My Planner Obession (and a giveaway)
I’ve had a planner problem for years. I’m one of those weird analog throwbacks who can’t remember anything unless it’s written down on actual paper. Somehow, putting the appointment in my phone is instant license to forget it, and to forget that I need to check. Alarms? Never work as intended.
However, it’s harder to find a generic planner that works for me than you would think. I like to keep a daily task list, a weekly meal plan, both weekly and monthly calendars, along with habit trackers and social media calendars. Basically, I needed a way to keep track of every aspect of both my work and personal life and the flexibility to switch up depending on season. (The summer while my kids are off looks drastically different than the school year, for example.)
Enter the Bullet Journal method. Sort of. Because while I love the simplicity of the lists and the little symbols, I also need a standard monthly calendar layout and a Monday-start weekly layout that shows me everything I need to know for the entire week. Fortunately, there are loads of inspiration for layouts both simple and elaborate on Pinterest and Instagram. (One of my favorites is Boho Berry but you can also follow my productivity board on Pinterest for more ideas.)
Enter the lovely dot grid journals from May Designs. At 80 pages, that gives me enough space to keep yearly calendars (both regular and school year), monthly layouts, to do lists, reading logs, and a host of other things I like to keep track of, as well as weekly layouts for an entire quarter. And while I do have to recreate the journal each quarter, I find my needs change enough from quarter-to-quarter that I’m ready to tweak my previous layout by the time I fill up a book.
Curious to try this out for yourself? You’re in luck… to begin the new year, I’m giving away a May Designs journal: a lovely classic blush planner that has twelve monthly layouts in the front and blank dot grid pages in the back for anything you might use it as.
Just tell me what you’d use it for, and I’ll choose one commenter below to win this little beauty on January 16th!
Tags: Boho Berry, Bullet Journal, giveaway, May Designs, productivity
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Beth says:
I actually need a new planner for this year!
I would probably use it for class assignments and due dates. I use my Outlook email calendar for my work appointments and set reminders there, but for academic stuff writing it down and checking it off is the best way to go for me. Thanks for the chance to win!
Beth
On January 10, 2018 at 1:21 pm
Carla says:
I’m thinking about switching over from Thunderbird to Outlook for email because of the integrated calendar. While I can’t live without the paper planner, there are some recurring things (like quarterly taxes or weekly emails) that could do with some electronic reminders!
On January 11, 2018 at 4:59 pm
Rachel Dodson says:
I’d probably use it for my book reading or as an add on to my bullet journal. Thanks for the giveaway!
On January 10, 2018 at 1:30 pm
Carla says:
Another bullet journaler! Awesome! Good luck! I think the commenting problem scared off some would-be entrants, so your chances are pretty good. 🙂
On January 11, 2018 at 5:00 pm
Susan Snodgrass says:
This would be great to help me with all my influencer work. I currently do it on a spreadsheet. I have so many books due to release at all different times and I could use something like this to help me keep track of everything: reviews and where reviews, memes created and when shared, etc. Sounds great. Fingers crossed.
On January 10, 2018 at 1:54 pm
Beth K Vogt says:
Carla:
It’s now official: We are twins!
I just started bullet journaling this year. Come on now! How many things do we have in common besides this????
I’m about as basic a bullet journaler as you can get, especially since I’m craft-challenged and this can become a craft kind of thing, but I’m liking it so far for keeping track of my schedule.
On January 10, 2018 at 3:17 pm
Carla says:
I love the Bujo method because it can be as simple or elaborate as you want! I like the flexibility to do different layouts, but I definitely have no hand-lettering skills. Don’t get me started on drawing…
On January 11, 2018 at 5:01 pm
Jessie says:
I have been so pulled in so many directions for years and I’ve come to the place where I don’t know what way is up! I’ve been wanting to sit down and organize everything into one place. Concise and pretty! Homeschool, my own business I started, piano practice and teaching stuff, home chores and things for myself and my kids, lists of rules and consequences for kids etc etc. I want one place to put it all. This would be perfect for that. And I love the scripture too. I would love to win! Thank you for the opportunity.
On January 10, 2018 at 9:14 pm
Carla says:
Oh, yes, you’re pretty much who the Bullet Journal was created for. And I happen to love May Designs books for that. Even if you don’t win, keep your eyes open…they run some pretty good sales.
On January 11, 2018 at 5:02 pm
Beverley McInnes says:
I’ve always had some difficulty keeping my notes, appointments, shopping lists, helpful scripture verses and many other things in one place and not on little bits of paper. This idea would be a wonderful help to me as I enter my 76th year next week.
On January 12, 2018 at 2:40 am
Carla says:
Wow, happy birthday, Beverley! Trust me, I need help keeping track of everything in my 40th year… 😀
On January 12, 2018 at 10:03 am
Mary says:
Oh, wow, I went back to school last year for an IT degree (at the ripe old age of 48!) and seriously can’t remember a damn thing unless I write it down. I would LOVE one of these. 😀
On January 12, 2018 at 6:10 pm