How often should you change your planner?

I'm not sure what the best word to describe myself at the moment is, but I'm thinking something along the lines of stale... dull... unmotivated... tired? Tired's not quite right - there's lots in the works and some exciting changes ahead, but I just need a boost, and my regular cup of coffee's just not going to cut it. Do you ever have that feeling that you've settled into a rut and you need to shake things up a bit, but you don't know where to start? What do you do? I start a new planner.

There's nothing quite like that clean first page to make you want to write something, and it's even better if that something is going to help you think about what you need to just get functioning again.

I'm sure I'm not alone in this, but the way I want to use my planner changes a lot in the space of a few months. I may have an entirely new focus (house move, anyone?), more time to work because of term time starting, more time inside because it's colder, or even just more time to plan daily in the mornings as the school run starts up again. Your day to day life changes slowly and before you know it, you've outgrown your planner setup.

It's the ultimate in self-care to be able to sit and think where you'd like your life to go over the next few months, and to dream up a new routine to help you get there. How decadent to allow yourself the time to just sit and reflect on what you want, and how to set up your planner to help you get there; to have everything you need to make it all easier - any if nothing else, to remind you why you're bothering.

I use my planner as a frame to hang my life and goals on, a crutch to make it easier for me along the way, and a signpost to remind me which direction I'm going in if I get lost.

A new palette of colours and new layouts pull me back into planning when I get bored. A different pen, a fresh set of stickers, maybe even that new planner smell, it all adds to that new-ness that makes me think I'm starting over. Best of all, the plans and goals we dream up don't always end up happening; life will always get in the way, but that novelty of a new planner sure helps you think that it's all possible.

Tempted? I've packed all of the tips I can think of in the video below to make the switch a little easier!