Planner Culture

Last week I talked about getting back into the swing of using a planner. I didn't put too much effort into researching what was out when I chose mine because I didn't know there was a whole culture of planner addicts like myself out there.  There are several aspects that go into determining your planner style. I'd like to go through some here for those of you considering changing your current style or those of you who've never used a planner and want to make a more informed decision. Buckle in, it's a bit of a lengthy post.

Vertical vs. Horizontal
There are typically two types of layouts that you can choose from and not all planner companies offer both options. A horizontal layout may be favored if you like to be more descriptive when scheduling your day.  You could also use this format to monopolize on space by lining down the middle, as shown in the second picture here.  Then you could divide the day between home and work or day and night, or any other combo you might prefer. 
If you prefer more of a list format, then a vertical planner might make more sense. Some of them come with hour blocks already incorporated, but either way, you could still do some kind of alternative split.  I used washi tape to cover up the printed hours on my planner.  I found that I like the vertical layout, but didn't want to be restricted to the hours and decided to break up the days into different categories.

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All Rights Reserved

Dated vs. Undated
You can choose to go with an Academic year planner, where the beginning month is typically August. Or you can choose a Calendar year planner, where the beginning month is January.  At this point in time I gravitate toward calendar year, but I imagine I will transition to academic year once the kids begin elementary school. I imagine the feeling of when my year begins will start to shift in line with school because of all the activities that come along with that.

The advantages of a dated planner include being able to journal a bit on each particular day to have a record of not only what you did, but maybe how you felt, or a memory you want to have logged in writing.

The advantages of an undated planner include being able to spill over into another day if you need the extra room. You can also explore your creativity by writing the dates in a fun new way. If you've gotten into learning script lettering or modern calligraphy, putting in the dates yourself can be a way for you to practice different styles.  Lastly you can also use fun and themed stickers, which I'll get into down below.

White Space vs. No White Space
First, let me introduce you to the planner term, "spread." The word spread in planner lingo simply refers to the way you organize your layouts for the month, week, and/or day.  If you do a search for "planner spreads" in google images, you will see exactly what I'm talking about. What primarily comes up are the Erin Condren or Happy Planner spreads people have shared.  Essentially, it's the before or after of what your week looks like, after being organized, written and out, and more than likely stickerfied, (yes, I'm making that a word 😎). 

Those who like to giver their planners more of a journal or scrapbook feel tend to use sticker kits to cover up all the white space. They write on top of the sticker, rather than just leaving that space empty to write on. If you're aesthetic is more streamline, you may be okay with having white space and maybe only using the occasional decorative element.

If you want to geek out with me, there are also "plan with me" videos you can search for to get ideas about how you may want your spread to look. There's something oddly satisfying about watching others seemingly getting their lives in order while they fill out their planners 😌. Just be sure to indicate in your search which planner you're curious about, otherwise all of the initial searches are bullet journals.

Stickers - Functional vs. Decorative (or both!)
Now onto my favorite part of planning, STICKERS!! I have awakened the inner child in me when the days of Lisa Frank brightened every corner of my binder, notebook, diary, and anywhere else I could think of to put a sticker.

Remember these beauties 😍! I went nuts when it came to wanting these stickers all the time! I have awakened that desire as an adult with planner stickers. I absolutely LOVE using stickers in my planner, but tend to lean toward the cute functional ones. There are stickers that help you make lists, track habits, stay on top of bills, and just about anything you can think of to organize. I tend to lean toward a combination of functional and decorative, specifically kawaii stickers.  Kawaii is the culture of cuteness in Japan.  These kinds of stickers can be people or a number of objects personified with a face which has the eyes and mouth close together and they don't have a nose.  Here are a few examples from my personal stash.

The first picture shows a couple of my kawaii functional stickers I use for lists and meal planning.  The second picture shows strictly functional stickers.  The last picture are some kawaii fall drink decorative stickers.  Can you tell, I can't wait for fall y'all 🍁🎃🍵! The cute cups are actually extras from a sheet that included the same cups, but with numbers, so I can use them as dates for my weekly spreads in November.  Can you guess which design I chose for October?

I just love opening up my planner and seeing all these happy little face looking at me.  It helps to relieve the overwhelming feeling that might accompany seeing a weeks worth of stuff to get done.  Whatever your style might be, I recommend searching Etsy for a variety of options.  If you like anything you've seen in the pictures above, the Etsy shop names are printed on the sheets.  The mugs are also from A Happy Blue Tree, which happens to be my favorite shop 😍! Let me know in the comments below which style (functional, decorative, or both) you would prefer.  Below is a closeup of one of my weekly spreads.

                       

Writing Instruments - One color vs. Color-coded

These options are also based on your own personal aesthetic.  You can choose to keep everything written in black or blue and use your stickers to infuse color and be the more functional aspect of your system. Or you can choose to use colored markers or pencils to color code your tasks and opt for black and white stickers, there are plenty out there. If you're super minimalist, strictly black ink and B&W stickers may sound appealing.

In any case, no matter which way you're leaning, don't go crazy with committing to a style you think will work for you right out of the gate.  Just experiment until you find what works for you!  I'm still trying to figure out where I am with organizing my spread and to color-code or not to color-code is my burning question.

Next week I'll do a "plan with me" style blog to walk you through how I organize my weeks; including what items are absolutely non-negotiable and which are flexible. Let me know in the comments if there's anything else you would like to know. Thanks for your patience in getting this post out to you.  Enjoy your three-day weekend!

My Planner Obsession

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation and do not receive any profits for purchases of the items listed in this post.

In college I was a devout planner user.  I used a very simple planner provided by my university and colorful ballpoint pens to make sure I stayed on track with every avenue of life.  It was organized, color-coded, and helped to maintain my sanity because my chaos was cleverly curated in those pages. Along with working all of my adult life, I was also in school up until I was pregnant with my daughter.  After two bachelor's programs and a master's program I moved from school to married life to family life.
My last transition sent me into a tailspin.  I basically flew by the seat of my pants, working things out as I went along.  Now I had a tiny human to work into my life and I let go of all the systems I had created, including the planner I religiously used upon starting college.

Fast forward four years later and I was still having trouble feeling organized and was still feeling overwhelmed. I missed myself and I missed feeling put together. My husband kept trying to get me on board with his systems, but I kept pushing back. Going back to my previous post, I kept trying out all these different ways to "find" or rather center myself by finding an activity that could satisfy my creativity and push me to begin to streamline all the thoughts running around in my head.  I'm so distracted most of the time because I'm always thinking about the next thing I have to do.

Then I discovered Bullet Journals last year.  I thought I had found my solution. I think it such a non-linear way. If could take a picture of my thought process, it would appear similar to the image you see when you open up your junk drawer.  You know that drawer that everyone has that's the catch all for everything you think doesn't have a place. You swear you know exactly what's in there, and as you search for one thing, you get distracted by discovering the item you were looking for, but couldn't find, from two weeks ago. Then proceed to forget the original item for which you were searching. That's what my thought process can sometimes feel like.  So the bullet journal seemed like a wonderful solution to organizing all the squirrels in my head.

It's essentially a blank journal that allows you to exercise your creativity to keep yourself organized in a stream of consciousness type format.  You may have a weekly spread on one page and a running list of books you plan to read on the next.  Then you pick right back up on the following page with your next weekly spread. If you watch the video from the link above, it does a good job of explaining the purpose and functionality of a bullet journal. I ended up moving away from it because I was fighting the artist in me to make these elaborate spreads, but didn't always have the time to do so. I ultimately decided this option didn't work for my lifestyle. It's great for creative folks who crave constant change and want a planner/journal combination.

I decided a planner that was already formatted for me, but with room to add my own flair would be the best option. I had purchased a planner, created by Brit + Co, for Target. It was the perfect set up. It's undated, has plenty of room to write, and has a section for notes. It includes a monthly spread and a weekly spread. 

Because this planner was a temporary item for Target, I searched eBay to find some more blank ones, already committing myself to plan for the next two years with this format. Afterward a friend of mind introduced me to Inkwell Press LiveWELL Planners and I couldn't believe what I was missing out on! It offers space for planning yearly goals and connects them so that you are conscious of tracking and thinking about your goals on a monthly basis. They offer vertical and horizontal layouts, tabbed pages, and a pocket in the back to hold stickers, notes, or whatever you want to keep with your planner. 

There are a number of other leading planners out there that people are just devoted to: Erin Condren, Simplified Planner, The Happy Planner, and Living Well Spending Less to name a few. Check them out and comment below as to which looks like the best fit for you and why. If you're already an avid planner user, comment with which one you use and why you love it so much. It would be nice to get a variety of opinions to help each other out!  This post is so much longer than I had planned it to be so come back for next week's post where I'll cover the ins and outs of using a planner and planner accessories (squeals with joy)!

Starting Over For the Last Time

I started this blog many moons ago as a way to feed my need for expressing my
creativity. Then I cycled through an Etsy shop, an MLM, and probably lots of other
ventures that I left by the wayside. You see, that’s been my modus operandi for a
long time and I don’t like it.  I’m ashamed of it quite honestly. I’ve finally decided it’s
time to get my life where I want it to be.

I wish I could tell you there was some miraculous convergence of events that led me
to change my outlook, but there wasn’t.  If I think long and hard about it, it has to do
with my returning to work. Long story short, I worked full-time and was enrolled in
college completing a second bachelor's degree up until I had my first child, a beautiful
baby girl.  Then, together, my husband and I decided I would stay home without any
intention of ever going back to work. At least not to a 8-5 kind of job. Which worked
out at first because 7 months after our daughter was born, we found out we were
pregnant with our son.

I basically flew by the seat of my pants when it came to managing two under two
and the household chores. In my work and school days I was a religious planner
user. Once I made the transition to staying home I didn’t think a planner was
necessary because my schedule was now ruled by tiny humans who didn’t
understand the concept of time or my need for organization. Fast forward three
years later and I was feeling overwhelmed with managing a household of four as
well as feeling like I had lost all sense of self. I didn’t feel like an individual anymore.

Coincidentally, a position became available in my old office and
after discussing things with my husband, I decided to go for it. I needed to feel as
though I was contributing to society on a larger scale; albeit the biggest and hardest job
with an enormous impact we can ever have is being a parent, I still needed to restore
my sense of self.  Last year I got back into the working world and I started to feel better.
I was connecting with adults, who have become great friends, on a regular basis and
contributing to society. Yet, I still felt like I hadn’t gotten myself on any kind of path
connecting me to that sense of self.

Fortunately returning to work helped me begin to form connections that were positive and
encouraging and I somehow found the motivation to truly make an effort to find my happy self. The old wives tale is true, if mom’s not happy, nobody's happy. My frustrations and unhappiness
radiated from my body and at times infected my kids and my husband. My husband is a true
purveyor of self help. He reads all the books, listens to all the podcasts and encouraged me
to do the same, yet I continued to push back. I didn’t want to hear it. I wanted to figure it out
myself. I slowly, my husband would probably equate to to a snail's pace started to come around and listen to a few podcasts. With these new messages I began to allow myself to hear, in
combination with the positive influence of my coworkers, I started to make changes to my life
that have led me to this post here.

I plan to share with you my journey through personal growth including: fitness, my planner
obsession renewed, my reading corner, and a host of “favorites” posts, in hopes of offering
some inspiration to those who may feel where I once was. I don’t warrant myself a life coach or
proof of concept, by no means am I completely where I want to be. Quite frankly, I don’t know
that I want to be in a place where I am 100% satisfied with myself. I want to continue to grow
and ask myself what I can do to be better and hopefully inspire all of you to do the same.