This week, I thought it would be nice to share my personal planner. I am quite old school, in the fact that I note things down by pen on my personal calendar (which sits on my desk at home) and planner (which I carry around with me to and from work). I don't use my mobile for much in that department.
Firstly, here is an overview of my planner. I got it almost a decade ago! It was on sale at the bookstore. It is just a pink, faux leather, white interior, size of my MacBook when open, button-clasped planner.
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| I keep reminder cards, tea cards, punch cards, and the like in the flap panel. |
I always begin my planner in August because that is really the beginning of my work year. So, over summer holiday, when this August approached, I went to two websites to help me prepare for the coming year.
The first website was where I made this year's monthly tabs:
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| I made "Keep Calm" inserts through this site: http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/ |
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| I just copied the image that I made (which can be personalized to suit anyone's personality) and printed twelve (for each month) onto colored pieces of paper |
The results of my "Keep Calm" inserts:
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For every month, I inserted a new "Keep Calm" phrase as a little monthly mantra
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| February's insert |
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| March's insert |
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| May's insert |
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| June's insert |
The second website, which I have visited for years, is where I get the templates for my weekly planner pages:
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| The graphic designer who uploads her past templates online is Amanda Hawkins. I found her on Pintrest. Her site: http://ahhh-design.com/simple-week-month-diy-planner-template/ |
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| The weekly template that I selected |
I print enough pages to last me a year. I print them onto whatever color that I like, as well, which was pink this year. And because I print out my own templates, I use a daily stamper, which I bought at my local stationary supply shop, to fill in the dates. I also have to punch my own holes with my hole puncher (also bought form my local stationary supply shop).
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| Excuse the "blurred out bits"! |
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| I interchange templates every month, but April's template is best for list making |
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| The toughest part is punching holes! |
To further personalize my planner, I buy plastic sticky tabs and write the months on there. It helps me to see the months better and also flip to them easier. Plus, the actual tabs that my planner came with needed more personalization, bench the monthly tabs.
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| The original tabs |
Keeping my life organized is really crucial because I have so many activities and projects happening through most of the year. It is a great way to consolidate all of the important information I have and also have fun while planning my week.
Though daily planners are definitely old school, it's always great to hold a real book while reading instead of a Kindle for a change -OR- cook your own mean instead of eating a microwavable bite, right?
