Coming up with a one-size-fits-all organizer is tough, because much depends upon your lifestyle and career needs. That being said, I have some definite preferences that make sense for a vast majority of those who work in the business world. Lets take a look at the pros and cons of each and then I will recommend a system that would be a good gift for a recent business school grad.

Platform Options

Electronic -- Technology is moving in the direction where it won't be long before we are giving up our paper based planners for their electronic brethren the PDA. But, until we have both voice and handwriting recognition software in a wireless, high speed, always-on system, keep your paper personal organizer. I have tried to make a PDA work and everything I have tried has slowed me down and complicated my life.

• Handhelds and PDA's -- They have come a long way and are starting to catch my attention, in fact I use a Palm Treo 700. It just simply is not a good capture tool yet. Two thumb typing just doesn't cut it when I'm in a meeting and need to capture the details. Handhelds are great for retrieving stored data and on-the-fly data emergencies. I will not be trading in my paper based planner for a handheld until such time as somebody comes out with an insanely great voice to text recognition system.
  • Pros
    • Ultimate in portability
    • Synchronization with primary PC
    • Fast boot time
    • Marriage between telephony and computers
    • Data retrieval
    • Battery Life
  • Cons
    • Inability to function as a capture tool
    • Data input is clunky and not user friendly
    • Screen readability
    • Small or non-existent keyboards
       
• Tablet PC -- Tablets are the biggest potential threat to the paper based planner industry, or the will be when they come out with a ten hour battery life. I own a HP TC-1100 convertible tablet pc and I love it. But, it is not a replacement for my paper based system and the primary reason is battery life. If I am going to be out of the office for the day, I'm in trouble; my capture system is dead in three hours.
   
  • Pros
    • Portability of your primary pc
    • Data storage
    • Data retrieval
  • Cons
    • Cost (a fully configured system, is about $3,000)
    • Battery life
    • Weak handwriting recognition (but is getting better)
    • Weak voice recognition software
    • Slow boot up time
    • Not able to keep up with my daily pace.

Paper Based Organizers -- My recommendation. Look around you, the one common denominator of highly effective people is the use of a personal organizing system. To think that you can become organized and stay that way, relying upon your memory, post-it notes, and the back of an envelope or some electronic gadget is self-delusional. Wander through the penthouse offices of any major corporation and you'll see a lot of Franklin planners, why? They simplest tool to keep them on top of their most important asset . . . their time.

• Pros
  • Simplicity of capturing mental traffic
  • Low maintenance
  • Cost $30 to $70
  • Expandability
  • Customization options
• Cons
  • Portability
  • Limited search ability
  • No backup capabilities

Senior or A5 (8 1/2"x11") -- My preference. During a typical business day we are wandering around picking up pieces of paper that you must reference later. If your personal planner is senior sized you can pop it open, flip to the appropriate tab and insert it for later instant retrieval.

• Pros
  • Universality
  • Readability
  • Plenty of doodle space
  • Maximum form choices
• Cons
  • Bulky to carry

Junior or Classic(5 1/2" x 8 1/2") -- Vast preference of women

• Pro
  • Less bulky to carry
  • Fits in most purses or handbags
• Con
  • Non-Standard punched holes
  • Incoming paper must be copied and reduced
  • Takes up too much room in purses and handbags
  • Tiny boxes to write in
  • Limited space for doodling

Pocket (3 1/2" x 6") -- My suggestion would be a inexpensive PDA instead

• Pros
  • Maximum portability
  • Ease of mind traffic capture
• Cons
  • Not enough space
  • Lack of ability to expand
  • Must be entirely recreated every month
  • Necessitates multiple calendars

Three Ring -- Lets face it, a vast majority of the punched paper in the world is three ring. So if you want maximum flexibility interacting with the rest of the world then choose three ring.

Multi-Ring -- Usually seven rings but on a recent trip to my local Staples store I noticed a system with nine rings. The advantage of a multi ring system is that pages are less likely to tear at the holes. The good news is that the seven hole paper will also fit a three ring binder without alteration. Many corporations buy office copy paper pre punched for a seven hole system.

Spiral or Bound -- Every once in a while I encounter someone who uses a closed system and for the life of me, I cannot figure out why. The only possible explanation must be the binding size, but by not having the ability to ad pages is paying an enormous price in order to get it.

Most of the popular brands will come with the basics and allow you to purchase add on pages for your new system. But in some cases, you'll need to design your own pages using your laser printer or copier. Don't be afraid to mix styles from more than one manufacturer. But the system you choose or create must include these basic components:

• The monthly pages -- 12 monthly individual pages each with 31 large boxes to record your personal time commitments for the month. Click Here to view a PDF example.
   
• 1-31 Daily planning pages -- Preferably two pages per day that display the hours of the day, so you can plan out your time, an area for prioritized to-do list and some room for mind dumping. Click Here to view a PDF example.
   
• Alphabetic tabs -- A section in the binder containing 26 divider tabs, one each labeled with one letter of the alphabet. These dividers will act as your temporary portable file cabinet enabling you to quickly and easily store and retrieve documents, your address book, client notes, or any item that you might find useful for your upcoming meetings and appointments.
   
• Communication planners -- A simple form that enables you to track and record all of life's details and retrieve them instantly. But most importantly a communication planner is the place you'll plan and record your communications with others. Click Here for a PDF example.
   
• Phone directory pages -- Pages placed behind your A-Z tabs for storing names, addresses and phone numbers, as well as Christmas lists, rosters, etc. Click Here for a PDF example.
   
• Out years pages -- It's important to have a place to record long range notes that are not due this year, but next year and the years out. Click Here for a PDF example.
   
• Reoccurring events page -- A place to write reminders for birthdays, anniversaries and all annually reoccurring events.  By having a reoccurring events page, you will be writing those dates just once and only in one place. Click Here for a PDF example.
   
• Plastic pouch -- A good one has a zip lock-type of zipper. It's a place to carry your stamps, pencils, business cards, credit cards, etc.
   
• Customized tabs -- You may want a series of customized tabs for your own use, for such things as maps, meetings, or a separate tab for each of the kids, etc.

Stick with legacy brands -- You'll need new calendar refills annually so make sure you purchase your planner from a brand that you know will be there in the years to come. Here are the brands that are likely to be around a while. If the organizer you are about to buy is not on this list you should probably reconsider.

• FranklinCovey
• Julie Morgenstern
• Priority Management
• Day-Timer
• Time Design
• DayRunner
• At-A-Glance
• Filofax
• Cambridge
• Five Star

FranklinCovey -- Without a doubt they lead the pack and by a wide margin. The FranklinCovey personal organizing tools have become the overwhelming choice of the corporate world. FranklinCovey stands out in the following areas:

• Widest choice of size and design
• Competitive pricing
• Training and tutorial options
• Widest variety of add on tools and accessories
• Integration with technology tools
• Customization options
• Outstanding warranties and customer service

Design your own Franklin Planner! Customize color, size, style, and more! At only $49 this is clearly my number one choice for a recommendation. It is priced right and is completely customizable.  Begin with any month; select 1-page-per-day, 2-pages-per-day, or the weekly format and have your birthdays and other reoccurring events pre-printed.

Order your FranklinCovey Planner Now! Stop Procrastinating

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