It's the most wonderful time of the year - PLANNER UPDATE SEASON! :D This is the time of year when YouTube and the blogosphere are renewed with planner walkthroughs and set-up explanations and I am in love. Of course, it also means that it's time to update you all on how I've been using my planner! I haven't sat down and given you a true update since July, so that time has come!
This year I'm using three planners - not something that I would have ever thought of myself as doing, but it's happening. I have my master planner with everything in it, a planner specifically for staying on top of my blog, YouTube, Etsy shop, and other social media, and a traveler's notebook specifically for work. Right now I'm really enjoying this system, but to be fair I've only been using it for a short time so I'm not entirely sure if it will stick. I'm going to do my best to give you a run through of each planner, but to see everything *in action* make sure that you check out the coordinating video at the end of this post!
Work Planner
FoxyDori Wanderlust (Regular Extra Room in Espresso with a Mint Band)
Traveler's notebooks have been fascinating to me since the first time I discovered them on YouTube. I tried my hand at making one on my own and I loved it, but when I used it as a supplement to my regular planner (I moved a budget and fitness section out of my planner and it just ended up splitting my attention which I wasn't a fan of), it just didn't work out. I did still really like the idea of traveler's notebooks, though, so I thought that perhaps using it as a *notebook* instead of a planner, I would be able to stick to it a bit more! So, for my work notebook this year, I decided to snag a FoxyDori from the Foxy Fix because they are gorgeous. I ordered this on December 26th, it shipped on December 31st, and it was in my hands on January 4th - not too shabby!
I ordered my FoxyDori in Espresso with a mint band. This color combo always reminds me of mint chocolate chip ice cream which is one of my faves, so I definitely enjoy the color scheme. I also really like the way traveler's notebooks look when they're stitched around the perimeter, so I had them add some white stitching to my cover as well.
Right now I have 4 inserts in my FoxyDori, but I'm only using 2 of them at the moment. I'm sure I'll think of a way I can utilize the other two soon, but I'm still getting used to it! Right now I have a monthly calendar insert from YellowPaperHouse, two lined inserts (one with a blue cover and on with a purple cover) from Growing Up Goddess, and one multicolored grid insert from YellowPaperHouse.
My first insert is the monthly calendar insert from YellowPaperHouse. I'm using this insert specifically to write in when student events are. For whatever reason, my brain works best in monthly and daily views, so when I'm thinking of the big picture of the semester, the monthly view is what makes the most sense to me. I don't color code in this planner too much as it all pertains to my job. The only thing that is coded is that if the event is fully registered it will stay in ink, and if it's not it will stay in pencil. I've also written times I will be away from the office in a purple Flair pen (purple is my fave color!), so I'll know when something needs to be covered when I'm away.
The second insert is the lined insert with a blue cover from Growing Up Goddess. I'm using this for meeting notes, and I'm attempting to use a bullet journaling system for this in order to keep my notebook more organized. I want to take my time with my notes (which can be hard because I consider myself to be a slower writer when writing by hand), but it's worth it if I can find the information I need quickly and am able to understand what I'm writing down!
The last two inserts are currently blank and I'm note entirely sure what to do with them quite yet. I'm considering making one a "brain dump" (likely the purple lined insert) because my brain likes to often remind me of things mid-meeting that have nothing to do with what we're talking about, so having a place that doesn't have any rhyme or reason to just write down my thoughts as they come to me will be helpful. I'm not sure what the last insert will be but I'm sure that I'll think of something!
Social Media Planner
Kate Spade Wellesley (Black)
I was able to get my hands on a Wellesley this fall and I am in LOVE! I'm not really a personal-sized planner girl, but I wanted to use my Wellesley for something because it's just not a planner you can keep on the shelf. It's dying to be used! I thought that because I would like to grow my followership on both my YouTube channel and my blog, it would be a perfect social media management planner to keep me on track with my posting. It's been working really well to help me brainstorm and visualize the things I want to record and write about on a schedule that makes sense with my work and life schedule as well. It's the perfect size for this purpose, and it looks so sleek and professional. It basically screams "GOAL DIGGER" all over it! :)
Deer, Panda, & Fox Clips | Donut Dashboard | Felt Cupcake Clip | Believe Tag | Green Cupcake Clip from a planner swap | Page flags & pen from Target One Spot | Animal page flags from eBay | Rainbow page flags & Dog clip from Staples
Though I only use this about once or twice a week to make sure I'm on track with my posting schedule, I still wanted to make it cute with plenty of motivational quotes that encourage me to keep at my goals and make it fun to look at. You need to want to look at your planner in order to keep you coming back, so any way you can make that happen is a bonus! I, of course, decked it out with cute paperclips, page flags, and dashboards to make me happy every time I open it up!
The first section has a "this agenda belongs to" page (with my contact info in case it ever goes missing), a year at a glance calendar, my color code (of course!), my posting schedule (which goes into a bit more detail than the one I shared with you all last week, and a few pages designated to jot down video and blog post ideas. Just your basic "how to use this planner" pages that we all like to create for ourselves!
We then move into the calendar sections. Again, my brain works ideally in monthly and daily view, so I really like to plan my ideas out on the monthly view to make sure the schedule makes sense to me. I then move into the weekly spread to add in when I need to record, when I need to edit, etc. I definitely spend more time looking at the monthly spread, but it's helpful to have the weekly spread as well to get an idea of when things need to be accomplished in order to ensure things go up on time.
Boss B*tch Dashboard | Clothespin Clip from Michaels
I don't really use much else of this planner, but it is very nice to have a separate space to really plan out my posting plans. It doesn't muddle up my master planner and I feel much more on top of everything. My only complaint is that it currently does not lay flat. I'm not sure if that will change over time as the leather wears out, but I'm hoping that it well. Any tips on how to get a Wellesley to lay flat would be much appreciated!
Master Planner
Kikki.K Perforated Personal Planner (Large in Mint)
Last but certainly not least is my master planner - my Kikki.K! This was my Christmas present for myself as my Saffiano was starting to look a little rough, and I knew I wanted to try out a Kikki.K for quite some time. I was leaning towards buying the Ice Blue, but then they re-released their popular Mint color (one of my favorites), this time with a perforated spine! I knew I had to snap it up before it was discontinued again. This is my daily planner that holds, essentially, my entire life in it. From work, to blogging, to fitness, to personal life, it has all of the details I need in order to stay on top of everything.
My dashboard is my favorite - this is a dashboard that I purchased from HelloPaperCat and it's the great Tina Belcher from Bob's Burgers, one of my favorite shows. It makes me smile every time I look at it, so I knew I had to put it front and center of my master planner. I also have a few other cuties lining my inside pocket - the dog clip is from Staples (I got a pack of these amazing clips in the fall and have basically been putting them on everything), the dino and the donut are from HoweCute4You on Etsy, and the Dunk's cup is from LittleMissDaisyRose on Etsy! The purple note is a note Brett wrote for me on my graduation day this past May (<3) and I also have a glittery gift tag tucked into the same pocket for an extra sparkle. I really wish that there were more pockets on this planner, but that's only a minor complaint. I've kept the two notepads that come with the planner at the top of the secretarial pocket for now, but I may change them out in the future.
In the first section after the dashboard you'll find my color code, personal information page, and a top loading pocket that came with my Saffiano. In the top loading pocket I keep the stickers I use on a regular basis (like grocery, weight lifting, and running stickers), some moveable page flags from Staples which I love, and some Forever stamps.
Next up is the main event - my calendar section! This last year I was mainly using the Filofax weekly spread that has hourly slots for appointments, but there was no real space for me to write what my day truly looked like and couldn't write down as many details as I wanted to about each day. So I switched back to the system I know works best for me - monthly spreads and day on a page!
...I forgot to take a photo of the monthly spread (#dummy) so make sure you check out the coordinating video at the end of this post to take a peak!
(P.S. I'm not severely dehydrated, just bad at writing it down when I drink water!)
I love these day on a page inserts. I couldn't really find inserts to purchase that had everything I would want available to me when I am planning my day, so I actually made these on Word and included the sections that I felt like I needed! I have a section with half hour appointment slots from 8AM to 7PM and an "early morning" and "late night" slot for the occasional off-hour events, a note section for random thoughts, a section for to-dos that includes a "top priorities" and "personal section" as well as a "hydrate" section to track water! These inserts have been so helpful and really suit the way I need my day planned!
This next section is mostly personal pages - account numbers, passwords, contacts, online orders, etc. This is mainly information that I want to keep with me that I need to reference on a semi-regular basis. I've also created a alphabetical reference system with my Staples page flags. I don't use the entire alphabet, so I keep the page flags of the unused letters attached behind the divider so they're ready to use whenever I create a new section!
After my personal section comes the finance section. I don't use a finance section all that often but every now and then I'll want to sit down and plan out my budget. I designated a section filled with notepaper for whenever I get the itch to budget. We'll see how often this section gets used over the next few months!
Then the last section is my notes section. Again, this usually doesn't get used too often in my planner, but every now and then I find myself without a notebook near by and need to jot something down , so havig a section full of blank note paper is always super helpful!
And that pretty much does it for my planner set up in 2016! I'll be doing an update at some point mid-year to report how well things are going with this system,but I'm excited to be using this to keep everything in my life organized!
Make sure you check out my coordinating video below for a flip through of each planner!
