May 2017 Plan With Me: Moving into a New Bullet Journal! + April Flip Through

With the academic year coming to a close and my Moleskine running out of pages, I have officially transitioned into a new bullet journal starting in the month of May! This time around I opted for a Leuchtturm 1917 dot grid notebook in the color lemon. I am so psyched to have a yellow bullet journal! Yellow is definitely one of my favorite colors. It brings be so much joy and that's exactly what this notebook does for me every time I look at it! Click play on the video above to see my flip though my final month in my Moleskine :'( and the way I've set up in my new organizational home! :D

Plan with Me! Weekly Bullet Journal Planning Routine

Today I thought I would so something a little different and give you an in-depth look on how I plan out my week in my bullet journal! This is the typical way I approach my weekly planning. The only thing you do not see in this video is mapping out my daily to-dos which usually happens the morning of each day. I would love to do a video on that as well if that is something you would be interested in. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this video and let me know if you have any questions on my planning method!

January 2017 Plan With Me! + December Flip Through

It's my first Plan with Me for 2017! I'm not doing anything too fancy to kick off the new year when it comes to my planning. My bullet journal is still working really well for me so I'm sticking with my planning method that I've been using since September with a few different tweaks here and there. I've also included a LIVE sped-up planning session as I set up January, something I haven't done since I moved into the Moleskine! I forgot how much I liked showing you my process. :) Anyway, I hope you enjoy this video and that you're excited to get organized fr the new year!

Planner Update 2016!

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!

Sully Clip

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)

Planner & Cupcake clips

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.

Grocery bag stickers | Weight stickers | Sneaker stickers

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!

Gene dashboard

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!

Louise dashboard & credit card clip

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!

Stocking Stuffers for Planner Girls

Christmas is this week which mean that for many of us out there, it's crunch time! One of my favorite things about Christmas morning is opening up a stocking. You find such random and sometimes useful things in there and really gets your Christmas off to a fun start! There are stocking stuffer guides out there for every demographic under the sun, but I have yet to see one for Planner Girls! If you have a Planner Girl in your life (or even just someone that loves office & craft supplies), use the list below to come up with ideas that she will love! (And trust me, as a planner girl myself, I guarantee that she will love any of these things!)

1. A Package of Their Favorite Pens - Every single planner girl has a specific favorite pen that is their absolute favorite, so getting a fresh pack of her favorites are sure to put a smile on her face! My favorite are Pilot G2 pens (shown above), but other popular planner pens are Sharpie pens, Papermate Flair pens, and Staedtler Triplus Fineliner pens.
Find it: Any office supply store
Price range: $3 to $12

2. Stickers - Whether or not your planner girl likes to decorate her planner pages, stickers of something that she's interested in is always super thoughtful! Stickers are always a fun thing to find in your stocking as well, and there's stickers for every interest and occasion, so a few sheets would be a great addition!
Find it: Scrapbooking section of a craft store, or Etsy
Price range: $1 to $5 per sheet

3. Washi Tape  - Washi (decorative craft tape) is all the rage in the planner community and used by many to enhance and decorate pages. I would double check with your Planner Girl to see if she's one to decorate her planner, but if she does she would love to find a couple rolls in her stocking! There's thousands of designs available to purchase, so find something that you think would suit her interests or personality!
Find it: Scrapbooking section of a craft store, or Etsy
Price range: $1 to $5 per roll

4. Glue Dot Runners - These are super helpful for creating your own dividers and dashboards for your planner, as well as adding embellishments to planner pages, such as photos, important notes, invitations, etc. If you're shopping for a craftier planner girl, this would definitely be well- received!
Find it: Scrapbooking section of a craft store
Price range: $3 to $6

5. White Out Tape - These things are a lifesaver for whenever you might make a mistake when writing in your planner! These are so much better than liquid white out because you don't have to wait for it to dry! These tend to come in packs of 2 or 4 and last a pretty long time, so it's a gift she can definitely use throughout the year.
Find it: Any office supply store
Price range: ~$5 per pack

6. Hole Punch - These are especially good for planner girls that have binder or ring-bound planners such as a Filofax, Kikki.K, or Franklin Covey. Having a hole punch is very handy for when you want to insert a new page, divider, or dashboard to your planner. It allows you to truly customize your planner!
Find it: Any office supply store, or the scrapbooking section of a craft store
Price range: $5 to $10

7. Sticky Notes - These are always a good gift for any stationary lover, but especially so for Planner Girls! Your planner girl will be able to use these for future planning without having to damage her actual planner pages when she's not ready to put plans in ink. (Sounds crazy, but trust me, it makes sense to us Planner Girls!)
Find it: Any office supply store, Target dollar section
Price range: $1 to $5 per pack

8. Small Notebooks - Planner lovers are always looking for something to write on, and a pack of small notebooks would be a perfect addition to her stocking! Moleskine is a really great brand for notebooks and have multi-packs of them. Target also has a really great selection of multi-packs of smaller notebooks!
Find it: Any office supply store, Target
Price range: $3 to $15

9. Gift Card to Michael's/Hobby Lobby/craft or stationary store of your choosing - I know that gift cards are often seen a impersonal and lazy, but Planner Girls understand that this hype over paper supplies and organization can sometimes be confusing. Giving a Planner Girl some money toward a craft store shopping spree is one of the best gifts that you can give her!
Find it: Any craft or stationary store
Price range: Your choice!

10. Pocket Sized Planner - Lastly, a bit on the pricier end, any planner girl would flip to find a planner in their stocking! A pocket sized/small planner is the perfect size to stick in a stocking as a little surprise. Pocket planners are perfect for on-the-go planning and can also be used as wallets!
Find it: Filofax, Kikki,K
Price range: $30 to $80

I hope that this stocking stuffer guide is helpful and makes your holiday season just a *little* bit easier! Check out the coinciding video below to get a few more thoughts from me on these items!

Organize My Life | Planner Unicorns

Hello planner and non-planner people alike! In today's edition of Organize My Life, I'm going to talk all about the planners that I am currently chasing after to add to my collection. Some people may think that having more than one planner at a time is a little out of control, but as I transitioned into becoming more of a ring-bound planner girl, my eyes were opened up to the hobby of not only planning itself, but actually collecting planners and changing them out throughout the year. I was also quickly introduced to the concept of "unicorns" or planners that are either discontinued or extremely hard to find through any kind of typical shop and usually are purchased from other planner collectors.

I never really felt that I wanted to add multiple planners to my collection until very recently and I have found that I'm lusting after quite a few different models and even have a few unicorns of my own that have sadly been discontinued from their carriers. *le sigh* I decided to throw them into a list to share with you all... and to possibly drop some holiday gift hints to any Santas that might be out there... ;) Hope you enjoy the list (and if you have any idea where I can find my unicorns that would be super awesome!).

Discontinued Planners - My Unicorns

A5 Domino Ultra Violet - Filofax

(Image and full review found on Philofaxy)

I really love the original Domino from Filofax and I've seen it in several different colors in the past, but once I discovered there was once a violet version of this model, it shot to the very top for my ISO (in search of) list! The image above is from a review on the blog Philophaxy that was published in 2011, so I'm sure it's been out of circulation for a while which is sad. I don't know if this color will ever make its comeback (the original domino is still available on the US Filofax store but only in black and red) but if it does I know that I'll be snatching one up immediately!

Large Time Planner in Mint & Gold - Kikki.K

(Source)

This Kikki.K planner was extremely popular when I was first getting into the planning world and had my focus turned onto Erin Condren planners, but now that I've fallen in love with ring-bound systems I'm kicking myself for not taking advantage of the opportunity to have this beauty in my possession! I know that Dokibook has an imitation version of this model, but of course it's not nearly as well-made as a Kikki.K and I usually have a real problem with companies that totally rip off others (they even currently stock an imitation of my current planner, the Filofax Pear Saffiano! :| ). I not only love this planner because of how gorgeous it is, but I've always been a fan of the inside-flap storage of Kikki.K planners - especially this one!

Currently Out of Stock

A5 Original in Flouro Pink - Filofax ($111.00)

(Source)

The color of the Flouro Pink Filofax Original is absolutely stunning. I don't really spring for pink too often, but when it's this gorgeous bubblegum neon pink I'm all about it. I first saw this planner in the personal size on a Miss Trenchcoat video when I was first getting into binder systems and immediately fell in love with the color. The Filofax Originals are so well made and this colors so beautiful that I would LOVE to add it to my planner collection.

A5 Color Crush in Teal Stripe - Websters Pages ($54.99)

(Source)

When these planners first released I was SO EXCITED, but they only released in the personal size at first. I really wanted the teal and white striped planner, but at that point I had already realized that the personal size is too small for me. A few months later they released a limited A5 line and, much to my happiness, included the teal and white striped design! From what I've read and what I've seen in YouTube videos, these planners aren't as great of quality that you'd get in a Filofax or a Kikki.K, and are a bit thinner and taller than the typical A5 planner, but I would still love to give this brand a try (and get my hands on these beautiful nautical stripes!).

Currently in Stock - Planner Wishlist

Pocket Patent in Lemon - Filofax ($43.00)

(Source)

I would normally never ever ever go for a pocket size planner, but I've been toying with the idea of using one as a wallet/on-the-go calendar. Though I love my A5, it does take up quite a bit of room in my purse, which I'm fine with for daily work life, but not so much for running errands and the like. When perusing the pocket sizes on the Filofax website, I came across the Patent pockets and they are so adorable - especially this color! I would love this addition to my collection.

Personal Malden in Ochre - Filofax ($110.00) 

(Source)

Maldens are so beautiful and I'm especially a fan of the Ochre color. However, I think that the A5 Malden doesn't look as great as the personal size, so if I were to take the plunge and pay for this beautiful leather planner, I think I'd stick with the personal. I think the interior of this planner is perfect (Zip pouch? Yes please!) and the brown leather is such a classic look that you could use it for years and years without it ever going out of style. It has such a collegiate look to it, which is perfect since I'll be spending most of my time on a college campus for the rest of my life! #HESAlife

A5 Original in Dark Aqua - Filofax ($111.00)

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A5 Original Patent in Purple - Filofax ($111.00) 

(Source)

I'm going to echo a lot of what I said about the Filofax Originals that was mentioned in the Flouro Pink description toward the beginning of this post. These have such a classic look to them and I would love to build up a collection of these in tons of beautiful colors, including the above Dark Aqua and Patent Purple!

Large Time Planner in Ice Blue - Kikki.K ($79.95)

(Source)

I've always loved how Kikki.Ks have been made but I've never fallen in love with any one planner (aside from the mint & gold above!) until they released this beautiful ice blue number! I think this color is perfect for winter/spring and the interior (as it always is with Kikki.K) is incredible (pockets, pockets, pockets!). Kikki.Ks are always so well-made and I think that this would be a beautiful addition to my collection!

What are your unicorns?

What's on your planner wishlist?