When I realized, nearly 30 years ago, that there was a whole world of calendars beyond those that were provided to me by my employer, bank, or local card shop, one of the first product lines I discovered was Quo Vadis. I was impressed by the quality of their planners as well as the extensive variety of sizes and layouts they offered.

Thanks to the networking expertise of Margarita Ibbott, Quo Vadis Canada generously donated a supply of their planners to be distributed at her presentation at this year’s POC Conference. I was pleased to receive a conservative-yet-unique burgundy one, but I noticed that the others ranged from classic black to a fashionable cactus green.

The cover is both pleasing to the touch and well-constructed, so you can continue using it and simply purchase a refill each year – a smart move both financially and ecologically.

The inside spread, as shown above, is in a weekly grid format, running from Monday to Sunday. Although this can be confusing at first for someone who is accustomed to the traditional Sunday-to-Saturday layout of most wall calendars, it is ideal for planning purposes as it keeps weekends together.

An eighth column includes small calendars for the previous, current, and following months, and identifies the current week and quarter of the year.

Each daily column includes a spot to record the day’s priority at the top, followed by a scheduling section.  For Monday through Saturday, the schedule runs from 8 AM to 9 PM, which should meet the needs of most people, and includes a Notes section at the bottom. Sunday’s schedule runs from  8 AM to 8 PM, without the half-hour marks in between that appear on the rest of the days.  This allows a wide section below Sunday’s schedule and the weekly details for five task-related sections: Phone, Fax – E-mail, See – Do, Write, and To pay – To receive.

This is not a format I would choose for myself, because most of my activities are not scheduled for specific times, so the time slots aren’t really that important to me, and I prefer to have most of the daily section blank to write my daily tasks, with a smaller section for scheduled appointments. However, for those who are more schedule-driven, it is well-designed.

The corner of each page is perforated, making it easy to find the current week without the need for a marker.

Other features include the current and following year at a glance (with space to write), mini calendars for the previous, current, and following years, and a removable address book. There are several pages of reference information such as maps, international holidays, and the like, that would probably only be of value to some users.

One thing I really like about this planner is the fact that you can start using it on December 5. By this time of the year, we are planning for the new year far more often than we’re referring back to earlier dates, so this eliminates the need to carry two calendars.

Although Quo Vadis were pioneers in the development of the weekly planner, they now offer daily and monthly planners as well, to meet the needs of an even wider audience. You can purchase Quo Vadis planners at Amazon.com and many other online and retailers.