I have had a love affair with planners and planning since middle school. I can’t ever remember a time when I didn’t have a planner or some type of agenda. Now that I am a wife and mother having a planner means so much more to me now. I have appointments and keeping a steady schedule are staples of my every day life. I have to keep my plans together and my schedule is very tight.
Back in 2014 I came across MAMBI (me and my big ideas) and the Happy Planner. I enjoyed this planner for years. It was fun an functional and I loved all the colors and designs. I went sticker and washi crazy. I collected so many planner stickers and accessories that I overwhelmed myself. “Comparison is the thief of joy” I don’t know who said it but it’s the truth. Instagram photos of other layouts and YouTube videos of other people’s planner left me very un-inspired because my planner didn’t look like theirs.
Needless to say, I eventually stopped using the planner and moved to a more minimal style to try and get my life together. I tried a lot of different minimal styles and companies until finally I decided to take matters into my own hands and create my own planner from scratch.
First, I decided on a size. A5 was a favorite of mine. I had enough room to write while still being portable. The classic Happy Planner was not travel friendly. Second, I decided on a style. I love how The Happy Planner was easily customizable but the pages would fall out and not sit right so, six rings became my favorite. Finally, I went on a hunt for inserts that were functional, minimal and straight to the point. I found a company called Cloth & Paper. Their inserts were beautifully simple and minimal. I fell in love.
After finding the inserts and size I enjoyed I went on a hunt for a beautiful binder. I found a small company, Notiq, that was also geared at a more minimal aesthetic. Most of all it was PINK! I know that seems like a vain reason to pick a binder but the beautiful, soft, pink blush really attracted me. I loved the weekly inserts so much that a bought a half-letter plan book, on gold discs, no less. I now have two planners of two different styles and size. Half-letter and A5 aren’t much of a size difference other than the way these two are bound.
Both of these planners are my absolute favorites and they are vital to me keeping it all together as well as the key to my sanity. I’ve been doing double duty by keeping both of these updated simultaneously. Now that we have reached the end of the year I have set up both of these planners for 2021 with different jobs. The one on the left will be my social media planner and the one on the right will be my personal, catch all planner that will be with me everyday.
I will have more in depth explanation and setup of each. For the most part, my social media planner has weekly lined inserts and my catch all has daily inserts. Both of which you can get at CLOTH & PAPER – LUXE PLANNERS, DIVIDERS, & INSERTS (clothandpaper.com). They sell multiple size inserts for multiple size planners. Use code CPFAM for 10% off. (not an affiliate link)
I used to switch out planners every other month. I was in search of the mythical creature called “planner peace”, which I have quickly found out does not exist. Your planner should bring you peace and not you being at peace with your planner. If your planner gives you the least bit of anxiety, not related to an event or task inside, it is not the planner for you. Your planner should be a welcome site that brings you joy and fills you with passion to seize the day. If your planner does not inspire you to get more done and be great, get rid of it and start again. If it takes you more time to plan than to act, or planning takes you away from being productive, you should seek some planner advise. There are thousands of planner guru’s on Youtube that will help you get your planning together.
I had a big problem with procrastination and keeping a planner helped me to get through that. I hope that this post and your planner help you as much as mine has helped me to be a better planner and in some ways, person. Organization is important but not at the expense of living life and enjoying your time here. Make your life and your planner as simple as possible and you will be successful in everything you set your mind to.
Fix Your Crown 
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