My Planner Organization

A post every day for 3 days in a row! How unusual! All in good fun, of course, I figured to build a good foundation and allow people to begin to see kind of what I am about I would go ahead and wrote and post the rather foundational posts on how I personally do everything, and then take everyone’s ideas and run with them. While I am posting this frequently now, during the holidays when I have nothing to do, I will most likely reduce my frequency when the newness of blogging wears off and I start to run out of ideas. However, let’s get off to my planner!

Divination Planner - Hufflepuff theme

                  To start I use the above Hufflepuff themed planner from this Etsy shop. I received it as a gift from my Best Friend, and I have to say I’m absolutely in love with it! If you aren’t a Hufflepuff it does come in all 4 houses, or if Harry Potter isn’t your cup of tea (to which I would be flabbergasted but to each his own) they also have it in several other designs. The one in the shop now is slightly different from mine, as it includes a habit tracker for each month, but the general idea is the same. I use the horizontal layout, as that is what works best for me, and I love having everything laid out in the monthly and then in a more detailed format in the week. I have so far lugged this planner around for a semester on campus through rain, coffee spills, and many tears, and I have to say I’m quite impressed that it still looks good as new! It has a thick cardstock cover with a clear plastic window in front of it, and while I was worried that time would make it a little worse for wear, other than some very minor dulling of the corners it is holding up great!

                  Now to get on to the inside I use the Paper mate inkjoy gel pens to color code, and let me just tell you, these pens are the greatest thing to ever accidentally walk into my life. These pens were slipped into my stocking Christmas of 2016, and I have literally not used another pen since. They’re super pigmented, write crazy smooth, and never smudge or run. It’s gotten so bad that all of my friends and family know I love pens, but that if they buy me any other pens I won’t even touch them. For me, the only drawback is the fact that they run out of ink rather quickly when used a lot. In my last semester of high school, I used two of the pens (a black and a blue) all day every day for every assignment, paper, or written anything and they lasted a solid 4-5 months. While these babies aren’t the cheapest, I highly recommend them, just maybe be a little more sparing then I tend to be (as in use other pens at least sometimes even if it isn’t nearly as satisfying)

                  To start getting into how I actually use the planner, I will start with my monthly spread. I’ll use November as it was a fairly busy month with classes ending and is probably the best example.

monthly layout for November 2017

At the beginning of each semester, I sit down with all of my syllabi and write in all of the important days as quickly as I can get to it. As you can see, I color code to all of my classes, school, and home, and sitting down to write in all of the important due dates not only helps me to begin to conceptualize my whole semester, but can help me try and alleviate really busy weeks by starting things early or moving things if necessary (plus it helps me practice my color code!). On the days where the event takes the whole day I usually outline the flag around the number with the associated color and when things are moved I strike out the original and draw an arrow to where it was moved. There are so many things about this layout that would bother people, but I find it’s what works best for me, which is really what this planner is all about.

The most common 2 things I hear about color coding are “I can never remember which colors are which” and “I never have the right pen when I need it.” Well to solve the first problem, I did have a key to the side when I first worked out my system, but as I quickly adjusted it became very natural and not only allowed me to see quickly what was due but also allowed me to take less space writing things as I didn’t have to specify which class it was for. As for the pens, I just carry them all with me. I know it sounds like a pain, and frankly, sometimes it is. However, despite it all, I really think it’s the best way for me to do such things and wouldn’t give it up for the world.

The second thing people complain about when they see my planner is the strikethroughs and arrows moving things. Now I know it can begin to look messy, I find that it really helps me realize not only that something is due, but that it was moved which is something I like to know. I often start assignments way in advance

weekly layout for Thanksgiving week 2017

and seeing that it was moved can help me to arrange what needs to happen next, and what can be put off for another day.

Moving on to my weekly layout, this is where I go into more detail. This is where I write what homework or minor assignments I might have in a class, where I would write the location and time of appointments, and where I write and to-do’s I may have. I continue all of my color coding and arrow drawing from the previous monthly layout, I simply detail it more. While some people do like to write in their class schedule, I find it to be extra redundant, as I keep that information in icalendar, and really just to take up extra space. I learn my schedule quickly, and my school even offers an app that will tell you your schedule.

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In addition to my physical planner, I keep big events in the calendar on my phone and computer which syncs with my apple watch and shows me my schedule right on my arm. It even alerts me when it’s time to leave for class, but being the early bird I am, I usually make it to class before it even reminds me to leave! Either way, that’s how I organize my planner and keep track of everything, and while I am not affiliated in any way to the products I spoke of above, I do really like them and would highly suggest them, however, any personal alternatives would work just as well. The importance of a planner is that it helps you and in reality, it doesn’t matter what some rando blogger says works for her. If a $4 planner and that free pen you found on the ground works for you (which is what I started out with) then more power to you! I hope this is helpful, comment any ideas for new posts you have below, and I hope to see y’all back here real soon!

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***Disclaimer***
I have not been paid in anyway for sayong any of the above, and I do not recieve any profits from any of the above links. Everything written is simply my opinion about the products as they are.