Confessions of a Planer Addict

Back in college I was The Planner Girl. I was that kid with the color coded planner class schedule who had assignments blocked off for when I needed to start, when they needed to be finished, due dates–everything.

As an adult, I’m not much different. The only change is the style.

Confessions of a Planer Addict

These days you can get a planner geared toward your specific tastes. Do you want a mom planner with layouts and features geared toward managing your schedule, your children’s and families? Are you a health nut, or trying to be? There are planners with built in exercise and food tracking. Do you want to set goals and achieve them like a rock star? There are planners that will keep you inspired and help work you toward achieving those goals!

You can literally get any type of planner and style it any way possible. Want to match it to your shoes? Your favorite color? Fandom? Style? Funny? Serious? Business? It’s out there!

Typically the big planner craze starts in September and lasts into January and February when the next year’s calendars go on sale and people are starting to think about the new them, staying on track and the tools to keep them there.

Planner addicts go through the agonizing decision of picking their new planner.

And then…they get it! Ideally this is the planner of their dreams. They deck out their monthly view with washi tape and stickers. Spending time on just the right look for their months and weeks. Jotting down all the birthdays, anniversaries, important events so their planner is the bible to their year!

We call this stage…planner peace.

You are at one with your planner. It might take one, two or ten different ones to find that planner peace. This last January it took me four to land on what works for me, which is the Day Designer Flagship planner. (I’ll talk more about it later) Planner peace is a beautiful thing. All is right with the world. You’re on track with your goals. Everything is happening when it should. You are Wonder Woman!

And then…the mid-year planner sales happen…

Around June is when the mid-year planners are unveiled. For the designer planners, your fancy or fun ones, the mid-year runs are often smaller print runs and sell out fast. For a lot of people who don’t jump into the new year-new planner craze, this is their time.

It’s also when a lot of us…lose our planner peace…

Losing planner peace is where I’m at. I love, love, love my Day Designer stripey Flagship planner. That daily to do list is a life saver. It gets me through my days, keeps me on track and on top of things. That said… I feel like there’s a lot of space on the page I’m not using and I’ve begun looking over the fence at greener grass.

There are different things to consider when shopping for a planner. A lot of different things. It can be just as difficult as picking the first date outfit, only there’s a bit more permanence since you’ll be saddled with this thing for a few months.

Some basic questions to ask yourself when considering planners:

• Are you a DIYer? Or do you want it all pre-done for you?
• How inspirational do you want your planner to be?
• Is there a focus for your year or this stage of life?
• What’s your style? Yes, your style!
• What kind of layout do you prefer?
• Does the planner need to be travel size? Or will you be at your desk?

For those who want an elegant planner that’s stylish and functional, the Kate Spade and Lilly Pulitzer are really great options. They have spacious weekly views that accommodate a lot of information. They’re durable and travel well, for a great price tag.

The Day Designer is probably the top of the line for the daily view planners. This is a wonderful option for the entrepreneurs out there who need to manage both a job and home life. I love the daily to do list feature and the boxes for all the little, very necessary bits of day to day life at the top of the pages are invaluable to me. I mean, some weeks, I have no idea if we’re going to eat dinner unless it’s written in the box. One feature I love is the daily inspirational quote. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had the right phrase on the right day for where I was at.

Erin Condren is probably one of the most widely used, super durable planners out there. If you want a planner that can be customized to your life, this is it. You can get all sorts of inserts, specially designed pages to track whatever is going on in your life, all in a package that reflects you and your style.

Happy Planner is fantastic for those who don’t quite know what they want, or want the ability to change things up. This planner is from Michael’s. I swear that store owns me. From the base package you can add other inserts, create your own and customize it to your heart’s desire. If you’re a big DIY’er or want to try out All The Things, this is a great option that fits a lot of people’s needs.

Bando planners are probably the height of funny and trendy rolled into one. Their planners are pretty and portable. They don’t have the typical holidays marked on their calendars. Instead you’ll find things like International Donut Day or Pizza Awareness, because those are super important days to remember. I mean, who doesn’t want to end up at Dunken Donuts on Donut Day? I like their fun, whimsical layouts, especially when so many other planners are ultra serious. Plus, most Bando planners I’ve seen come with stickers!

Some people need the freedom to create, down to their planner. For them, the Bullet Journal way is the path to life, success and happiness. In short, bullet journaling is a free form way to organize your life. It doesn’t have to reflect any sort of structure or style, except what works for you. Many people bullet journal their planners, creating beautiful or simplistic layouts that allow their creativity to thrive. Some people combine multiple bullet journals, or BuJos into a leather traveler’s notebook. This way their planner, to do lists, family schedule and all other BuJo’d bits are held in one neat package.

Figuring out what you want can be a process of trial and error. When I was agonizing over what system would work for me I printed out several different popular planners until I narrowed it down to the Day Designer. Some people know what works for them on sight alone. I live in jealousy of those people!

Losing planner peace was and is hard for me. I woke up one day a few weeks ago and…I just wasn’t feeling it anymore. I know a lot of people who use several planners at a time, and I’m for sure eyeing a few different mid-year editions, the question is, what’s the right one for me?

As a planner addict, the only answer is: All of them!