Archive for February, 2010

Know a good lighted pen?

Posted February 8, 2010 by
in Pens, Paper & People | 3 comments »


Image via Bitterjug

Like many people, I often have ideas about work or writing projects right as I’m falling asleep. I know I won’t remember them when I wake up, so I keep a little notepad and pen next to my bed to jot them down.

Here’s the thing: If I use a regular pen, I run the risk of not being able to decipher my groggy, sleep-blind scrawl when I wake up. I thought I’d solved that problem a couple years ago at the Museum of Natural History gift shop, where I found an inexpensive ball-point pen whose barrel had a light in it. It was perfect—it gave me just enough light to see what I was writing without disturbing anyone or jolting me awake.

But the light bulb broke after a couple of months, and since nobody had any idea where I could replace it, I ended up consigning the pen to daytime use and buying another like it on eBay. That pen, too, has since fallen apart, despite my best efforts to keep its inexpensively made pieces in line.

In the age of cheap manufacturing, is there anyone out there who makes a high-quality version of this pen? I realize it’s a novelty item, and it’s not like I’m about to shell out big money for it. But I can’t, in good environmental conscience, buy another cheapie with the expectation that it’ll last a few months or a year, then break and be thrown in the trash.

Got any recommendations?

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Vintage Quo Vadis ads

Posted February 5, 2010 by
in Beautiful Creations, Cabinet of Curiosities | 5 comments »

QV ad

I found these images recently when I was straightening up my desktop (New Year’s resolution: keep my files better organized).

Karen sent them to me years ago, and it’s just madness that I’ve never blogged about them, because they’re totally interesting. Here, for example, is a montage of old print ads (click through to see a larger version):

Old ads

And here’s an office display that seems to have been set up for a trade show booth or something:

Office display

Here’s a simpler trade show display:

Continue reading »

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Give and take

Posted February 3, 2010 by
in Editorial | 5 comments »

Handshake

Lots of people write in with good suggestions for tweaks to our planning formats, and often those tweaks take the form of supplements or additions. More space for notes is a popular one. Another popular idea, at least for those formats that don’t already have it, is adding a monthly view that would supplement a daily or a weekly planner.

First of all, let me say that we are always grateful for your suggestions, because it helps us understand how people actually use our planners. Also, they do make a difference, as Karen has described. But when it comes to adding pages, we face a problem: if we add pages to our planners, for the most part, then we have to delete other pages. We can’t make the planners larger because the refillable covers would be useless—the planner inserts wouldn’t fit. (Of course, they could stretch a little bit, and as Karen will describe later, we are indeed planning to make notes supplements for the Business and Minister planners.)

So periodically we ask: what would you like to add? And more importantly, in exchange, what would you eliminate? An address book seems quaint to me in this era of Outlook and cell phones, but maybe there are still people who prefer to store that stuff in their planners. Similarly, the maps and reference materials—I like that they exist (though I rarely consult them), and it’s true they come in handy while traveling, but as Marty pointed out, Google can give you the same information with much greater specificity…

So, what do you think? Should we do an annual bound book (i.e., not refillable) with extra pages for notes and calendars? Would you be willing to pay more for that expanded edition? Or should we try to find a way to fit those things into our current planners, or create special supplements for them?

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Meryl and the Minister, part III

Posted February 2, 2010 by
in Where to Go? | 3 comments »

We have a sighting! Neither Karen nor I has made it to the theaters to see It’s Complicated, the romantic comedy starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin. But several friends and readers have, and they’ve been able to confirm that one of our planners does indeed make an appearance. Writes a friend:

“The funny thing about Meryl Streep’s character (in the movie) is that she forgets appointments and meetings. Steve Martin’s character gives her the gift of the leather bound Quo Vadis planner to help her remember her appointments with him. When she opens the gift, the back of the planner is face up. The imprinted Quo Vadis label is displayed before she turns the planner over.”

Note that we did *not* pay for product placement, which is part of the reason we’re so excited about this! Director Nancy Meyers is apparently just a fan of Quo Vadis — as is Meryl Streep.

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Guest post: Planners while traveling

Posted February 1, 2010 by
in Planning Tips, Where to Go? | 1 comment »

Guest blogger Laurie Huff is a planner aficionado and frequent traveler. She currently lives in Tirana, Albania.

When your daily patterns are mostly predictable, your planner needs are straightforward. You know what your home and work life consists of, and your planner needs are usually consistent from week to week.

But all this is turned on its head when traveling. What works fine at home or in the office may break down when you’re out in the world. Unpredictable things happen while traveling (which of course is part of the fun of traveling in the first place), and you need a planner that is flexible enough to handle out of the ordinary needs. This is especially true when traveling internationally. Suddenly you need information at your fingertips such as international dialing codes and time zone information that you might not normally need in your day to day life. Especially for people who travel frequently, whether for work or pleasure, you need a planner that can handle your day to day life as well as your travel needs.

Several years ago while traveling back to the US after living in Nepal, I spent 3 weeks in Paris and 3 weeks traveling around Scotland. That year I used an Exacompta Daily Pocket planner, and that little book was a champ. The book itself is tiny, light, and took up no space at all in my bag. But the page size is still substantial, and having a page for each day was great during my entire trip. I used that little book for everything. Each page had plenty of room to write flight reservation details and phone numbers of hostels I stayed in. While in Paris I took a short course in French language, and the daily pages held my lesson reminders and reading assignments. On one page I drew a map of how to get to a new friend’s apartment off the Champs-Elysees for dinner. I recorded each place I went on my journey around Scotland. In the cover pockets I tucked in slips of paper with people’s email addresses, ferry schedules and postcard stamps. I filled the pages with the location of that excellent crepe place, the quaint restaurant where we ate a delicious dinner, and the cool shops I found on the little side streets. Now it’s an excellent record of my trip, and when I look through that little book the memories come right back.

Last fall on a trip to Budapest I didn’t even bring my planner because the one I was using at the time was too bulky. Besides, I was only going for a week, surely I could live without my planner? No, of course not. I had forgotten to notify my credit card company that I was traveling, and when I used my card to pre-pay my hotel the early warning protection caused it to seize up. I needed to call the US from Hungary to rectify it. But what is the code to dial OUT of Hungary for an international call?? If I’d had my planner with me with its page of international dialing codes, I would have had that information at my fingertips. But instead, with no planner (and no internet) it took me about 30 minutes of searching and asking people before I found out it’s 00, like much of the rest of Europe. By the time I placed my call, the Fraud Protection office was closed. 5 minutes ago. So I had to wait until the next day to call. Lesson learned: don’t leave home without my planner and its list of international dialing codes!

My most recent trip was to Scotland over the holidays, and I brought along my Minister planner (with its list of international dialing codes, time zones and extensive maps, which I love). I didn’t really think I’d be using it much during my vacation. I wound up using it extensively, to my surprise.

Continue reading »

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