Searching for 2012

I've been buying an analog calendar every year, not so much for plans and productivity but as a means of recording things I've done. I want to pivot more towards using a planner to, well... plan. My default is the Moleskine weekly + notes that has a blank page on the right for notes. A couple of years ago I tried to get by with the pocket monthly, which didn't work for me at all. This year I have a simple, checkbook size (slightly slimmer, slightly longer than Moleskine), which I like because I can use my fountain pen without ink feathering or bleeding all over the place (new vocabulary words!). But, for some reason, I haven't really loved it.

As the year winds down, I am thinking more and more of how to organize myself for 2012. What to do? Will I go back to the Moleskine pocket weekly? Or try the vertical or panoramic versions? Or should I check out the Muji calendar, which my friend swears by? Or dig up my old Day Runner (when they were in, in high school -- can I find it?!) and get a refill?

I spent a good hour flipping through the wide selection of panners and calendars at my local independent bookstore. Quo Vadis, Letts, At-A-Glance, Moleskine (the tiny day-per-page planners are so cute but entirely not functional for me), and tons more, including the Standard Daily that is the reason I alwasy keep an analog calendar (my parents used to get one of these from the office each year. One year I found and old one and spent hours poring through its contents, many of which were milestones and small moments in my brother's and my life -- first day of school, dentist appointment, etc. -- in my mom's distinct hand, complete with little hearts. Call me narcissistic, but I want my child(ren) to have the same experience one day). Sadly, after flipping through dozens of planners, I still wasn't able to commit to any of the ones at the store.

Last weekend I stopped by Kinokuniya to see their collection of Japanese planners.  They're awfully, awfully cute, and so nostalgic, but the Japanese week begins on Monday, which skews my monthly view.  When I lived there it made sense to go with the flow, but back here I need the week to visually start on Sunday when I look at a monthlong spread.  Unfortunately, this makes J planners categorically unusable for me.  *sigh* I've got three weeks to make a decision, and, ideally, the quicker the better, as I'm already scheduling appointments for January (yikes!). How are you organizing your day and your life for 2012?