Tools for Keeping New Year’s Resolutions – Quo Vadis Equology Minister {Giveaway}

If you wrote out your new year’s resolutions or goals, then you’re already on track for making some positive changes in your life.  I took a 3 year maternity hiatus on goal-setting because I was overwhelmed enough with pregnancy and becoming a new mom.  But 2010 is here, and I’m ready to reclaim order and organization in my life– starting with my goals.

Writing things down, and keeping them in a place where I can reference them is a seemingly simple step for getting organized.  Yet, it’s surprisingly simple to lose sticky notes and grocery lists…and I don’t want that to happen to my annual goals and weekly appointments.

Before I became a mom, others always commented on how organized I was.  I never missed important academic or social events, or forgot birthdays.  The secret to my timeliness and organization skills was merely the fact that I wrote everything down in my planner.

In graduate school (beginning in 2004), I used a Quo Vadis Scholar planner for 3 years, and I loved it!  Everything I ever needed was in one place: a weekly calendar, to-do list, phone numbers, etc.  Writing things down, referencing them regularly, and crossing completed items off a list kept me focused and on point.

Fast forward to December 2009

I’d gone 3 years without using a planner.  I’d had a baby, moved to a new state, started a new business (besides this blog), and I wasn’t really organized. Life came at me fast, and I was just reacting to it…wearisome.  Others told me that was “normal”, but it felt highly irregular to me.

Another year was about to begin, and I needed to get back to the basics that helped me feel organized and content with whatever I was doing at any given moment.  So once again, I turned to Quo Vadis.  When I learned that they had multiple planner organizational options, I got very excited, indeed!

Even better news was learning about the Quo Vadis Equology line, made from 100% recycled paper–crisp, white paper that works well with gel pens, ball point, pencil…you name it.  Green and great!

Presently, I’m using the Quo Vadis Equology Minister.  It offers pages that fold open flat with a week at a glance.

• Appointments are available in 15 minute intervals from 8am to 9pm.
• There’s a Generous right sided column with boxes for phone numbers, e-mails, faxes, to-do/see, a pay/receive list, and a box for notes.
• Each week view includes a small 3-month calendar view to help with planning and scheduling.
• At 6.25″ wide x 9.5″ high and weighing just over 3 ounces, it’s not bulky or cumbersome to keep with you everywhere you go.
• The tear-away corners help you keep tabs on the current week.
• As a back-up to your cell phone contacts, you can write in the detachable address book in the back.
• For the traveling Mompreneur, enjoy the world maps (and time zones) pages.
• Keep the recycled cover and refill the pages next year!
• It’s available in a completely recycled Equology format with a softly textured cover–recycled fibers that are fountain-pen friendly.

The Equology Minister retails for $26 , and it’s available through many retailers online including quovadisusa.com, The Daily Planner, and others.

I’m also loving the matching red (and recyled) notebook from Exaclair and Clairefontaine that’s perfect for jotting down brainstorm ideas for blog posts.  At 3.5″  wide x 5.5″ high, this miniature notebook filled with 96 sheets of lined paper is petite enough to store in a purse, diaper bag, or glove drawer of the car.  The pages are constructed from beautiful French-milled paper that are perfect for writing.

To stay in-the-know on Quo Vadis, follow them on Twitter (@quovadisblog), become a fan on Facebook, or subscribe to the Quo Vadis blog.

YOUR TURN:

What works for you to keep track of your family’s schedule and your to-do list?

Win it!

One winners will receive a Quo Vadis Equology Minister–winner’s choice of cover.

To enter, leave a comment relevant to this post prior to January 27th at 11:59 p.m.  Please follow the contest rules and avoid any generalized comments, or you will be disqualified.

FOR A SECOND ENTRY: Blog about this giveaway, then leave a comment with a link to your post.

FOR A THIRD ENTRY: Tweet (include @drdolly) about this giveaway, then leave a second comment telling me that you tweeted with a link to your tweet.

*I received product samples from Quo Vadis and Exaclair for the purpose of this review.  Read my full disclosure policy.

Subscribe // Twitter me: drdolly

*UPDATE*

Congrats to the winner, #4 Aimee W!