#3 Planner Awareness Month: Four Ways to Foolproof Your Planner

3/14/2017

Welcome to the third post in the Createyou86 Planner Awareness Month Blog Series. As a planner i feel like we are always looking for ways to foolproof our planner, and to make our planners work the best for us. This post will be a short, and sweet list of a few ways that i have found to keep my productivity up, and to keep my planners working, and functional for me.

Size: Make sure that your planner is the right size for the amount of information that you want to store in it. Having the wrong size planner is a serious deterant from wanting to use your planner on a daily basis.
Maintenance: Make sure that you reevaluate your planner at least once a month. This will help you make sure that the methods you are using are actually working, and effective.
Consistency: Are you using your planner? Actually writing in it? Make sure that you are! Otherwise, planners just become unused paper.
Find A Planner Buddy: There are tons of planner groups on Facebook, and people who you can meet on Instagram that make great planner friends, and accountability partners. You could have monthly Facetime, or Google Hangout meetings to keep each other on track with your planning.

There you have it. These are my picks for how to foolproof your planner, and i can't stress enough how well these things work for me!

Let me know in the comments below HOW DO YOU FOOLPROOF YOUR PLANNER?

24 Comments

Melody Owen link

3/15/2017 04:02:00 pm

Who knew there was a planner awareness month... Great post. I think having the right planner is key to wanting to use it and using consistently. When I love the design of my planner, I love the clean sheet each day brings full of opportunity.

Emily Leonard

3/15/2017 04:41:23 pm

Melody,
Thanks for stopping by. There isn't really a planner awareness month. I made it up for a blog series a couple of years ago, but I couldn't agree more. Size is a major part of staying consistent with your planner.

Lecy | A Simpler Grace link

3/16/2017 11:21:59 am

These are great tips! I know so many people who overestimate their planning capabilities and purchase big, fancy planners and end up not using them or getting overwhelmed. Thanks for sharing!

3/16/2017 01:07:43 pm

Lecy,
Thanks for stopping by. I agree wholeheartedly planner size, and inserts are what make the Planner!

Krysten link

3/17/2017 06:51:25 am

You just reminded me that I've been slacking with both my personal and blog planner! Gotta get back in the game!

3/17/2017 07:02:26 am

Krysten,
Thanks for stopping by. I am glad that you were able to connect with this post in that way. Sometimes I even remind myself of those types of things while blogging!

Kathy link

3/20/2017 12:58:17 pm

I so agree about planner size. I have tried smaller planners so that I can take them with me and I hated using them because they were too small. My tip is to find a system that works for you. I used to use the Arc system because I liked moving stuff around but the layouts were weekly and I hated weekly. I switched to a Franklin Covey with daily sheets but realized I liked the weekly overview so I create my own little layout to use as a bookmark. If it doesn't work for you, you won't use it.

3/20/2017 02:50:19 pm

Kathy,
Thanks for stopping by. I couldn't agree more! Sometimes creating your own layout is exactly what you need.

Kerry Mason link

3/20/2017 02:50:02 pm

Yes couldn't agree more, if your planner isn't working for you change it. I used to use an A5 Carpe Diem, but just made it look pretty. I now use a travelers notebook style planner and love it.

3/20/2017 02:51:48 pm

Kerry,
Thanks for stopping by. I only use A5 planners for things I know I will be doing at home, or on days where I use a larger bag than normal. Tn's are a great system too!

Amanda link

3/20/2017 04:48:33 pm

You are so spot on but I am afraid I am not using mine!!! I start off well and after a week I have new post-it notes all over!

3/20/2017 04:56:21 pm

Amanda,
Thanks for stopping by. Maybe you could create an "inbox" dashboard where you only put sticky notes so that your actual planner pages don't get bogged down, and you can stay more organized inside your planner. I hope that this was helpful!

JoJo link

3/21/2017 06:43:01 am

So right about the size! I use a small notebook because carrying around the big one took up too much space. Since I only write a daily to do list, it works for me.

3/21/2017 07:03:46 am

Jojo,
Thanks for stopping by. I will always advocate for ringed planners, but sometimes I do carry a small notebook in my purse. Maybe a pocket size would work better for you?

shan walker link

3/21/2017 07:14:55 am

I SO need these tips because I tend to be a 'planner' drop out. I get so excited but then it fizzles out and I forget to use it.

The How-to Guru

3/21/2017 12:22:00 pm

Shan,
Thanks for stopping by. Keep your planner open on your desk, or even take it with you. You never know when you might need it!

Abby @ WinsteadWandering link

3/21/2017 08:05:24 am

I love my planner, but I know I'm not maximizing its potential. These are great tips, especially the one about FB groups. I didn't know those existed!

3/21/2017 12:19:46 pm

Abby,
Thanks for stopping by. Facebook planner groups are a great community to join!

Nicole link

3/22/2017 02:40:13 pm

omg I never knew there were planner groups on FB! I will definitely be looking into that lol thanks for sharing :)

3/22/2017 04:42:09 pm

Nicole,
Thanks for stopping by. I will doing a post about this soon several people have said they had no idea!

Meredith link

3/28/2017 02:59:40 pm

I truly agree about finding the right type of planner for you. It took me a few tries before I realized how much I preferred spiral-bound planners. Now that I use them, I'm much more likely to use my planner!

3/28/2017 06:17:24 pm

Meredith,
Thanks for stopping by. I couldn't agree more. The size of your planner is a major player in using it!

Sara @SaraDuggan.Me link

3/29/2017 11:47:01 pm

I don't have a paper planner but bullet journals have been teasing me to dive in. LOL

A planner buddy (accountability) makes it fun, doesn't it?

I see the Instagram profiles who share their planners and Wins and get encouraged.

3/30/2017 07:02:44 am

Sara,
Thanks for stopping by. Take the dive you'll probably love it!

#3 Planner Awareness Month: Four Ways to Foolproof Your Planner

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