Are digital or paper planners better for increasing productivity and time management? The answer is both, it seems, according to participants in our recent UGotClass on “New 21st Century Strategies for Productivity and Time Management.”
With participants from a variety of occupations and work situations, the course is one of most popular courses for LERN Members to promote and part of the UGotClass Management Certificate.
Print Hard Calendar At Start of the Week
“I use both digital and paper planners,” says Patricia Kelly of Miami, Florida. “I find the Outlook calendar very useful to track events and activities I need to know about each day. I also like the ability to paste detailed information received from emails in Outlook and the reminders Outlook sends. I print the calendar at the beginning of the week and I use the hard copy for adding additional information on. I work better having a hard copy as a visual sitting on my desk. It helps keep me organized.”
Not Redundant
“I use both, agrees Whitney Nosbisch of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “It seems redundant, but I enter everything through my online calendar and at the beginning of each week, I print out the week’s schedule on paper. It has enough room that I can add things that come up and use it as a tracking tool in addition to seeing the day’s “plans” at all times. The electronic reminders are helpful but require me to go in and enter changes and sometimes it is easier to just scratch it on the piece of paper sitting at my desk or in my binder during a meeting.”
Use Paper Planner to Document Action Items
“I like to use the digital planner for meetings and courses that I teach because I like the reminders,” adds Lynn Michelle Delany of Kamloops, BC, Canada. “I can also keep track of log in information for teleconferences and Webex meetings in an electronic planner. I use mainly an outlook calendar.
“I tried to add notes into each of the appointment time with things that I discussed at the meetings or to do list as a result of the meeting or event, but I found this took too long. So I also have a paper planner with notes/action items/to do list for each meeting/event or course. If I have an important conversation with staff, I will use my paper planner to document ideas or action items. I also find it quicker to jot something down on a piece of paper.”
The Certificate in Management is one of the top 5 most popular certificates for UGotClass this year. It features three one-month courses, including the course “New 21st Century Strategies for Productivity and Time Management.” To promote the certificate and get 50 percent of the revenue, just contact Leslie Kowalczyk at leslie@lern.org or call her toll free at 855-UGotClass.
