For quite a long time now, I have been an electronic planner person, but late into last year, I just found it wasn't working for me as well as it had been previously. This made me think about going back to the good, old fashioned paper planner, and since I have, I honestly haven't looked back. I think that a full blown stationery obsession, coupled with a mind that simply works better when I physically write things down, has combined to create a system that seems to working much better for me.
I had used a MomAgenda in the past, but the reason it fell out of favour for me was that it was just too big, and so it didn't fit in all my bags, and just became too cumbersome to carry around all the time. And this is really a key point - for any diary system to work, paper or digital, you need to always have it with you. While browsing in kikki-k, I came across the most gorgeous lilac and gold leather planner in medium (it's 50% off at the moment!) that looked large enough to actually write things in, but not so large that I wouldn't tote it around with me. I also added a little pencil case designed to strap over a planner (from Officeworks) to contain my coloured pens (more on that later!).
When you first open up my planner, I have a little motivational quote that I swap out weekly in front of my personal info page. This quote card is also from kikki-k, from a little set of quote cards I picked up on clearance. I also have some fun shaped paper clips in case I need to clip loose pieces of paper in while I am out and about, to keep them safe until I get home and can punch them in.
After my info page, I have my daily docket. This one is from The Polkadot Posie Printables and includes half the page dedicated to the schedule for the day, as well as a little meal planning box, and a To-Do list. I've added in downloadable "To Call" and "To Clean" stickers downloaded from and printed at home.
After a homemade divider, I then have a section dedicated to my health and fitness goals, as this is a real focus for me this year. The first page is a daily "My Healthy Day" tracker from Lime Tree Fruits that is a great visual summary for me - it includes drinking water, fruit and veg consumption, exercise, mind and soul, to name just a few.
Next is my goal tracker, also from The Polkadot Posie Printables, which I am using to track my long term health goals. What I love about this tracker is that while it lists your long term goals, it also breaks them down into monthly goals, something I think makes your goals so much more achievable. I love the little motivational quote as well!! I'm all about the quotes at the moment!!
In this section, I also have the weightloss tracker, measurement tracker, and a fitness calender, which were all part of the Health and Fitness Planner set (together with the goal tracker above) from The Polkadot Posie Printables. I use the fitness tracker to document how many steps I have taken each day (with the aim of consistently achieving at least 10000 daily) as well as what exercise classes I have taken.
Next is my monthly calendar section, also from Polkadot Posie Printables. I don't refer to this section every day, more like once a week, but it is great for longer range planning. I've decorated it with washi tape, taping out the bottom of each day that is a school holiday.
My final main section is my weekly diary, and this I refer to many times per day. I'm not sure why, but I didn't love the insert the planner came with, so I swapped it out for one from Filofax. Each Sunday night, I sit down and review the coming week, and decorate it with washi tape, stickers and quotes. I love how bright and cheerful it looks! The stickers are a mix, and include motivational and puffy cute little stickers from kikki-k, printable workout icon stickers from The Gifted Pepper, and my Flylady cleaning zone printable sticker from Juicebox Creations.
I also colour code all the entries so I can see visually at a glance who each diary entry refers to. Pink is for my daughter, blue for my son, purple for me, and green for entries that involve both the kids or the family. Colour coding has made a huge difference to the workability of my planner.
So there you have my planner setup for the new year. I would love to hear whether you have switched to digital, or you can't get enough of paper like me!
Linking to these fabulous linkys.
Labels: lifestyle, organising