Thursday, January 12, 2017

Planner Struggles

Last year, I kept my calendar monthly in my Cocoa Daisy TN notebooks monthly. While that system worked, I'm not sure I want to commit to a monthly TN in 2017. I'll still work in that size, but I don't want to feel tied to one entire notebook per month. What, then, would I use as a calendar for this year?

I had a Heidi Swapp planner gathering dust in my studio, so I decided I'd start with that. Eagerly, I filled in the dates for January and began jotting down appointments, due dates, birthdays, and more. I dutifully carried this planner with me for more than a week before I realized that I absolutely hated it. The rings were too big and got in my way when I wrote. The planner was too bulky in my school bag. And the pages felt too big, too empty to use as 'only' a calendar. It's cute, but it doesn't work for me. I think I might use it for some other project in the future but not as my calendar/planner for daily use.

What could I do? I could renew a kit club membership or order TN-sized calendar inserts. I could go back to a digital calendar. I could print my own calendar insert. I could abandon the TN style altogether and just buy a smallish planner at Target. Let me tell you;  I was torn about my options.

Ultimately I decided to buy the Jane Davenport TN cover at Michael's along with some of her pocket inserts, washi tape, and elastic bands. My plan is to try printing my own TN sized calendar from a free internet source, but I'm willing to order the 'official' calendar inserts if I don't like the homemade version. I think I'll like that size betterment, and the cover print makes me inordinately happy.




So, how are you keeping track of your calendar and/or to-do list? What works/doesn't work for you and why? Surely, I can't be the only one who struggles with planner commitment.

9 comments:

  1. I tried the Get To Work planner twice. Never got past 3-4 months then abandoned it. I like my phone for date keeping and a plan legal pad for my list making. That said, I think GTW is a really nice product and set up nicely for people who think and work that way. I'm just not one of them.

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  2. I love the Jane Davenport stuff at Michaels and plan on getting some. I have changed planner formats so many times it is hilarious! I used the DaisyDori monthly inserts last year and plan on continuing with that. I just love the TN style. I used the binder system for years but realized I wanted something less bulky. The TN makes me feel artsy! I ordered the yearly insert from yellow paper house because I was too lazy to make my own.

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  3. I love that cover!! I saw the Jane Davenport end cap at Michael's but didn't see the covers -- I will have to look. Funnily enough, I fell in the love with the look of the Cocoa Daisy TN when I saw how you were using them and I started subscribing in December. I'm still working out how best to use them -- if I'm going to commit to getting them monthly I want to make sure it's worth it. I use Outlook at work to keep track of meetings and such, so I will really use it more for home & personal things. It's partially to keep track of what I need & want to do and partially a place where I can jot down things that happened (for possible later scrapbooking or PL) quotes from things I read, etc. I have a New Yorker cartoon-a-day calendar on my desk and I plan to stick in the cartoons that most amuse me as well.

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  4. I use a Hobonichi Weeks and it stays in my B6 TN and I love it. Rings don't work for me and I'm not fond of spiral planners either. So far, I have planner peace.

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  5. I'm on my 3rd Get to Work Book and I love it. It's kind of big though so maybe not something you'd want to carry around. It's not decorated at all.

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  6. I use the arc system from Staples and usually just buy the dated planner inserts. This year they had a "cute" version with quotes and colors and I was so excited to use it. It was undated so I also added my days to January and tried to use it. I hated it. I had the days vertical with a morning, afternoon and evening narrow box for each day. Did not like it. Ended up ordering the dated insert with the days going horizontal and love it. Lesson learned. You got to go with what works for you. Please post when you get your inserts printed.

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  7. I'm loving Jane Davenport's line. On her website, you can find free calendar printables to fit her covers.

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  8. I used the HS planner two years ago and I found out I didn't care for the size so in 23016 I ended up with the Happy Planner. I love it. I was a skeptic on the disk bound system but found out that it held up very well and the pages didn't fall off the disks.

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  9. I've been using the Happy Planner since September but only as my lesson planner and I really like it for that purpose. I really want to use one as a personal planner and I do have one but I am having a hard time balancing two planners.

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