A good diary is worth its weight in gold to me.  It’s how I manage my life and keep my poor memory from causing me too many problems.  Everything gets written down in it (because if it doesn’t get written down it will get forgotten and I’ve been caught out like that in the past).  I use my diary not only to manage appointments, but also to keep a track on my to do lists.  Toad got in touch a little while ago and offered me a chance of a new diary and I jumped at the chance because mine was about to finish – it’s an academic year diary.  The great thing about Toad is that you can start your diary any month in the year, so it’s perfect if your needs change part way through a year.

The great thing about Toad’s diaries is that you can choose from a range of options.  This is great for me because normally when I’m buying a diary I am having to flick through each one to make sure it has a layout that suits me.  This way I can cut through that and just pick out the one that suits me best.   I plan my life by the week usually, as I find that a more meaningful way of doing things than daily planning.  I do drill that weekly to do list down into daily portions, but I find weekly planning lets me put more jobs in on quieter days and less on days when I am running from one place to the next.  So for me a week spread over two pages is best, it allows me enough room, but also lets me see the week at a glance.  There are any number of variations, so it’s easy to find something that suits you and your family.  Another thing I liked about this diary was the fact that it had both a calendar for next year and a 2 page planner for the following year too.  My current diary has a 2 page planner which includes a calendar.  This means there is only a tiny slot for each day and it’s difficult to find room to slot in reminders to check your mortgage rate or utility supplier is still competition or similar in a particular month.  It should be much easier with the Toad diary.

It’s not just the inside that you can customise too.  There are a number of options for the cover and binding too. I went for the lay flat design so I can have my diary open on my desk when I am working and its easy to refer to.  There’s also a wayfinding ribbon so you can mark your place in the diary when it’s closed.  I also picked out a colour I liked and had my initials added to the front cover.  The great thing about a hard cover for a diary is that you have a decent surface to write on, again my current diary falls down on this point as it has a soft cover.  You can also choose your size.  I went for the A5 option as this is a good size for me to carry around in my handbag, without being too small to be useful.  I don’t do carry it around on a daily basis, but find it useful to be able to do that if I am away from home for a few days or maybe hoping to get some work done on the train.

I’m always interested to hear how other people organise themselves and their time, so I’d love it if you let me know what you do in the comments.  I’m hoping to pick up some new ideas.

If you’d like to win a Toad diary of your own, enter via the Gleam widget below.

Competition Terms and Conditions

1. No bulk, third-party or automated entries.

2. Entrants must be aged 18 years or older and resident in the UK.

3. The winner or winners will be chosen by a random draw.

4. Promoter is responsible for fulfilling the prize and full contact details of the winner will be passed onto the promoter to enable prize fulfillment.

5. The winner’s name may be published on this site.

6. Competition closes on 11th August 2019.
Toad Diary