I’ve had a paper planner as long as I can remember. I used them obsessively as a student and that obsession has continued into my adult life.
I keep hearing people say “this new planner craze”. Um, nope. There’s always been a planner frenzy in my life. But now I can openly let my freak flag fly because other people are admitting they are planner freaks too! WHOOP!
Digital calendars do NOT work for me. I’ve always been a write it down on paper type of gal. I will always love paper planners. If I could find a way to parlay helping people find their planner peace into a career, I’d do it.
So all of that said…I’m working on a big ole planner post for the blog.
Here are some of the questions I’ve gotten.
- What in the world do you do with all of those planners?
- What size planner do you use?
- What brands are your favorite?
- How do you organize your planners?
- What are your favorite embellishments?
I plan on addressing all of these questions, but I wanted to open the comments up to you and ask what YOU would like to know.
So I’m asking for your feedback. Let me know what you’d like to see in a blog post about planners? Would you like a video too?
Be specific, and remember…NO question is silly. Seriously.
I hope you all have a beautiful Monday. I’m working on responding to all of your comments as well as a Rome recap!
NOTE: I will always respond to your comments, though it might take some time. I don’t know if WordPress notifies you when I respond? So make sure to always check back!!
Definitely a paper planner gal too! I dint use a brand but I do doodle pages and print and bind my own, that way I can add or delete as I feel 🙂
1. I don’t have a fancy planner. I have a paper “puppy” valender from Michaels, that contains ALL my much needed schedule, appointments, addresses, etc.
I LOVE my Plum Paper planner. Time is short these days, so I mostly write in it with a black pen. Decorating is fun but doesn’t fit in my day right now. Someday!
I’d love to see exactly how you use your planners. What you put in them, how you embellish them. I also use a paper planner & I love it, but it’s not that pretty!! Love your blog & instagram – so inspiring:)
I truly love my paper planner. I do keep an electronic calendar as well so my husband and I can sync events. I keep the major life events and meetings I want to remember from a memory keeping standpoint in my paper planner. It is also the catch all for the zillions of lists I make and other tidbits of our crazy awesome life.
I am in my second year of using the Heidi Swapp Memory Planner and I love it! Last year I did not get very creative. Mostly just writing. This year I have added in a bit more creative flair when time permits.
I would LOVE to know how you use and organize your different planners. What pens do you love and why? Anything you’ve tried and decided you didn’t love.
Can’t wait to read!
I cannot use my phone for the life of me! I have a planner in my car as a duplicate that I write stuff in when I have a spare minute. the other one is kept open flat on my dining room table!
I would love to know the different sizes of the planners and the brands vs. each other as far as ,
do the pages bleed through, what types of pens work well? etsy shops you order from. other places you order from . do the planners lay flat? are they all ring bound or are any book type bound that you like?
can’t wait to hear more!
I am planner obsessed too. I don’t change covers because I used a bound type by DAy Designer, but would love to hear more about the ring binder ones and why you love them!
tara
I know nothing about planners, interested in you take on them, a video would be great as I’m not familiar with the terms used…
How do you pop back and forth between different planners- and why? I keep a paper calendar, and can’t imagine having more than one- I’d never be able to keep up with what was in one, and what was in the other. Please explain. 🙂
I enjoy your planner posts. When I worked full-time in an office, I used a Franklin Planner & loved Outlook for keeping me on task, would print out the Outlook calendar & put in my planner… along with all my notes & reminder lists. I loved the different colors of pages so that I could use specific colors for different areas (meetings, groups, etc.). I use my phone for contacts now, but also love the planner pages name/address/phone number listing for quick reference. My life-style has changed now; I use a paper planner only. I have two sizes of Franklin Planners, but now they seem too bulky, so I’ve gone to a simplified easier-to-carry paper planner. I like two pages for each month, and space for lists/notes as reminders. I do use different ink colors for family members or activities. But if I forget to write in something or forget to look at my info, I find myself often double-booked or time crunching. I have a part-time job, with multiple volunteer opportunities, plus a very active 7-year-old (one sounds so simple compared to your group)…but for this semi-retired grandma/legal custodian schedule maintenance is challenging! I tried keeping a large family calendar (white board on wall), but this became unwieldy to maintain. look forward to your knowledge-sharing!
I love sticky reminder tabs to call attention to specific areas… and then they are easily removed or moved to another area. I use sticky hearts/arrows to highlight specific things such as birthdays or events on my calendar. If it involves time away from home (like vacations or conferences), I use highlighters to call attention to those days as reminders to not book items on those dates.
Do you also keep a family calendar? Or is it all in a planner? I keep a planner [and have for many, many years], but find that I write events on a calendar for the entire family to see. It just works that way.
I’m interested in your reviews on inserts. I gave up on them awhile back and now make my own, though I want a change. I think. 🙂
I love the new look on your blog! I am a paper planner type, too! Mine has to be compact, thin and light enough for me to carry it in my purse. I’ve had planners for so long, I don’t know what do with the ones I’ve used in the past. Just like your question 1. I’ve thrown away some to reduce my clutter. I’d love to know what you do with the past ones. Your blog is always so lovely!
Do you look at your planner everyday?
Do you keep it with you in your purse or do you have it on the counter in your kitchen?
Do you use this exclusively for appointments?
do you ever use a digital reminder system?
What do you do with your planner at the end of the year? Toss or archive?
So not a planner girl, but I want to be,…I find a big calender works for me and I’m not busy enough to use one? It’s almost as though planner and bible decorating is the new scrapbooking. I’d love to hear your take on that and if I try using a planner, why’d I need more than 1. I see lots of women keeping numerous planners and don’t understand that-even stay at home moms using two or more. What do you do at year’s end with your pages? Are you still scrapping or is this enough to satisfy the crafting need? Can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
I’m onto my second year with Erin Condren but I’m a Kikki k lover too (I worked there last year!). I have my EC for my regular life and my Kikki k mint medium planner for work. My questions are: what inserts do you use? Have you ever used an Erin condren and what are your thoughts? Do you check things off once they’re done? Do you include housework in your planner?
Sorry just thought of another one lol do you follow planner girls on Instagram and who are they? 🙂
A video would be great! I struggle with completing projects quickly and it seems that you are really good at that so share the love, I say 🙂
I’m a paper girl, too, and crossing things off my list digitally just doesn’t give me the same sense of accomplishment. But I am curious about how/why you use multiple planners? Do tell!
I use mom agenda planners and have for years. They have columns so you can track each family member’s schedule which is helpful. It is a larger planner and usually sits on the kitchen counter.
I am definitely a paper planner kind of gal – digital just doesn’t work for me. I currently have a day runner that I’ve used for years with just the month at a glance pages. I’m wondering what size & brands you use, if you carry it with you or if you carry a smaller one and then transfer info? Also how do you organize everything? I use my planner just for appointments and then have a separate to do list on my counter but would love to know if you have a good way to incorporate them together so it’s neater and more portable. Thanks so much!!
Why do you have so many?
I would love to hear how you set up your A5 planner- Thank you!! Can’t wait to read your thoughts!
Oh yea, would love a video too!! 😉
I am using the happy planner but I think it applies to any planner. Why are they doing these 18 month planners??i feel so stupid even asking. They are about to release the new one in July and mine ends in December. If you get one in June you end up wasting an entire six months. Do you have any logical explanation?? Anything and all you share I love. I have a full time job and 3 boys so I have to write everything. My husband laughs when he sees me decorating my planner. Is totally therapy for me. Love everything you post. Xoxo. Lina.
I use Elise’s Get to work book for having week at a glance calendar and project planning. I use Emily Ley’s daily simplified planner for daily appointments and grocery/to-do lists. I have used paper planners since middle school. I find it amusing that planners are now a “thing.” I use a variety of stamps and print my own stickers. Looking forward to your planner post!
What do you write down? I just don’t understand what people are planning? I am just more of a fly by the seat of my pants, so I am intrigued that perhaps this would make my life easier? Yes? I have lots of kids in tons of activities so I guess I can see writing those obligations down.
Why so many planners? Do you use different ones for different areas of your life?
I try to keep a really simple life, I abhor those folks that run around screaming how busy They are. So maybe they really busy, and I’m just not. 🙂
Stephanie, what all do you put in your planner. Like do you put down if you are going to wash on a certain day or if you are going to buy groceries or just mainly appointments. I have a ‘calendar” that I use but I am not really sure how to actually try to decorate it….gosh I do well to do my scrapbooking which I have gotten sooooo behind…thanks for any info you can pass along..
What in the world do you do with all of those planners?
~ I hand the planner (minus the inserts) into a local charity shop. As a scrapbooker I have enough stash/planners/notebooks…
What size planner do you use?
~ A personal Color Crush in gold as a day to day planner and a Heidi Swapp black and white striped one that came out last year as a memory planner (ideas for scrpbook pages)
What brands are your favorite?
~ Websters and Heidi Swapp (I have seen any others in the flesh apart from Filofax)
How do you organize your planners?
~ one in my handbag and one in my craft room
What are your favorite embellishments?
~ Washi and the odd sticker. I keep it really simple.
Hope that helps.
Kx
What a dork – you didn’t want me to answer your questions lol Ignore me. What I want to know is how to not be a dork? lol x
I used paper planners for years. But I think what is astonishing is the influx of decorating planners of late. Most I’ve ever done is highlighters, although I can appreciate how lovely something looks, I can’t fit that level of planner into my day. I actually more likely use my phone these days & coordinate that with my big family colour coded calendar on my fridge! I’d be happy to see how you use your multiples though.
I guess this newer planning craze confuses me. Are planners the new scrapbooks? Or are you really using it like a calendar for appointments and stuff? Why would you need more than one at a time then?
I am a paper nerd though, so all of this is lovely… give me all the stickers, washi and fun pens!
What do you do with them at the end of the year?
When do you write in your planner? Looking for tips on making habits
I would love if you discuss a bit about using multiple planners works. We have a typical calendar on our fridge, I have a small planner in my purse, my new Erin Condren planner on my desk, and loosely use the Cozi app on my phone. How do you keep important appts/dates straight? I feel like I’m always checking to be sure that all my planners are in sync.
I would love a video of your planner habits & goodies.
I have always loved planners & decorated them somewhat, but now there are so many fun options that I don’t know where to start?!
I’m not a digital person either, but text reminders popping up on my phone are lifesavers! 🙂
Stephanie,
I love a good planner, but I only have one! Erin Condren has wonderful choices, including able to put pictures on the cover! The planner lasts all year without problem! There are different choices for accessories: stickers, pictures, cards, and tabs that allow you to add things into the planner. LOVE IT! I did the phone for about one year and went nuts. This has been great!
I love planners in the sense they support me in keeping the family organised. I’m ok on the phone for just me and work ….but NEED paper and pen to keep everyone else straight too.
What I want to get better with is making the most of the rest of planner…. that’s the part I’ve been struggling with I use a personal size.
Hi Stephanie,
I love the new blog design! I’m too much of a perfect to use a paper planner; i can’t even count how many i have thr away because i disliked my writing or messed up a color coding…lol! I see using a large wall calendar when i have kids in order to help them see routines & schedules and to develop awareness of time, but i really like using my phone’s calendar plus the evernote app. I am curious, do your girls use planners yet?
I have always been a planner and always loved having a planner from the time I was I school. I remember carrying around a huge Franklin Covey planner in high school. My problem is I start but then it dies out through the year. I have tried to go digital because that seemed the thing to do until about a year ago when I found that this planner community had emerged. However, within the planning community I feel like there is so much pressure about having the latest and greatest. However, I always fall into that trap!!! I have used Erin Condren years ago, last year I started with Emily Ley daily version and Heidi Swapp’s Memory Planner. This year I switched to the Emily Ley weekly version and I just ordered the Day Designer. I am interested in learning more about bullet journaling and how to create the dashboards. I have a Midori that I used last year for journaling that I need to get back into and I starting doing Listers Gotta List monthly prompts. There is just so much out there that it is overwhelming.
Hi Stephanie, I have just discovered the attraction of a planner. Just ordered my first Webster’s colour crush…so am gathering supplies to customise it. Will look forward to some hints, tips and ideas.
Deborah xx
Just the same for me.
I’m and have always been paper addict.
So of course always have had a paper planner.
Just bought the Carpe Diem Aqua planner from Simple Stories and plenty of goodies… and I’m just so excited. I have all my life in it planning for me and family and it will be very usefull for my coming soon PL project as I can keep every moment, event or feeling I want in it.. Soon on my blog… when i’ll find time to take photos for a good post…