Franklin Planner

The Franklin Planner is a paper-based time management system created by Hyrum W. Smith. It is marketed by the FranklinCovey company. Physically it consists of a ring binder holding specially designed loose leaf pages. Divided by monthly tabs between the pages and accepting a wide variety of specialized accessories and inserts, the core idea is to consolidate tasks and appointments along with personal records in one place for improved personal information management by eliminating "floating pieces of paper."

Named for Benjamin Franklin who famously kept a small private book as detailed in his autobiography, the planner comes in five sizes Monarch (8.5x11", 216x280 mm), Classic (5.5x8.5", 140x216 mm), Compact (4.5x6.75",108x172 mm), Pocket (3.5x6", 89x153 mm) and Micro. The standard daily section of the planner has two pages per day and has areas for a prioritized task list, agenda of appointments and a daily record of events (diary) page. A key section at the rear of the book contains addresses. Other inserts include ledger sheets for tracking finances or vehicle mileage, exercise logs and other individualized reference materials. A core technique to the Franklin Planner system is to begin each day with fifteen minutes of "solitude and planning."

Because of its overall design, the Franklin-Covey system lends itself to use as a tickler file, as well as a long-range planner. Most annual versions of the page inserts for the Franklin system include yearly calendars for at least five years; future monthly calendars for at least three years; and then the current year's pages and associated monthly calendars for planning. When used as a total package, the system provides a means of tracking minute details; storage of signed agreements (especially if pages are archived in the archival binders); and tracking of business and personal expenses for taxes.

FranklinCovey markets the planner heavily to government and corporate workers in the United States, with a business strategy that creates revenue from sales of seminars, books, stationery and luxury-grade accessories.

The Franklin Day Planner was first produced in 1984. It was followed by a time management workshop, which emphasized clarification of personal values, priorities and mission. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, was published in 1989, and training and consulting based on its concepts were developed for this and First Things First in 1994. Ancillary software products were also created for Palm OS and Microsoft Windows in the late 1990s, promoted at specialized Franklin Covey retail stores. Although there were 125 such stores in January 1999, many have closed in favor of retail sales through Office Depot, Staples, Office Max and licensed variants such as the "DayOne" line at Wal-Mart.