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In high school and college paper planners were my life. It’s how I kept everything organized. There was no Gmail or Google Calendar. My cell phone flipped opened. I’m old. After college though, things changed. Maybe it’s because I had less to keep track of, but the planner didn’t seem so important anymore. Then so much stuff went digital.
Fast forward a few years though, throw a kid and a dog and cats into the mix and I was really starting to miss those planners for keeping track of important stuff and appointment. I tried going all digital with Google Calendar (which I do love for keeping track of some things) but it wasn’t quite enough. I needed something I could physically flip through. I came to this realization at around 10pm one night last year, and decided I needed a planner like yesterday. So, impulse control lost that round, and I found myself checking out the planner section at Walmart that same night. Given it was the middle of the year, the selection was slim, but I found one I liked and took it home. I mean, I paid for it first. I’m not a thief.
I don’t get super elaborate with my planner like some people. Not that I’m not totally impressed by some of these planner layouts they cook up (seriously, look up planner decoration on YouTube, it’s crazy), but it’s just not for me. I like to keep it simple with a few essentials.
Paper Planner – This one from Blue Sky is what I use and I am really happy with it. I wanted something that was very basic, but had lots of room to write if I wanted to make notes about the day. And at only $10, it’s a bargain compared to some other planners out there. I’ve also noticed some fun planners at Dollar Tree the last few times I’ve gone in that were super tempting.
Fun Pens – I’m so in love with my Sharpie pens. They write smoothly and don’t smudge. I haven’t had them bleed through paper, but if your planner paper is thin you might get some shadowing with these.
Binder Clips – I use small binder clips to keep my place in the calendar so I can close it up and open it right back to the current week. It’s a small thing, but it’s so nice to not have to flip through the whole planner to find the right week.
Stickers – Full disclosure: I don’t have any awesome planner stickers like this yet. But I have been eyeing them and I think I’m going to need some for next year’s planner. It would be cool to make my planner a little more festive.
Highlighters – I like to go through and highlight important dates or appointments. My planner has certain holidays already penciled in, so I like to highlight those too to make them standout more.
Post-it Notes – I will pretty much use any excuse to utilize a Post-it, and I use difference sizes on my planner but the small page-marker ones get used the most. If there are things I need to do but haven’t set a definite day and time, I usually put it on the post-it and assign it tentatively to a certain day, then if it doesn’t work out I can just move it to a new day. It works really well.
Do you have a planner? I’d love to hear how you keep it fun and organized.
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I really love my Happy Planner, but it took some getting used to since it’s so much bigger than the planners I’ve previously used. I just got into using stickers this year and while I find all kinds of cute ones on Etsy, I’ve just been using seasonal ones that I find at Meijer. They sell them in packs for $1, so I don’t feel like I’m breaking the bank when I buy them. I also like to color code what I write in my planners and I love to use Paper Mate’s Flair felt tip pens.
Jenn K recently posted…My Experience at the 2016 Vera Bradley Annual Outlet Sale
How on earth did we survive without post-it notes? I use them all over the house and in my car. I love the page marker ones so much! I love seeing you back in my inbox!
Mo at Mocadeaux recently posted…The Secret Word Is Plethora – Guest Posting at Coach Daddy
Oh my gosh I wish I could keep a planner! Since I started my blog (not that long ago) I tried to make myself to be more organised and it doesn’t help to keep everything in my head. Sometimes I find myself waking up at night and thinking “Oh gosh I have to remember to do !”. I even bought very cute sticky notes. Maybe your post will encourage me to start using them haha! x
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I have a planner and I use it all day long. I write my dreams in it, my notes, my goals, my blogpost ideas and other stuff like that. So it’s kinda messy in there! But anyway, it is fun using these essentials, isn’t it?
Sanne recently posted…5 x Adventures For The Daredevils
I have a planner I bought from Target…I love it but I always forget to write in it. I’m the worst. I need a reminder to use my planner.
Your post brings a lot of memories from high school days to me, i literally couldn’t live without planners back then! It’s unfortunate that i don’t really use it anymore.
I used gmail, google, computer to make a plan when I studied at university, but when read your post, I feel so interesting and really want to make a plan by this way!