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#3 Planner Awareness Month: Must Have Planner Item

3/29/2018

(Welcome to the third post in the Planner Awareness Month Blog Series here at Createyou86. Can you believe that April is only a few days away? I can't! The month of March has seemed to fly by. During this blog series i wanted to give some advice, and some insight into the planner community for those of you that may be new, and even seasoned planners.

It seems that within the last couple of months pocket planners have been what everyone has been rushing out to get. The styles are rings like my Duck Egg Filofax Soft Domino, or Filofax Patent Pocket, or a travelers notebook of some kind. I'm not really sure why they have become all the rage, but i have these four. (photo below)

Even though i don't really understand the hype, I did purchase the Duck Egg Domino Soft Filofax, and i have been keeping it in my car for when i feel the need to take notes, or write appointments down (my current back issues mean lots of appointments.) Really everyone seems to love the portability, and i do, but i tried the size for quite a while about 3 years ago, and i just couldn't get into it as a planning system. However, 3 years ago i did setup, and use my pocket patent for a cash envelope system, and it is still setup for that use, but i haven't been using it. I used it for our trip cross country, and it really helped, but after that i decided i would keep it like that in case i ever needed that type of system again.

Although this size is adorable, and small i don't think i'll ever be able to REALLY plan in this size. even with the "perfect inserts" how small the pages are just wouldn't work for me.

my pocket planners!

I hope that you have enjoyed this post all about the hottest item from the past couple of months in the planner community.

Let me know in the comments below: HAVE YOU TRIED A POCKET PLANNER?

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#2 Planner Awareness Month: Notebook Hoarder Tells All

3/23/2018

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Welcome to the second post in the Createyou86 March Planner Awareness Month Blog Series. This post is written by Denis Tunca who i am collaborating with for this series. We connected due to a love for planning, and buying notebooks/journals. Here is her story.
Let's confess it. I am a notebook hoarder. Now that I have said it, let's move on!
As a Purpose & Self-Awareness Coach, I am constantly taking notes! I need to take notes about my clients, what they say in our meetings, things that come up to me when I am having a conversation with them (don't like calling it session). It is somewhat a creative moment for me because I am doing thing simultaneously. I am listening, thinking and taking notes of both at the same time and need to be fast! Notebooks are the saver of the day!
Using single papers are very unpractical in use because you can't control which page goes where, if you lose one etc. Notebooks are the key!
I don't know what really makes me love notebooks. Well, I am (or was before the baby) a bookworm and love the smell of a new book. Same goes with the notebooks!
Writing to paper has always been my way of an outlet. It may be for my feelings, for work, for the creative thing I need to do.
I have always used notebooks to study when I was at the university. Wrote down from the book and then shortened the whole thing, wrote with different pen colors depending on the importance of the context.
Writing with a real pen and paper has always helped me to "feel" the text and made it stick in my brain easier.
When I think of it, I love how the new pages feel smooth and untouched. I immediately think of which color pen I should use! If it has a thin point or thicker with a delicious color . This is starting to make me hungry for some reason hahaha.
I even have different preferences for different uses. If I am working and am in that mode I prefer to have simple colored and thin point pen so that I can fit as many comments I need when I am taking notes. I am very fast and good at taking notes. Something I learned in university .
If I am writing down ideas or my thoughts then I prefer to have a more colorful pen with a thicker point to support my creativeness. During those times I prefer not to have any lines on the page for example. It feels restrained for some reason. As if I can't be creative or feel trapped in a certain cookie shape that I can't get out of, creatively.
I was (once again before the baby) journaling quite frequently and it was an awesome outlet for me. I had a small notebook with an elastic band around it so that it is easy to put a pen that holds it. This is a very convenient way to not search for a pen. It was an A6 size (big as the ¾ size of your hand basically) and very comfortable to keep it in any bag thanks to its size.
I know I don't have the time or effort for journaling at the moment but I want to take on bullet journaling. Not full-on artist mode no-no. I can't do it. I am neither artistically blessed nor patient enough to make it perfect as I want it to be. So, using stickers is always the best way to make it pretty for me.
Sorry out of the topic! Back to notebooks.
The notebooks I love the most? OF COURSE, THE FREE ONES! Especially those you get from fairs. And let me tell you, friend, I have a fair share of my fairs that I attended. I have a small bookshelf that only keeps my notebooks in it. I have all sizes and shapes (if I am honest). Don’t forget about the colors as well! Brown, black, blue, purple you name it.
I love to have spiral notebooks to take notes on when I am at home. It is easy to use and flip just when you are taking notes rapidly. Easy to go back to previous pages. I am not very patient when I am working. I need to get to the point as soon as possible.
But I do have more polished notebooks as well where I have my notes of more cleaned and valuable information. Like the sum of a course. What it means for me in term of a business owner.
I always approach notebooks with respect. You never know what they have or will have in them. It could be someone's diary to keep them sane, a business plan for someone who wants to accomplish their dreams, someone's outlet for their creativeness with awesome sketches etc.
I don't know what my empty and unused notebooks will become. I always treat them like babies. Maybe a weird way of seeing it but this comes only natural to me. I always treat my books with respect as well. You can't find a folding scar on my books. I call it scar because the folding mark on the first page of a book that for me kills the cover. I am very sensitive about this. Therefore, I never lend my books to anyone if they are not as freaky as I am.
Nowadays my notebooks have a more meaningful place for me. During the coaching conversations I have with my clients, my job is to find their life purpose. It is a huge responsibility from my side! I need to uncover their strengths and shine a light on it. I need polish and showcase it to them with their own experiences. I need to make them believe in themselves for their own dreams sake!
It is all on those pages! How I empower, support, clarify, de-stress them. How they should motivate themselves for their dreams! How to focus on their dreams and reach their ideal client. Even thinking about the impact I have makes me so happy.
The notes I am taking now are far more important than any others before. Because I am holding one's life on those pages practically. I am doing something they don't. I am believing in what I see

in those notes! I am believing in them! In their dreams!
I am constantly digging to see what more opportunities they have to fulfill their dreams with their passions and their strengths. How can it not be important!
I am encouraging them to take notes as well if it does not disturb their focus. Because seeing is believing.
It is true! If you write down something over and over again your brain will believe it at some point. That is why my notebooks are important! They will always contain something valuable in them.
Even the scrambles that we do when we talk over the phone or listening to something is very revealing about our characteristics.
So, do not underestimate the power of writing! Actually, use it for your advantage.
I would love to wrap things up by thanking the beautiful and oh so lovely Emily for inviting me into her Createyou86 Community. This was a pleasure of mine and a fresh breath of air to write about something that I can share with people who really get me!
I would love to help you guys to uncover your life purpose or just see what you are meant to do here in this world with a simple Clarity Call.
You can also take my Mini 3 Day Course about how to earn money out of your passion and how to brand it. That is also over on my website www.denistunca.com

Now over to you! What is your favorite type of notebooks? Do you have special pens for that notebook? Share your wildest notebook dreams!

I hope that you have enjoyed this collaborative post between Denis, and myself, and that you are looking forward to our upcoming Instagram Live where we will talk more about this topic, and answer your questions!

Please join my Planning With Createyou86 Facebook Group by clicking the photo below!

The Createyou86 Podcast is FREE, and you can find it in all of these places & more!

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#1 Planner Awareness Month: My Best Planner Advice (A Collab With Denis Tunca)

3/15/2018

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Welcome to the first post in the Createyou86 March Planner Awareness Blog Series. This series is all about owning it! Owning your planning, how you plan, why your plan, and what you can do to improve. This series will also include some fun extras. There will be a guest post, and Instagram Live featuring myself, and Denis Tunca which is so awesome because i have never worked with someone internationally before. Denis, and I have been discussing planning, organization, and how she uses journals. Here are a couple of photos of her journal collection. (click to see more)

Denis has filled me in that she uses her notebooks/journals for planning as well. I love that our styles are so different because if you have been following this blog for any length of time you know that i am a Filofax, and ringed planner through, and through. I have been working in travelers notebooks quite a bit recently too for social media, and business.
Here is some of my best planner advice!

Do what feels right. As a planner you will most likely try out a bunch of different styles, and sizes (just like kissing frogs) before you find your "planner peace". Don't let anyone tell you what size or style planner you should be in because planners are such an individual item, and just because it works for someone else doesn't mean it will work for you.
Let planning be valuable for you. What i mean by this is that there is so much value in planning, but when you get caught up in the planning community, and the decorations, and stickers you can start to lose the value if you aren't careful. Some people are functional planners which Denis is, and other people are decorative planners, and all you see are stickers in their planners. I like to mix mine up between functional, and decorative because it makes me want to keep coming back to my planner. However, my planner always keeps its value because i am always using it, and writing things down.
Start with the basics. When you are starting out in planning, all you really need is a pen, and a notebook. This can help you design the planner of your dreams instead of spending lots of money on something you might not use, or need. When i first started planning i didn't have a Filofax, so i used more affordable Avery products from Target to see how i was actually going to like planning. It was a very basic week on two pages setup, and i still use that type of setup to this day almost four years later. A girl just likes what she likes. You don't need washi, stickers, expensive planners, and goodies to plan. All you need to do is put your plans to paper.

I hope that you have enjoyed this post, and are looking forward to the other fun things that i have planned for this series including the Instagram Live that i talked about earlier, and more posts about owning your planning style, and being aware of how you utilize your planner.

Also be sure to check out Denis' Page. She has a correlating blog post all about her notebooks/journals. She also specializes in helping you uncover your life purpose, teaches you how to make money out of your passion, and how to brand it.

The Createyou86 Podcast is FREE, and you can find it in all of these places.

I also run a planning, and organization lifestyle Facebook group join by clicking the photo below!

LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW: ARE YOU A FUNCTIONAL OR PRETTY PLANNER?

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