GTD and planner questions

[apinaud]

1) Are there any planners that people recommend? I've been using Franklin Covey but don't think that it has the flexibility that I need. I am considering Circa or maybe just a nice looking three ring binder but old habits die hard.

Buy something you love, you like and apeal to you. The internals of the planner can be made, created or transformed...

2) How do folks organize their meeting notes? Strictly by date, by standing meeting, by project, or some hybrid? I currently use a hybrid approach (by date and by standing meeting) but then it makes it hard to find meeting notes sometimes.

Meeting Notes goes in 2 ways for me, if they are project oriented, goes in the Project folder, if they are recurrent meetings goes in the Folder of the Meeting.

3) Does anyone use an indexing approach for their meeting notes? One of the folks that I work with numbers pages in his notebook with an index of meetings up front as reference.

Information that will be relevant will tend to be indexed, some of the meetings should go to the trash after actions, even that I tend to keep the copy of the clean meeting as explain in number 2.

4) What sections do people set up in their planners? I was thinking of the following sections: daily calendar (list of "to do's" that must get done that day plus my schedule in case I need to write it out), projects, and next actions (with a page by category), agenda items (list of things to discuss with people when you meet with them)?

I used a paper planner in the past, and even today that I am mostly digital I keep the exercise. One of the things people struggle when they try to go digital is the fact that they miss the planner organization, I have a Virtual Paper planner that I keep in my cabinet for those times in doubt of how my palm is my Paper Planner.

Since I am a believer that it is not the medium is the system let me explain how mine looks.

1.- Calendar (Nothing Special Here)
2.- Phones and Contacts (Divided in 5 Address Books. Yes I did this when I use the planner it is easy and faster to update.)
2.1- Personal Phones
2.1- Work Phones
2.3- Quick Reference Work Phones
2.4- Restaurants and Hotels
I did this on my old paper plan, my lists where in the computer and printed in the paper calendar, look for a phone was super easy even in paper.
3.-Projects
4.- Next Actions
5.- Reference Lists
5.1.- Work Marketing
5.2.- Work Sales
5.3.- Lists
5.4.- Next time in...
5.5.- Personal Development
5.6.- Ref - Work
5.7.- Ref - General
5.8.- Ref - GTD
5.9.- Ref - Inspiration
5.10.-Ref - Personal
5.11.- Weekly Review

As you can imagine, I was glad to get the palm, my back do not hurt anymore and I do not need to print stuff in super small font that I can barely read in order to carry all that in my planner....