For some, a day planner or a Filofax is preferable to a wall calendar because it�s portable.

Erica Ecker, a.k.a. the Spacialist (www.thespacialist.com), is a New York City-based organizational specialist who recommends writing birthdays in a day planner with a colored marker. "Pick a unique color," she says, "so that when you go to rewrite the dates for the next year, the birthdays stand out."

Ecker also inserts mini Post-it notes as "birthday alarms." Insert one in the planner a few days ahead of the first birthday for which you would like to send a card. This way, you'll get the card in the mail on time. Once you've done that, move the Post-it ahead in the book to a few days before the next important birthday.

If rewriting birthdays feels like too much of a chore, jot down birthdays on the tabbed section dividers before each month in your day planner. Then you can simply pull out the dividers the following year and place them before each month in your new planner.