I love Kikki. She's small, and her rings aren't so great (sadly, she came with gaps in about half of the rings, so I try to not think about it!), but her page size is perfect for what I'm using her for, and her pastel minty color is fantastic.
I love Lydia. I love her texture, inside and out. I love her size, as she comfortably fits 4 of my inserts and a folder, and using her is amazing.
%2B%7C%2BAnxiously%2BBeing%2BHavok.jpg "\"Planner Peace\" is a Funny Thing | Anxiously Being Havok")
My blog planner (whom I have not introduced, but is named Billy) is the odd man out.
I found Billy at Goodwill for $1.50 (half-priced sales are my friends). It's a half-size Franklin Covey (which they call "classic size") that is who-knows-how-old (I tried to find it online and could not) and is a nice dark blue. The texture of it is great, the closure is great. The rings are huge, and the size is perfect for all the blog planning bits and bobs I'm shoved into him.
But I don't love him. At all.
Which means I'm not using him. Which means I'm not taking care of my planning as I ought - which means I don't think I have anything planned at all past today's post (which wasn't planned in the first place!).
Which means I'm not being as productive as I should be, nor am I taking care of things as I should be, or recording information as I ought (I'm an information hoarder, as evidenced by the amount of paper I've shown!).
And this just won't do.
The idea is to have all of these notebooks and binders and things to make my life easier and more organized. And if something isn't working, it's counterproductive.
Some people may think having so many notebooks in the first place is counterproductive - for example, the Mister just doesn't understand, but he wants yet another computer for a media center, and I explained to him it's the same way with me and my books, and he sort of gets it now.
Though this is not the case. Having different notebooks for different facets of my life makes the most sense to me. Some people have binders or notebooks for each of their classes - how is this any different?
It's not.
I know where to turn for specific information. I know where to log what. I know which ones leave the house with me on which days (and which ones will always stay home).
All of this information has to be organized somehow. And for the most part, I've got it down to a fabulously working system, with everything in balance.
Except for the blog planner.
%2B%7C%2BAnxiously%2BBeing%2BHavok.jpg "\"Planner Peace\" is a Funny Thing | Anxiously Being Havok")
I feel bad, because I bought it (even though it was cheap).
I feel bad because I took time to make some pretty awesome inserts for it.
I feel bad because it's hiding on the bottom shelf of my desk.
I feel bad because, while it's the right size, I just don't have room for it.
%2B%7C%2BAnxiously%2BBeing%2BHavok.jpg "\"Planner Peace\" is a Funny Thing | Anxiously Being Havok")
So, once again, I will be re-configuring things - trying to find a system that works for me, hopefully without messing too much with everything else.
What is your version of "planner peace"? Do you love everything you are using?
~Havok
P.S. Mr. Finsbury actually has to be redone as well, but we'll talk about that on another day. The advantage of so many planners is that I get to streamline things as well as complicate them!
How are you able to use multiple planners...??? I've tried and it didn't work out well lol... Is there a certain system you use...???
ReplyDeleteWell, using more than one planner is actually kind of not 100% true. I have multiple actual planners, but only keep my actual "planning" in one planner (Mr. Finsbury). Then the blog planner is, well, for the blog. Lydia is for my scripture study and church notes and the calendar for that. Kikki is for recording my cleaning tasks and keeping all my cleaning schedules and projects I want to work on.
ReplyDeleteSo, yeah, there's a bunch of information sorted out between a few different notebooks, but there is only one book that keeps all my to-dos and whatnot in it.
Ooooh that makes sense... Now I get a better idea... Thank you... :)
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome! I don't think I could have two planners (like how some people have one that they take out and one they keep at home), that would be too much - but having different things all over just makes me happy. I record too much stuff to fit in just one book, ha! :D
ReplyDeleteI used to have a two planner combo but after getting the Midori Traveler's Notebook and stuffing almost everything into it, I have a system I am finally happy with. I've been tweaking my layouts and planner-use almost every week when I was using Filofax and understand how frustrating it can be when you have a planner that you can't bond with. I think a ringed binder may be just "too flexible" because you have the thought that you can always switch things up if you're not satisfied with it.
ReplyDeleteI'm debating adding a blog planner bit into a Midori notebook, and I think that would just suit the information better anyway honestly.
ReplyDeleteI don't feel the *need* to change anything in my ring-bound planners, but I do like that I can do so, without wasting a whole bunch of paper (as would happen with a MTN insert). I shuffle things about in Mr. Finsbury from time to time, as my needs change, and I like that, but I don't look at it and say "this whole thing needs to change" and thank goodness. Probably helps that I don't have that much to keep track of so far as actually planning anyway.
For me, I really can't imagine using more than one planner! I mean, it's hard enough for when I have super hectic week and I barely get to write at all--this made me feel just awful when I was using a week-on-two spread and I would end up with blank pages. Which is why I switched to just a month-on-two paged planner. I feel that it's helped me be more organized in a way, as I can look at the month fully. And although I can't really put big stickers or memo notes there, it's better for me.
ReplyDeleteI've always liked the idea of a blog planner (seriously, I'm amazed at your organization! damn, skills!) and I've wanted to do the same so that I could be more on top of blogging, but when I try I get that "ugh, too much work" feeling so I don't.
just an idea: If you don't feel like the whole blog planner thing is working out or you're just sick of it, then go back to a regular notebook. Really, when I had no motivation for my faux Filofax (a small binder) I ended up going back to basics and using a plain notebook. It helped me out by simplifying things, and was just enough time until I missed my filo and started using it again. :)
have a lovely day! xx
It is actually a ton of work to keep up with the blog planner, which is why I haven't been very good at it, ha! It's just something that really can be done well...and would be fabulous if done well. I just haven't gotten it to that point, so it's not working for me.
ReplyDeleteI do plan on switching all of that information over to a notebook in a Midori I have coming, but haven't quite sorted out how I want to go about it (be it keep as much information as I've been tracking, or just write down ideas). We'll see how it goes!!
Thank you so much!