed ticket that looked at you when you got to that date (and reminded you if you'd forgotten!) obviates the issue of a flat phone, or poor internet signal. (There are get arounds but I like a hard copy.) Not to mention that the print is bigger than a phone screen!
The questions is... Did you also DRY and FOLD the laundry. (Gets you treats at my house.) This is a really good video. I've bounced back and forth from a weekly planner to considering going back to Franklin. I ended up with lined sticky notes to place in my weekly calendar. If the list gets too long, I had another note. I travel alot and quick access to appointments when I am on the road at a glance is huge. There is not a good place to take notes though. Franklin would solve that.
I did hang the washing up (Don't like dryers too much) and did get a "treat" (A slice of cheesecake 🙂) hehehe
@@Carl_Pullein Cheesecake for the win!
A big part of Franklin training was not day planning, they even started their training program telling you this too. It’s first about setting your life’s priorities (your virtues). They pushed figuring out who you are & what’s important. Only last few classes quickly did day planning.
That's true. Sadly on TH-cam, nobody wants to go through the process of establishing governing values, they just want to the "sexy" bit 😞 (And I've tried for several years to get people engaged in that critical part)
Thank you for this update Carl. I've been looking forward to your FP reviews since you started this project. I'm trying to imagine/devise/create a system for myself for planning and "doing stuff". I'm looking for an option that will actually stick for me. Cheers!
For your fountain pen (I have a Lamy 2000 too!), get yourself some Noodler’s X-Feather bottled ink. You can get Black or Blue. Doesn’t bleed or feather on poor quality paper. I’m fond of the blue - plus it has. Churchill on the label!
I’m really glad you found a fun challenge to work around the Franklin Planner not being fountain pen friendly…it would’ve been a dealbreaker for me 😂 by the way, do you write your daily schedule at the beginning of each day? And how do you handle sudden changes in your schedule (could be a sudden appointment or just a task taking longer than planned) on the Franklin Planner? Looking forward to more updates of this series, it’s really interesting!!
Interesting video, thanks Carl. I can't bear Bic biro's I much prefer Uniball Eye pens, especially the micro.
I used to use a Franklin planner but it's just about impossible to get their products here. I love the monthly paper planner and use it to see a broad view of my upcoming commitments at a glance. I use it in conjunction with my work Outlook. I use a custom Traveller's Notebook now.
I would love to hear how you use the FP master task list with your COD system. I love my paper planning for taking action in my day but I still struggle with keeping my master list updated in either my FP or things/MS to do.
Very interesting video, I loved using the Time Manager system and then the Franklin planner and now use the Bullet Journal system. My favourite digital system is OmniFocus.
One thing I noticed, in the video you said that you MUST take the laundry out of the machine by 4 but you gave it a C classification. Isn’t MUST the definition of an A task?
Thank you, thank you. I have been looking for the original BIC pen but could not find it. After your story about the hole in the cap, I found it....😅
You're very welcome, Paula.
You must try Erin Condren planners - they have amazing paper, don’t cost too much and so many different views
I wish todoist would add a feature that would allow us to order our lists by priority number. My priorities change from day to day and I want the things I need to do to be in the order I need to do them in (like the FP ABC/123 method)
Try the pentecostal s gel. It's perfect for us lefties
@Carl: Are you still using ToDoist with your layout as your ‘master task list’. Then using filters, as part of your daily review are you copying from TD to FP? That is how I have been experimenting (Bought a package of 2pg per day sheets so I can test without going all in on the planner.
Todoist is taking care of the lower value routine tasks and acts as a mobile inbox. In my FP I only write out the important things that need to be done today. I know the lower value stuff can wait if I run out of time.
Carl, when you return to digital do you think you’ll continue to use the Franklin Planner for daily tasks and notes?
Ooh it's too early to tell. I suspect there will be a hybrid approach in the new year.
Bic pen is the greatest.
I love the Bic Cristal ballpoint pens. But my only issue with disposable pens vs refillable pens is that they’re an environmental nightmare. They are more disposable, toxic plastic filling up landfills and probably even waterways.
Do you have any trouble getting FC products from the US?
Not at all. Amazon delivers the products. Usually, it takes around two weeks. I can also buy Korean language products here in Korea as they have an agent here.
@@Carl_Pullein sorry, forgot you live in Korea, south I assume😁