I’ve just started another semester of teaching and studying so I have been filling in the semester’s assignment due dates, social occasions and running races.

It struck me that the style of diary one uses (or prefers) could have a big impact on how you perceive time, and even day to day life.

I have messy handwriting, so in my week-to-a-page diary, scribbling a few small things in one day can make it look full when it isn’t. I wouldn’t want to use a day-to-a-page diary though, as I would be sure to have nasty surprises each time I turned over a page. My current solution is to use a week-to-a-page diary and have a month-to-a-page desk calendar, and a yearly planner on my wall. I don’t write everything in each version (that would be too OCDP!) but it provides varying perspectives.

A monthly calendar helps one to see how things unfold in a short enough timetable to make some changes, and a yearly planner gives real perspective into how you spend a year, and how quickly a year can get away from you. I have always liked Annie Dillard’s quote, “How we spend our days is…how we spend our lives.” If you use a day-to-a-page diary, you might not notice this!

Perhaps senior leaders and politicians should keep a multi year calendar in their offices and work down from there to work out how to best spend each hour of meetings and activities.

What should teachers use?