Meet the Planner Trifecta. The three planning books that get my through my days, my weeks, the next hour. The trio that helps me get my life and keep it. Besides all of the self care I administer on Sundays to help me prepare for the week, I also use this day to get a glimpse on the week ahead.
I discovered the benefit of having more than one planner about two years ago. I use The Get To Work book as my day to day and The Passion Planner for my side projects. I just recently opened a business and it’s perfect for managing, as well as keeping track of my personal goals, and this blog that needs way more attention that I’ve been giving it.
On a perfect day, I’ll shut myself in my office, turn on my record player, pull up The Old Reader and Bloglovin’ to indulge in a few blogs, and plan out my week. But since my office still needs a new window, base molding, and pretty much everything, my planning days are just a little less perfect. And that’s ok. I’m managing. Plus planning from the comfort of my bed is not so bad.
I’m not particular on placing stickers everywhere, so I keep it simple — monotone-ish color scheme with accents here and there. Plus, I’m in the works of replenishing the collection of stickers and tape that was washed away when my home took in 5′ of water last year.
I don’t decorate the Passion Planner too much. There’s way too much that I write to even leave the room. And in hindsight, I probably should have purchased a smaller size, but the soft cover makes up for it.
As far as the notebook, I’ve made this habit to always keep one in my purse. Even though I have the capabilities to take notes on the cell phones that I have using Evernote (❤), I’m still a bit old fashion. I still find joy in writing things out, scribbling here and there, and doodling and drawing out the thoughts in my head. It’s sort of therapeutic for me.
Lagniappe: I have a third planner. It was given to me by a client at my corporate job. But I only use it to plan my home restoration projects — we’re almost across the finish line.
Terin
January 16, 2017 at 6:14 pmI am using my traveler’s notebook right now with custom inserts. I may look into getting another Purposeful Planner or Erin Condren.
Rae
January 16, 2017 at 9:34 pmThis is my first time hearing about the Traveler’s Notebook. I did a quick amazon search to see what it was about and now you’ve got me trying to figure out what I can use this for. Because it’s an absolute must that I get one.. It’ll probably replace the little notebook that I use to jot down my thoughts.
Terin
January 18, 2017 at 5:18 pmI use mine as a planner, but I also have books for doodling and notes. I try to do some journaling every day, but the main point of it is for memory keeping. I am using a field notes size right now, but I also have a few personal sized ones. So right now mine has 4 books (budget, doodles, notes, planner), and a wallet insert. I love it because you can swap them out as your needs change. Also… look into bullet journaling (bujo). It’s how a lot of planners discovered traveler’s notebooks.
Rae
January 20, 2017 at 4:24 pmI’ve briefly looked into bullet journaling but never gave it much thought. But after perusing IG, I can definitely see the perks. And people are so CREATIVE.. my goodness! I can definitely see how this would benefit me for my secondary planner. I’m not sure I’d have time to really get it into when I plan my day-to-day tasks. Thanks for all the suggestions hun!
From Mrs to Mom
January 16, 2017 at 9:22 pmI use a plum paper planner for home and work. My children are still small sonplanning time doesn’t come easy but I’ve been paper planning for almost a year now and I like it!
Rae
January 17, 2017 at 7:20 amI definitely get that. Before I knew about really decorating a planner life I do now, I used to just use the standard, plain ones you would pick up from office depot. My son, when he was about 2 years old, saw fit to color all through it. Lol! I was an extremely, extremely frugal college student so purchasing another wasn’t an option. And I continued to use it just like that — colorful scribbles and all. Lol!!
Shannon
January 19, 2017 at 10:04 amI use a plain planner. Nothing too fancy as I don’t really feel I have a need for anything else. I’ve actually considered designing my own in the past but I’m far too lazy for that lol
Rae
January 19, 2017 at 3:22 pmI’ve designed my own and I loved it, but it definitely took a good bit of effort. So trust me, I get it. But I loved the flexibility it gave me to insert a new page here and there when I had this new idea. Unfortunately, I lost my original template and I haven’t had the time to sit down and start from scratch again. So as a result, I’ve settled with the planners that I’ve mentioned. I’m into more of the minimalist styled planners so I don’t get into the ones that are more fancier and colorful, but I enjoy seeing all of the effort that others put into decorating their planners.
Regena
January 19, 2017 at 9:34 pmFor personal use I use Proclaim, Prepare and Prosper Inspirational Planner and for work I use the Professional Appointments at a Glance Planner, I am a case manager and this planner has appointment times easy use for managing my caseload and seeing my people on a daily basis.
Fal
January 21, 2017 at 11:01 amI need like a day of solitude for me to sit down with my planners and figure life out. I feel like I’ve slept so much in 2017 for once that when I get off work I just eat and crash. I love being organized. I just need to make some time to plan my organization.
Mia
January 21, 2017 at 5:37 pmI wish I was as organized especially since I’m very forgetful of things that need to be done throughout the week. However, I bought a planner last year and I have absolutely no clue where it is …I started off so good and then everything went downhill lol. What keeps you motivated to use a planner?
Rae
January 22, 2017 at 9:19 pmI think I’m so motivated because I know how my life literally falls apart if I try to recall things from my memory. I have entirely too much going on and things that I have to mentally process almost every second of the day to rely solely on my memory. LOL! And also, doing so helped keep the anxiety away just by organizing my tasks and planning out which ones I could delegate if any. And I guess what really helps is that I’ve always been into planners since I was a little girl, so I’m just used to it.
Yetti
January 25, 2017 at 7:45 amI use my Erin Condren planner… or just a simple notebook. Anywhere I can create a bulleted list I’ll use it lol, but cellphone lists never work for me. Not sure why! And congrats on that new client!
Amanda Nicole
January 26, 2017 at 7:53 pmAs I read this, I’m telling myself that I need to buy a planner and actually start using one again. My days are hectic all of a sudden and I can never remember anything. I do have a notebook that I track my life happenings when I remember, but a planner is necessary. Next thing to purchase on my list of all my other needs
Emily
January 31, 2017 at 4:16 pmI LOVE a good planner. I bought The Happiness planner this year, along with a basic Kate Spade. One was for my goal this year to just be overall a more happier individual/goals, and the other I use for more mundane things (groceries, bills, etc). I have a hundred notebooks… most of which I use for nothing 😉
Katura
February 13, 2017 at 7:57 amI absolutely LOVE the Passion Planner!!! I received my first one for Christmas last year & not to sound cliche’, but I have accomplished a lot already! I carry it everywhere! I’ve found that physical planners work better for me, rather than putting things on my google calendar & hoping to get my tasks done before hitting snooze 100 times!
lots of love…
Harper
February 16, 2017 at 12:40 amI have my planner but it doesn’t help me plan! I don’t know I want it to ask me stuff and give me room to write. It’s too thick and I can’t carry it around. I might need to trick someone into being my unpaid personal assistance/brain. I’m about to look at this Passion planner you were telling me about.