Ahh, the run up to Christmas. People wondering what they'll give – and get! – on the 25th. And the shopping – tree, tinsel, stocking up on turkey and Brussels sprouts. All the important things that one has to get out of the way before the New Year.
Except for one thing. Most people forget that one thing. The thing that, come the New Year, they'll be walking around their office or home looking for. That they'll remember just when it's least convenient and then find out it's out of stock almost everywhere....
I am, of course, talking about yearly diaries. Those chronicles of our working (and personal lives) that we don't realise we miss until we don't have one.
We've been rather taken with Black n' Red diaries, Pink & Black diaries as well as the more standard Oxford diaries. (it may be the talk of christmas but these all sound like a strange selection of chocolates!)
Black n' Red, arguably one of the most recognisable stationery brands, have business diaries that complement their office notebooks and, perhaps even more importantly, add just a hint of colour, a dash of understated style, to any office desk.
Black n' Red's diaries have a specially designed page layout to help you manage your time more effectively. There's space for quick diary notes on the page (using a system called Quicknotes, cunningly), an area for you to prioritise that week's projects and a three-month rolling calendar at the start of each week. Now, from experience I know that having any sort of diary helps me organise my time better, so all that extra goodness packed into a Black n' Red diary sounds like it'd be fantastic.
So, we move from classic business diaries to something a bit softer. Still a diary meant for busy people, but one that's just as comfortable when it's out and about in fashionable areas, as it is getting down to some serious work; it's the svelte, the stylish Pink & Black diary range.
Pink & Black A5 diaries and pocket diaries have been designed to appeal to women, with a – you guessed it – pink and black colour scheme. They're handbag friendly diaries and like the Black n' Red diaries, the page layout is meant to make using your diary easier, plus the Pink & Black diary shares the Black n' Red's Quicknote feature.
Thankfully, we're able to move away from talking about 2010 diaries with colours in their name; we're going to look at Oxford diaries instead.
Unlike Red n' Black or Pink & Black diaries, Oxford's stationery isn't so much about looking good – though of course it's stylish – it's more about looking weighty, giving an impression of getting down to business. If this diary could speak, it would say things like 'I'll give you 50p for 75% of your business'. It's that tough.
I think my favourite Oxford diary, at least on this window shopping trip, is the Oxford Office 2010 diary. I like the look of it because it seems to come with diary gadgets – at least even more diary features than the diaries we've already mentioned. It's got a polypropylene cover, hint of the space age, and I'm intrigued by the sound of its 'elastic closure'. The stationery I use at the office; diaries, notebooks, pads etc., invariably end up with loose bits of paper, notes, sketches of ideas and so on. Yes, it makes me look incredibly productive, but when you're going to a meeting you don't particularly want to have errant bits of paper sliding out of your diary and ending up on the floor. So the idea that Oxford's 2010 office diary has an elastic twangy bit (technical term) that keeps loose pieces of paper in the diary is perfect for me. You know, ideas don't have to be convoluted or outlandish to be useful and practical. In that sense, the Oxford office diary is a perfect example of a simple format that's designed to work.
