The Perfect Planner
A sure sign of overwhelm is when I start Planner Procrastinating - a sure and certain desire that the Perfect Planner is all that is standing between me and the fulfilment of all my hopes and dreams.
Every year around this time, the mid year diaries and planners are released and I spend many a happy hour online. Joyfully comparing features - pages numbers, paper weight, number of pockets, pen loops. These details matter and there are so many things to consider.
Of course these days the algorithms quickly get in on the act (after all you only have to buy a mattress online to guarantee you’ll see nothing but bed/mattress adverts for the next week). So a quick search for paper planners means that every time I look at Instagram I now see adverts for so many gorgeous planners - each of which promises planner perfection at every turn.
Over time and with bitter regret I’ve learned to hone down my options. Ring bound planners are an absolute no-no. I know that some people absolutely love them and I’ve tried, believe me I’ve tried. But I just cannot get on with them at all.
Of course the most effective planner is the one you actually use. And that’s the part where I invariably come to grief. I’m embarrassed to admit how many planners I’ve bought and barely used.
Some were too big. Thinking about the giant A4 business planner which turned out to be the weight of a house brick and consequently never left my desk.
Some were too small. Thinking about the pocket-sized Hobonichi Weeks, a journal whose layout I fell in love with and totally neglected to take note of the pocket-sized dimensions.
In the end and after much experimentation, the only planner I’ve consistently used is my bullet journal. Sporadically to be sure but over the course of the last 10 years it’s the only system that I’ve gone back to time and time again.
Now I love an aesthetic layout as much as the next person - and I have loads saved on my Instagram saved pages - but in the end it’s just me, a black biro and an A5 Leuchhturm dot grid journal.
At the start of each month I set up
A 2-page spread for the month’s dates, and a future log
A 2-page spread for content ideas/writing plans for the month
A 2-page spread to track my knitting projects and progress - I’ll share this in a separate post for paid subscribers.
Then it’s just a simple 2-page spread per day. On the right I have my bullet journal notes. The left hand side I keep for journaling, my tarot card for the day and random thoughts. If I need more pages on a given day I turn to the next blank page and keep going.
Nothing fancy. In fact it’s the opposite of fancy.
Every time I’ve tried to fancy it up a little I’ve ended up spending ages on it to no discernible effect. My brain works best when things are simple and uncluttered and I think that’s why the bullet journal system appeals to me so much. Predictably I don’t follow the system precisely - I’m a firm believer in taking what works and leaving the rest.
If you are new to the concept of bullet journaling you can find more information here:
Bullet Journal
The Ultimate Guide to Bullet Journaling – NotebookTherapy
The Ultimate Bullet Journal Setup Guide for Beginners - Sarah Maker
If you are a committed bullet journaler do let me know what your set up is. I’m eternally nosy and always on the lookout for good ideas as well as, of course, The Perfect Planner.
When I was a student (so early 2000s) I carried a Moleskine notebook. A pocket one that didn’t cost too much money and it had all sorts of scribbles and post it’s stuck into it. Only now I semi-consistently bullet journal do I realise I sort of did it before it was a thing. And yet I still get sucked into the planner vortex, so I need this shiny one. Nope but it’s sooo pretty. And what about this one....? No don’t need it but maybe then I’ll actually be organised and will get a job that I enjoy and many other things that my planner is not responsible for but I tell that voice in my head that it will fix everything lol.
So back to the Leuchtturm 1917. My tiny stray at the moment is that I’ve got back to a basic personal Filofax for my calendar and also have a Stalogy notebook that is my travel journal and coming with me on our crazy adventure (standard bullet journal is staying at home because we’re about to get creative with the packing.
I've been a committed bullet journaler since 2015. Before that I tried every possible version of things out there including ring binders (Filofax), pre-made planners, and digital task management systems. Haven't looked back since I got my first Leuchtturm! I've tried a variety of notebooks including Scribbles That Matter and Dingbats (which I loved), but now I use a simple paperback A5 dot grid notebook which I designed myself and print through KDP. I went through the obligatory decoration phase, but I have scaled way back over the last few years, and it's pretty much just my notebook, my favourite pen, and a brush pen for headers. I follow the original system pretty closely, so it's a simple monthly with an additional page for goals for the month, then straight into dailies, and making collections for important info as I need them. My current notebook is the one I started in January, and it will last all year. I do have additional notebooks for my craft projects, business planning, and book journaling though.