Family Friendly Working » diary reviews

Find Out About Womans Work

Stephanie — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 08:00:36 +0000

If you want to know about Networking, News, Events, Training and Opportunities, check out the Notebooks at the www.womanswork.co.uk website ready to download and save to your desktop.The Notebooks are created for women in business in counties including Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex, Cambridge, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Lincolnshire and now Northamptonshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. You can download as many as you like, especially useful if you live on the border of a neighbouring county.

And submit your news and events to be covered in the August edition by 23rd July, sooner if possible.

Twitter: womansworkuk for deadline updates

www.womanswork.co.uk

Diary Review: The 2010 Dodo Pad

admin — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 09:07:32 +0000

The 2010 Dodo Pad is a quirky addition to the plethora of calendars and diaries available at this time of year. The theme of this one is that of the flightless bird, and that alone is a reason to consider this as something to organise your time with.

In fact it is more than just a diary or a planner. It’s a whole book for year-long entertainment. In fact on the cover there is the statement that it’s “a combined memo-doodle-engage-diary-message-ment” book. And the insides do not disappoint.

For instance there are significant dates on every page, such as on July 11 the birth of the man that gave us the ‘Give Way’ sign. And on October 16 the traditional start of Duck-Racing in Tuscany, poor things! There are also the usual dates for your diary such as Christmas, Easter and Clock-changing times.

Look out for National Doodle Day in March, and lots of Dodo facts and figures.
This ‘book’ is a treat and a delight as each week brings a different perspective on the World’s favourite extinct, flightless bird. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to be a little different from all of those more traditional diaries available at this time of year.

Overall Review Mark: 4/5

Dodo pads are available on Amazon RRP £10.99, but prices start at £6.86 at time of writing.

Reviewed by Will Roney of bookworm73.wordpress.com/

Diary Review: Little Bird Diary 2010

admin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:06:02 +0000

A little bird told me… … that Little Bird is the newest range of diaries from the well-loved Organised Mum family of diaries and organisers. But does live up to the other great diaries in the Organised Mum range?

I’ve been using the Life Book Diary for a number of years and rate it highly. Creater of Organised Mum and Little Bird Sarah Sadler says of the Little Bird Diary, “This is the diary I would have made first, if I knew then what I know now” and I can see what she means. We love:

the flexible cover which looks robust enough to cope with a year in my handbag
the attractive design – I always like stationery to be visually appealing.
an elastic and two ribbons to keep your place.
the classic element of all products from Organised Mum, plenty of space for to do lists and menus.
the tear out lists section at the back.
the month at a glance planner for the year.

We’d like to see the year planner extended to the following year, allowing you space to slot in future events.

If you use up every scrap of space in your diary and have a large family with varied appointments, you may prefer the Organised Mum range, but for anyone who wants a handbag-friendly diary which still has plenty of space, try the new Little Bird diary. It costs £13.99 from www.organised-mum.co.uk

And if you have yet to get a diary, leave a comment below about why Little Bird would be the diary for you: I’ll send the diary I have to the person who makes the best one.

Diary Review: Mum’s Office Big Family Diary

admin — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 11:32:16 +0000

If you’ve yet to get your 2010 diary, check in to the Family Friendly Working blog as we’ll be looking at some of the best diaries for busy mums over the next few days. First up for review is the Mum’s Office The Big Family Diary 2010.

We like:

the page at the back to write your passwords for your favourite websites. Ideal for anyone prone to logging themselves out of sites - just don’t let anyone get their hands on you diary.
the way the diary is totally designed for the family. The initial section is all about ‘our family’, with space for everyone’s details. There is a page for Mum’s information and one for Dad too … I suspect you will be able to count on the fingers of one hand the number of families where both parents use the diary equally.
the page for class contacts – vital for any mum managing a busy child’s social life.
the fact that the diary has info pages for up to five children.
the sense of humour behind pages like ‘in case I lose my mobile’ – aka the address pages.
the robust plastic outer covers and spiral binding which should ensure the diary lasts the year.

We’d like to see more:

fun and humour in the design – the pages and cover are pretty dull really compared to the other diaries we’ll be looking at.

Overall, this is a great practical diary for a busy family. It costs £12 from www.mumsoffice.co.uk or Amazon

And if you haven’t yet got a diary, and would like to win this one, comment below and tell me why you think it would help!