Confessions of a Planner Convert

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Two things–I never was completely happy with a comp book planner.  It certainly has it’s good points:  cheap, accessible, cheap.  But there are drawbacks too:

  • I don’t like lined pages.  At all.
  • I only ever had access to the next month in the last week before the month was out.  That means planning ahead was out of the question.  I tried a bullet journal style future log, but there was really no way to sort it.
  • I was also using up the comp books in 2-3 months.  I needed something with a bit more continuity.

During the month of December I really enjoyed working on the Advent Calendar created by Audrey Eclectic.  The coloring handwork gave me something to do while the children completed worksheet pages. I could be at the table if they needed me, but I was involved in my own work and could let them linger on theirs.

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I started looking for an inexpensive monthly planner.  I needed a way to see a few months at a time, a way to track what was coming more than a month at a time.   Happened across a planner with monthly and weekly spreads for the whole year. And it had images to color.  I could sit with the children as they worked and color and jot down notes and actually look at my plans.  Turns out that’s a pretty helpful thing!

On the weekly spread, I am still tracking all the same things–homeschooling and housekeeping routines along with quotes and color inspiration.  Although the page is set up in a specific way, I don’t have many appointments that happen on a specific day or time.  So, that creates a bit of flexibility in how I use the pages.  Still trying to see what helps and what hurts.  I also have an unlined journal for drawing and writing.

On Saturday Mystie Winckler from Simplified Organization is hosting a free planning chat with Dawn Hannigan from By Sun and Candlelight and Jen from Wildflowers and Marbles.  These two ladies have some of the prettiest planners around.  They also happen to be wise.  So pour a cup of coffee and come join us on Saturday morning at 7 am Pacific!

 

5 Comments

      1. Also should add, the images aren’t all that exciting–nothing like Audrey Eclectic religious images! And they’re a bit repetitive. But nothing offensive 🙂

  1. Oooo, I like it! I wish I saw this planner a few weeks ago. when I asked for a planner for my birthday (it’s this Thursday), but I think one has already been chosen for me. : ) Plan on!

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