Available in both hard copy and electronic versions, the day planner often functions as a tool to help persons organize a busy schedule, keep track of upcoming events, and maintain a list of ongoing commitments or tasks that must be accomplished on a recurring basis.
The day planner has long been a staple of both the home and the office. Manufacturing plants have used day planners as a means of keeping up with production schedules, using the device to determine how much of a particular lot of goods has to be produced in order to meet a client order on time. A manufacturing day planner can also be used to schedule out the machinery that must be used in the process, as well as the amount of raw materials and labor required to handle the creation of the goods to meet the commitment.
Around the home, a day planner is helpful on a number of levels. The typical day planner for the individual will include sections for each day of the year. The sections are usually large enough to write in social commitments, items that must be accomplished on or by a certain date, and a standard calendar for important events over the course of a month. Along with calendars and space for note, day planners often are equipped with address books that include room for such important data as names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and special dates, such as birthdays and anniversaries.
While the hard copy format for the day planner is still immensely popular, the advent of the Internet has made it possible to maintain an electronic day planner as well. These virtual day planner software packages incorporate all the features in a traditional day planner, and often also include the ability to link over to different sections in the program, entering data in more than one section at a time. While there are inexpensive day planner software packages on the market today, many people make use of free day planners that are sometimes included as part of the services provided by an Internet service provider or with an email service.
