Confession Time: I plan my planning!


I think I’m actually at my happiest with a stack of empty planners, a scrap of paper and a big mug of coffee. I just love planning out a new way to use my planners – working out a special purpose for each one and thinking about new ways they can help me. I find it so soothing to design a planning routine, and think about those little daily, weekly and monthly planning habits I’m going to create. It gives you that blank slate, fresh new year feeling, when frankly, you’re probably feeling not so fresh.

I see lots of comments about why people may want more than one planner, and how to use them together, and I think that this is the way to make them really work for you. We’re all different, we’ve all got different roles, goals and interests, so it’s only natural our planning needs are going to be broad and diverse – why not have a separate planner for each one?

My current (almost) planner setup

  • Personal size Filofax Malden – my EDC, just for basic, minimal daily planning
  • A5 Filofax Malden – my more creative, weekly and monthly journal
  • Kikki K Medium – for goal setting and tracking
  • Pocket Filofax Croc – my wallet, for dates and lists
  • A5 Carpe Diem – my business planner
  • A5 Carpe Diem – my food planner and recipe archive
  • A6 Van Der Spek – who knows… it was just pretty!

With the exception of the gorgeous little A6 VDS I’ve got in the post, all of the others were carefully planned so they don’t overlap in how they’re used. Creating a beautiful system will help you get your perfect system, and if it’s not working, just tweak it.

The A6 VDS turned up between writing and posting this… couldn’t wait to set it up!

Do you need to plan your planning?

How many of the following apply to you?

  1. You love your planner(s), but you don’t use them
  2. You plan all the time, but you never feel any more organised
  3. You can’t seem to decide on which headings suit you
  4. You have lots of places with dates and tasks written down, but they’re never in the same place
  5. You’ve got several planners and you can’t decide which one to use

If any of these are you, maybe it’s time to sit and design your planning routine from scratch. Think about the following….

  • What sorts of things do you actually need to plan? Do you have your dates in an electronic calendar so you don’t actually need to duplicate them?
  • What do you want to get from planning? Do you want to keep track of things, have a place to remember things, have a creative outlet?
  • Are you trying to fit too much into one planner? Do you need to simplify things and split areas of your life up to make it work better for you?
  • How often do you want to do each type of planning? Are you a daily, weekly or monthly planner? Do you need to build time into your day because planning makes you feel better?

More importantly… take a breath, grab a drink, find a quiet place and enjoy!

Download your free routine designer here and design your perfect planning routine

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