Have you got next year's calendar and planner yet? On the way home from Palaceside Building I got off at Nihombashi and bought a calendar and system-planner refill (two-week spread). I use a quirky "one-sheet annual calendar" and "mini 5-ring size" planner, so I shop early each year before they sell out.
Japan Management Association Management Center (Minato, Tokyo) surveyed 1,653 men and women in their 20s–50s on scheduling tools and handwriting, publishing results this month on the Web (http://www.jmam.co.jp/new/newsrelease/1288029_1362.html). In the seventh "Your Planner Style" survey, asking how they will manage schedules in 2014, "analog & digital combined" rose 21.8 points to a majority (56.6%). We seem to have entered an era of skillful analog-digital switching.
For scheduling tools, "planner" ranked first (40.4%), nearly double second-place "smartphone" (20.7%)＝see graph. By gender, women favored "planner" (46.9%) above average, with "calendar" second (23.7%). Men topped with "planner" (33.9%), then "smartphone" (24.1%), "PC" (19.9%). For scheduling at least, women lean analog, men digital.
Surprisingly by generation, "planner" use was highest among 20s (45.0%) and lowest among 50s (35.8%)—nearly a 10-point gap. 20s: smartphone 28.6%, PC 6.7%; 50s: smartphone 12.2%, PC 16.3%—understandable. My schedule is modest, yet I use a system planner first, then PC—not smartphone apps, due to weak overview and non-keyboard input.
Most popular planner size overall: "A6" (30.4%). By generation, 40s–50s prefer pocket sizes; 20s–30s favor roomy A6/B6. My "mini 5-ring" is a minority.
