Lets take the stress out of planners
March 31, 2016
(the diary entry in the second photo is Stitch and bitch, which we hold in our local pub. I'm not calling anyone a bitch, lol)
I wanted to do another planner update to dispel some of the stories I read when setting up and embarking on my planner journey and sharing a few top tips I've found along the way. Your planner must work for you and you need to be happy with how to record appointments and events. My planner is still evolving as I find bits to add that make my life easier.
A commenter on one blog planner post I read suggested using mini post it tabs to record events or appointments that may change. That way you can move them around and only write them in pen on the day or even after the event. I love this top tip!!
Blogging is not my business but I enjoy it and since returning to blogging last year I've been wanting to be a little more organised and clear about my blog content. So I went on a search for some printables to enable me to blog better. Scattered Squirrel has some great free printables and the month on a page calendar is perfect for high level blogging ideas. I've added them behind the tabbed month on two page spread. How well does March coordinate with the Carpe Diem Planner!!
Then I needed a more detailed level of planning aid and these printables from Five Sixteenths work so well. She also has calendar pages but I don't need the notes margin on the side. I don't usually make extensive notes on each blog post so a page or half page is a waste for me, however I can use a whole page for a very detailed post like this one.
It's never too late to add a page to your planner. For April I wanted to try an expense tracker. If it works it will stay, if not it will go :)
In the beginning I wasn't go to go with the coloured pens and colour co-ordinated keys etc etc. But three months in I dug out a pack of fineliners and thought I would give them a try. Because I need to have them handy I'm using a little clutch bag that my mom gave me years ago (she used to keep her old passports in it and I clearly remember it from my childhood) to keep the pens and my journal cards and stickers in. The pocket inside the front cover was getting rather full and this seemed a better plan. This year is all about the journey to a 'planner that works for me' and not about getting it right on day 1 (and getting fed up when it isn't!).
I used to worry that I have 'white space' on my planner. Sometimes a day in a week is totally blank - no plans or chores. Now I see that as a blessing as it means I have extra knitting/crochet time! How can that not be a good thing. Oh and it's a great spot to pop a sticker, lol.
One of the 'no-no's' I read about often is adding events after they happen. I guess you're not planning properly if you're always adding appointments/events after they've happened. And yes this is true, but it's not the end of the world. If you get to the end of the week and find you're filling in all the gaps with things that have already happened, then perhaps your scheduling time is not in the right place. I'm lucky to have an hour each Monday evening to myself where I can spend time working on the coming week. As well as being time I have away from home chores and work with nothing else to do, it makes sense to me to plan my week on a Monday. But that's not a rule and it doesn't matter when you plan your weeks so long as it works for YOU!
Choosing what to plan is also as flexible and adaptable as you need it to be. I don't plan my meals for the week. I have a list of meals on the notice board in the kitchen that I use to do the grocery shop and then just decide each morning what to make for that day. It's not something I need to record or want to think about too much so it's not going in my planner.
I tried to incorporate a knitting/crochet journal/planner into this one but it's not worked for me so I had to find an alternative which you can read about here. This new planner has fit into my yarn craft life perfectly!
Don't stress about content and getting it right first time. Learn to adapt and make this work for you, we all have different expectaions and needs from our planner. This is the only way I have managed to get three months of planning under my belt. And still LOVE it!
That said I am NO expert. These are my own thoughts and what things have helped me get comfortable and into good habits.
Happy planning and unless I find something fabulous to share, I probably won't do another undate until the end of the year.
Ciao xx