Planner ladies...clue me in!!!
 

I swore I wouldn't start another project....but I keep seeing posts on Pinterest about bullet journaling in a Planner. So now I feel the need to get the scoop. What is this Planner craze really all about? How do you use your planner? Does anyone bullet journal?

Some one bring this old lady into the present. Ha,ha,ha:wub:

I'm interested in this too!

I bought the inkwell press planner for 2016 and love it. The bullet journal tving never send right for me though, I just split my days into to parts instead. One for tasks and one for appointments. Then there is a handy 3 way split coloumn on the side to track stuff like water, steps, food, workout or whatever you'd like.

Definitely wanting to jump on the planner train this year, but still not sure what type of planner to get. I think I want a ring binder so that I can create planner pages digitally and then print them out. Right now I'm looking at the Carpe Diem set by Simple Stories. Given that 2016 starts on Friday, I should probably get my act together!

so... is this current planner craze any different from the [Franklin] planner craze from 20 years ago?? I tried doing one back then... and found I was an epic failure in the "planning" department.

I have no idea. I just am trying to figure out if it's all about decorating your planner with cute stuff or actually using the planner to plan out your life. The bullet journaling I've seen seems to be about making lists (that I can do!) and categorizing them by color. You can use the system to make notes on things you don't want to forget (which is especially good for those of us over 40 who don't even know why we just walked in to the room.)

I need a way to plan out my time, keep track of things that happened each day at work (when decisions were made, who I visited, meetings,etc) and keep track of everything going on with the kids and Jason at home. I have a feeling I'm going to need to create my own pages or my own method.

I keep a planner but I'm not over-the-top cool about it. I'm actually moving from my Arc planner (gasp!) to the Passion Planner this year. I asked dh for it. I'm trying to be more goal-oriented instead of task-oriented. I don't decorate and all that stuff.

It's about both! I have two SS Carpe Diems that I switch back and forth from depending on if I want coral or robin's egg that month ( I also have the much-coveted limited edition gold kikki k and hot pink Filofax - neither of which I could fall in love with because the inserts are awful and not "pretty". The Carpe Diem is GORGEOUS - and yes, I'm biased haha)

I decorate the monthly spread like so:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...psezlstodo.jpg

And then do a little decorating on my weekly overview:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...psihsofje9.jpg

But I don't decorate - and I use the heck out of my daily pages:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...psfelrevit.jpg

I also have extra tabs in mine for meal planning, kids chores, bill paying, work, inspiration and fitness tracking, which you can kinda see on the side here:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...pswkscrxnq.jpg

This is my fitness tracking sheet that I designed and is free on my blog :)

http://tracireed.com/news/wp-content...d-Designs3.jpg

I loooooove the look of planners. I love the idea of them. I just know that every time I've tried to use a planner, I fizzle out after a few weeks. Partly because I just don't DO a lot that needs planning, and partly because I just never seem to have it around.

But that doesn't stop me from really, really wanting one. :D :thumbup:

this. so much this.
I want one so badly! But I know I won't use it like I'm supposed to!

I don't have time for all the decorative nonsense lol (even though deep down I envy the idea of it and would love to try it.) I have a planner that I use regularly but it's nothing fancy. I do color code my appointments, daily stuff, etc. I need to get something bigger than my current one just so I can cram more junk into it lol.

I've tried to be all cutesy with my planners but I don't have the time haha! I use a planner because it's about writing it down (same for lists). If I write it down, I remember. I used a ECLP for a year or 2 then went to another one that's similar but it has additional LDS stuff which is needed for my calling and family life. This is my 3rd years with that one and I love it!


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Traci - this is AWESOME!!

I also got the Carpe Diem Planner this year. I am using it, but not finding alot of time to make it cutesy. I am a lister, so have to have a paper and pen to do that. I still put all of my appointments in my phone, and put more to do lists and project life notes and things like that in the planner. Love all the cutesy, even going to make some stickers, but probably won't get too carried away. I have always LOVED paper planners. :)

Thank you!

So Traci where is this hockey kit you mentioned on your to do list? Why is there no X next to it?

[QUOTE=Traci Reed;1062790363]
[IMG]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...psfelrevit.jpg

This is helpful to see. I started with a planner again last year. Kind of fell off the wagon but am ready to start again (because it did really help to have things written down).

What do you do with tasks that don't get finished on a certain day? Do you leave them and go back or do you transfer them to the next day?

This is the method I sort of used last year and it worked for me. I don't have specific colored stickers for certain things (mainly because I don't want extras). But the colored sticker method helps to see when there is a deadline. But I haven't yet perfected the system for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtS6qnSYUSA

I just ordered one online, and 2016 will be the year I get back to a pen-and-paper planner! I used to have a planner (we called it "schedules") when I was in high school... everyone had them. In college I just had everything in my head, by at the rate my memory is going, it's really time for me to have an actual planner again.

The Carpe Diem planners are 40% off on Blitsy now, plus you get $10 off the first time you order... I wish I had waited, but I already got my Happy Planner coming. Can't justify 2 planners yet!!

I have a Personal Filofax and an A5 Filofax. The Personal goes with me on a daily basis and houses mostly my calendar stuff, the A5 is more "business" related and stays home. The A5 is for bills, PL planning, etc....

For both I have used Marcy Penner's inserts but she changed it this year so I am not sure what I will use. Not caring for her new setup which is monthly. I like having the whole year, so I can print out a few months at a time. For right now, I have removed the dates from her calendar pages and just filled them in.

[QUOTE=scrap2day;1062790390]I pretty much never get everything done so I just transfer them to the next day. This was yesterday end of day so all the unchecked stuff is on today.

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I have a planner at work and then I use an ARC system for home. I plan on really writing more things down in 2016 so I can stay on FOCUS with my goals.

I'm a paper planner girl and have been since like high school. I just suck at remembering and getting stuff done without one. I've tried aps, websites, etc and I NEED paper.

I've been a ECLP girl for a year and a half. I decorate some, but I'm not totally crazy. I prefer function stickers. I do hit up the Hobby Lobby sticker isle from time to time, but don't usually use cutesy stickers too much.

I do bullet journaling. I LOVE it. I like the look of pretty planners but I don't use them. They end up being a total waste for me. My bullet journal does get used. I don't decorate it at all. I don't do anything special to it. I just use it. It is perfect. It keeps me organized without being fussy. If I decided one month to dress up my pages I could, but I don't feel like I need to.

Yes, yes. Inquiring minds want to know.....



I have the Get To Work Book from Elise Cripe.
I use a pencil.
It works.
End of story.

I love keeping track of my life on my phone. I have an awesome to-do app, and I've made everything work for me electronically. I do love the look of the paper planners, but I know I would stink at decorating it, and honestly, I think I just do better with an electronic system. I always have my phone with me. I would hate having to haul a planner around.

I had a Franklin planner back in the day and I used it a lot, but that was before PDAs became popular. As soon as I was able to go electronic, I did, and I've never looked back.

I do love my half-sheet-sized notepads that I keep on my desk. I use them for all sorts of things when I just need to jot something down that doesn't need a home in my regular system.

I want that work book!

I :wub: using a paper planner. I've tried so many calendar and list making apps, and when life was less busy they worked fine. But a year and a half ago (right about the time I went back to work) I threw in the towel and went back to a paper planner. It works much better for me. I use it to keep track of appointments and special days, things I need to get done, work commitments, and school/activity calendars.

I love the way pages look decorated, but I'm very hit or miss with it. Over the summers, when I'm not teaching and have more free time, I do some decorating with washi and a few stickers. When life is busy, I don't decorate at all. I like the way my planner looks decorated more than I like the actual decorating, so for 2016 I did something different. I digiscrapped 12 undated inserts, one for each month. Then I got a year's worth printed. So I have 1 design for all of Jan, 1 for Feb, etc. I think it will be the perfect compromise for me, having pretty pages to use without having to put in the weekly work to make them that way.

I use a week-on-2-pages system. So as long as I'm still on that 2-page spread, I leave things on their original day and know I will see them. If something hasn't gotten done by the time I need to turn the page, that's when I transfer it. Some of the planner girls I follow on Instagram like to put their more fluid to dos on a post it. Then if they don't get done, they just move the post it over.

I totally jumped on the Carpe Diem bandwagon for 2016! I'm excited to use it, but kind of nervous! I fizzled out after March this year because my babe was born. I'm hoping to go full force this year!!

I'm not a fancy planner user. I have a mini three ring binder and a monthly calendar and other random pages for organizing that I have printed off and use. I do keep track of things with different colored pens but that is about as fancy as I get. I also continue to use my phone because let's face it, my planner does not have an alert setting and there are times I don't remember to look in my planner but if it is in my phone I won't miss it because reminds me. I really should go back to paper and pen only before my brain totally turns to mush.

I tried bullet journaling a couple of years ago and it just didn't work for me.

I've always had paper planners, even though I love Google Calendar and notes on my phone, I need to have pen and paper to really stay organized.

I prefer bound planners, I switched to Inkwell Press this year and haven't really dived in yet. I do like to decorate some but my planners are practical, so I tend to keep things pretty simple, a few stamps, some washi. My planner this year is a different format from what I've used previously so I'm not quite sure how it's going to play out yet.

LOL it'll come this month for sure :) Not this week though, I need more time to dedicate to awesome illustrations ;)

[QUOTE=Traci Reed;1062790393]Thanks!

Thank you! Don't know why I didn't think more about post its.

I have an ECLP for the second year. I love it! I do decorate but it is also very functional. I love looking at a pretty page but still being able to write what I need to do. I do three sections per day, Work/To Do, Today, and Little Things. I use a lot of functional stickers. I also use it as a notebook to track things, like my habits, wishlists, challenges. I have felt much more organized since using it. I love it.

This is my decorating for this week - since my daily pages are where the majority of my planning goes, this is where I go nuts ;)

https://scontent.fsjc1-3.fna.fbcdn.n...ab&oe=56FCFE90

This is what I use except I use the Frixion erasable pens & highlighters instead of pencil. Pencil is too smudgy as a lefty. :D I also don't decorate my planner - I get distracted easily enough, I don't need to add to it, haha.


I do this too except I use a different color highlighter for each day and then I'll cross off older tasks with the color of they day they are finished. For example, Monday may end up with tasks highlighted Red, Yellow & Blue if I finished them later in the week. I only duplicate tasks if they aren't done by the end of the week.

Also I tried bullet journaling and found it wasn't robust enough for me but it did get me hooked on using a Moleskine for my non-planner notebook.

Frixion pens are the only ones I use in my planner. Until now I've only had black, but my planner splurge this year was a metal Frixion pen that holds 3 colors. I'm waiting on light blue and dark pink ink (from Jet Pens) to use with the black.

For anyone who tries Frixion pens, just know that they're heat sensitive because of how they erase. If you leave your planner in a hot car, the ink can "disappear." If it ever happens, it should reappear if you put the planner in the freezer.

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Oh that's hilarious. I could see myself freaking out that all of my notes "disappeared" and then the reactions of my family finding my planner in the freezer. I too have the frixion pens but haven't used them much yet. I will definitely take the tip to not leave in a hot car.

Here is an example of half of a decorated week from this week. I don't have a lot on there since the week between Christmas and New Year's is kind of a dead week for my work, so it is a little more decorative than usual.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38...ps7nszjeic.jpg

So I joined a few Planner groups on FB....goodness! I'm not sure I'm crazy enough to do this planner thing. LOL!

Thanks for everyone explaining their approach. My approach will be super simple until I see if I can stick with it or not. Traci - I just love your pages and love seeing how much you can get done in a day.

Not much to choose from here unfortunately. Unless I order international :( looking at this one which I can buy, anyone tried the Heidi Swapp ones?

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/12...9ebe9cfdcb.jpg

I got the Carpe Diem in Aqua, 41% off right now & they ship international for a very reasonable price too. http://blitsy.com/events/simple-stor...rs-accessories

I had to try the freezer thing after I made my colour chart. I had the bright idea to laminate it, not thinking about the fact that a laminator uses heat to seal the plastic around the paper. So all my pretty swatches disapeared, but they came back after a little time in the freezer. So now you know that they do come back if you "loose" your notes by heat. lol

I think simple is the perfect way to start out. When I get overwhelmed trying to decorate things I tend to forget what the purpose is in the first place. That's why I kept my Dec Daily album really clean and simple.

This is very cool!

Thanks. It has taken a year to get the mix of decorative and functional but I am finally hitting my sweet spot.

This year my Christmas present to myself was the purposeful planner by Corrie Clark. I knew I wanted something spiral bound and something with a daily page for each day. With this planner I really fell in love with the format of the daily pages. It is really beautiful and I think simple enough that I'll be able to use it to just check in every morning and set my goals/plan my time...

I don't think I'll do a lot of decorating and such but I mean who knows, for me the goal is simply to get my life a little more orderly and to track what I'm doing each day and make reasonable goals for myself. (I did order some silhouette sticker paper though... LOL)

Here are some pictures of it in person, nothing is filled in yet because, well, it starts tomorrow, but I did do some of the goal setting work sheets at the beginning and I'm really excited! I literally just took these pics on my messy desk just now as you can see...

http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/...f93daf2c13.jpg

http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/...bfcd0265b7.jpg

http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/...debec6beab.jpg

For me limiting my self to just a pre-bound planner with daily pages seemed ideal, the less obsessing and decision making I can do the better... In addition to the daily spreads there are monthly spreads, no weekly, but honestly I always look at my weekly pages in other planners like little individual days and I find the transferring from month to week redundant so I'm hopeful it will be just what I need.... we will see!!

I've never seen that but I LOVE the daily pages!! I might need that one. Gosh...so many beautiful planners.

You should see the beautiful box it came in too! I'm going to use it for all my supply type things if i end up using any....

<3 shawna

I just saw it on the site! <3 It's beautiful!