Military strategists, chess grandmasters, and urban designers are all known for their planning skills, but this column is not about great figures in those fields. It’s about the personal planner, those little (or not so little) journals that include a calendar but also lots of other goodies.
Not so long ago, a person might find himself gifted with several planners at year end, from employers, colleagues, family, and friends. With the advent of the smartphone, it’s become less crucial to jot reminders for upcoming appointments on paper. But apparently there’s a bit of a resurgence for printed planners; some people, even among those who grew up in the 21st century, find writing notes and reminders in a journal a more satisfying organizational experience than just posting a reminder on a smartphone calendar.
I don’t consider myself a particularly organized person, and I’ve dedicated way more brainpower than necessary trying (not always successfully) to remember important dates and appointments, instead of just writing them somewhere readily accessible, like a planner. Every year, I’d receive the blank books, their pages waiting to be filled with social engagements, doctor’s appointments, birthday reminders, family gatherings. And much like the average gym membership, my usage would peak in January, then quickly drop off. The journal would lie neglected until next year’s crop replaced it, and the cycle would begin again. The traditional use of planners—that is, planning—never appealed to me, but another aspect of them did.
For a person like myself, an info junkie who enjoyed browsing encyclopedias as a kid, the allure of random facts is undeniable. And planners tend to be filled with all kinds of—you guessed it—random facts. I’m also fascinated by the variations among one planner and another, as one manufacturer might deem certain items invaluable, while another omits them entirely, in favor of other information. I’ve saved a few editions that illustrate these points while also serving as models of excellence among their peers.
For instance, the inside cover of the 2007 Music in Motion (Promoting Deaf Awareness with Music & Sign Language) planner includes a spot for Special Emergency Instructions, with blank spaces to fill in one’s blood type and allergies. This could be a life-saving feature, but strangely, it’s not a common one; other planners find alternative uses for that space, like recording your annual goals, but you can’t aspire to your highest goals if you’re dead.
This pocket-sized planner offers the required space for daily entries, identifying each not just by the date and day of the week, but by the day of the year—critical for impressing the boss with greetings like “How are you, this fine 181st day of the year?”
There are conversion tables for every kind of measurement, whether distance, temperature, or weight; a cursory page to enter addresses, like a palate cleanser before the main course; then, finally, the colorful eye-catcher of most daily planners, the maps. In this case, maps were restricted to the U.S.A. and Canada, showing cities and highways, area codes and time zones. The most uncommon element of this planner isn’t surprising, given its sponsor—a bookmark-sized insert showing how to sign the letters of the ASL Manual Alphabet.
The nicest planner I’ve ever owned was a 2010 American Express Appointment Book, an approximately 8-by-10-inch faux leatherbound hardcover volume, with a satin ribbon marker. This book aims to one-up other planners, and not just in appearance: for example, it includes a list of holidays, but while other journals might mark the Gregorian (standard American) calendar date of the Chinese New Year, this book further reveals the Chinese calendar year (4708) and Chinese zodiac year (Tiger). Since the target audience is made up of wealthy, sophisticated international travelers, there’s also an extended list of more obscure international holidays, because it would be utterly mortifying to be the one hotel guest in Acapulco who’s unaware of Benito Juárez’ birthday.
The global emphasis extends to maps that detail the entire world—including Antarctica. There are charts galore, showing the air distance between any two major international cities, monthly precipitation and daily average temperature for selected cities, and international currencies with approximate exchange rates. Also included are an international tipping guide, a complete list of U.S. area codes and International Dialing Codes, and a Directory of U.S. Embassies and Consulates, critical if you should spark an international incident, perhaps by downplaying the historical importance of Benito Juárez. There’s also a perpetual calendar, in case you’re really planning ahead and want to know what day your hundredth birthday will fall on (mine’s a Tuesday), or want to make sure you don’t miss Benito Juárez’s birthday ever again.
The Fessenden Hall Incorporated 2018 Planner is a special one—a “Contractor’s Planner.” Aside from the standard daily entry features, an extensive front section compares the average weights of materials per square foot: “Coal, piled anthracite” versus “coal, piled bituminous,” for example (anthracite is heavier, in case you were wondering). Also included are standard gauges of steel, insulation R-values, a guide to different wood species, a guide to wire sizes and types, and a guide to standard nails. And where else would you come across the estimated daily frequency of operation for the door of a school toilet (1,250)?
Much of this information seems more suited to quiet research and planning at an architect’s drafting table instead of quick glances at a loud, hectic construction site. But if you’re a contractor who likes to be spontaneous and remodel “on the fly,” this portable planner could be quite a timesaver, not to mention a lawsuit-avoider.
The book also contains a blank chart to record investments, ideal for the contractor who’s using the time he saves at work to day-trade stocks.
In contrast to the American Express Planner’s focus on international air travel, Fessenden Hall’s mileage chart gives driving distances between U.S. cities. Don’t worry, though, there’s still a list of time zones and calling codes, in case that contracting job in Beach Haven turns out to be in the town in New Zealand, and not the Jersey shore.
Fessenden Hall’s “Special Information” page is an all-purpose tool, a Swiss Army Knife of vital information for a busy contractor: a list of birthstones and flowers for each month, plus suggested wedding anniversary gifts for specific years of marriage. Did you know, for example, that the 4th anniversary gift is an electrical appliance? Not only can this page provide inspiration for last-minute gifts, it also constitutes proof that the gift wasn’t strictly your idea. An accompanying list of Presidents of the United States is tailor-made for trivia nights at the local bar, where you’ll be spending lots of time after buying your spouse an electrical appliance and then blaming a book for it.
Hamilton Township schools put together a nice planner for students every year, full of punctuation tips, math and science formulas, and a list of requirements for graduation. I’d imagine that specialized planners must exist for nearly every profession—one for psychics, with horoscopes and astrology charts; one for translators and diplomats, with important phrases in different languages, like “Where is the bathroom?” and “It’s okay, I have diplomatic immunity.”
Today, several online print shops allow you to design your own unique planner by adding or modifying different pre-set modules. You can add staff paper to write music, graph paper to track activity, or illustrations to color when you’re bored. Or substitute a cleaning schedule, an illustrated travel landmark checklist, a budget worksheet, and Sudoku.
I know I’d end up with a massive, Frankenstein’s monster of a planner—knowing the option was available, how could I not modify my daily calendar to include essentials like “phases of the moon,” for example? I’d also include a few go-to recipes, visual guides to hand-to-hand combat and first aid, some favorite quotations, and as a sure-fire conversation starter, a list of the top 20 all-time home run leaders in Major League Baseball.
Carrying a Swiss Army Knife makes one feel prepared for any situation; it provides a sense of comfort (unless you actually bring it to an airport check-in line, in which case the TSA will make you feel very uncomfortable). In much the same way, a good planner offers the same illusion of preparedness, even if you don’t plan to suddenly board a plane to a random country and leave your smartphone behind.
You may be wondering, though—why the interest in planners if the primary appeal isn’t planning, but rather a handy and accessible collection of vaguely useful general knowledge? Why not seek out a good pocket-sized travel almanac, or even a trivia book, instead? Days slip past and for some reason I keep forgetting, but the simple truth is: I plan to.
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