Happy New Year! I’m starting off 2018 with something a bit different, but hopefully useful. I’m sharing the planners I’ve chosen to use this year to organize my daily life. Last year I tried the whole bullet journal thing and it just didn’t work for me. I didn’t have time to draw in all the calendars and weekly outlines and after a few months the practice quickly fell to the side. It’s back to printed planners for me, at least for now. If you’re someone who can easily spend an hour or more in the planners / journals aisle at Staples (hello fellow stationery nerd!), then I figure you’ll appreciate this. I was a bit late this year in finding my perfect planner set-up, but after buying more than one — and returning the ones that just didn’t feel right — I’m left with a system I quite like.
I wanted to find just one planner for everything but I instead found that this combination serves me quite well with my lifestyle. I always have multiple projects going. I’ve chosen a desk daily planner/journal, slimmer weekly planner which will come with when I travel, and also a weekly to-do list pad that can be used when the need arises. First up, the desk planner.
The 2018 Luxe Page-A-Day Splatter Planner from Paper Source is, first of all, SO PRETTY. And when you are going to see something on your desk each day, it better be! This is a 12-month daily planner and it comes in a gorgeous blush box that is super sturdy. I do love a good box! The planner is a hefty 2.3 lbs so really is a desk planner. I wouldn’t want to lug it around in my bag. I love the 7 x 9.5 inch size though and the solid blush hardcover with splatters of gold, white, black, and shiny gold page edges.
Details are everything, and this entire page of gold at the beginning really made me smile!
Inside, the months are laid out consecutively at the beginning, and then come the daily pages. Each day has it’s own page (except for Saturday/Sunday which shares one). One column is lined and has adequate space for my daily to-do list (which I always start by prioritizing my top three must-dos for the day). The other side has blank space for writing or drawing your thoughts, quotes, goals, gratitude, whatever you please. I love this planner and would highly recommend if you’r still looking for one. It is currently on sale at Paper Source!
The second planner is one I bought from Staples. I was only planning to use one planner but when I saw this one I just couldn’t resist. I don’t keep my daily to-do list in this one like I do the larger pink one, so it is more for logging when I’ve paid bills, events that are happening, appointment planning, and also the one I’d take with me when I’m out of the house (which isn’t often as I work from home). I love the color, the simple layout with not too much but not too little space, and that it has a little pocket in the back. It brings me joy, and I had to bring it home with me. It is by the brand At-A-Glance and was around $24.
Something else I always need to have on hand are sticky notes in various colors and sizes. CUTE! And useful.
The weekly planning pad by Ashley G for BlueSky is also a Staples find. I actually found it a few months ago and have gotten a lot of use out of it already. Sometimes if you’re having a super busy week and you want to see the whole week’s to-do lists planned out at once it can really help you stay on track and reach your goals. It isn’t year-specific which is great too. If I’m not in the mood to use it for a month, no worries. It’s there whenever I need it. I love this so much I actually stocked up on an extra.
I thought it was worth mentioning one of my favorite pens. The Paper Mate InkJoy. These are the 300RT 1.0M. I recently cleared out all the old pens that didn’t bring me joy and were clogging up my desk drawer and only kept about a dozen pens that worked well and made me feel happy. Now my desk is less cluttered and I’m left with an improved atmosphere, which leads me to the last part of this post.
I’ve been going through the process of decluttering after reading Marie Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up last month. This book has truly been life changing. I wrote about it in a recent Instagram post (where you can see more photos). Feel free to check that out here. I’ve never been a particularly messy person (Virgo) but this book is so much more than a guidebook for tidying your space. It can help declutter your mind, help you move on from your past, and be more open to what is next. Joy.
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I hope you enjoyed this post and got some ideas. Wishing you all an exciting 2018. – Naomi