My Journey to Paper Planner Discovery
We’re on the brink of 2019, so I know many of you are scrambling to find your perfect paper planner. I’ve loved planners since middle school, and have never been able to function solely with an online or electronic calendar. There’s something about sitting down and writing out my To Do List, goals, and appointments that gives me a certain unspeakable satisfaction, as well as a better sense of remembering than just typing.
Journal #1
Three years ago was a big transition in my family: my twins started preschool, I started a Master’s program, and we moved across Washington State from Spokane to Snohomish. I managed to make it from September through December without a planner, but I was flailing. I needed to be SUPER organized, so after several years without a planner, I set out to find the perfect one. I did a lot of research, and discovered that a Bullet Journal was going to be the best bet while I was in school. With a Bullet Journal, I could customize it any way I needed to that would fit for me and my family’s changing lives.
I had a lovely journal that my husband had bought for me several years before in Korea that was made of handmade paper. It was so beautiful and delicate, and I had always felt slightly guilty that I had never used it. I decided that it was perfect for my Bullet Journal. I created monthly calendars with a ruler and pencil and sections for To Do Lists and meal plans. It worked pretty well, but it was very labor intensive, which wasn’t ideal with my school and mom-life work load.
Bullet #2
For 2017, I wanted something pre-made but still customizable. I went to my local Target (obviously, because I’m a mom who LOVES yoga pants) to search for the perfect planner. I found this great small binder system with dividers and different pages for monthly and weekly calendars, blank pages for notes, and To Do Lists. It was a fabulous system! I loved it! In addition to keeping track of school assignments and appointments, I used it to meal plan, and work on preschool projects for my kids’ school, and anything else I needed.
This system lasted me more than a year, but I was running low on monthly calendars and I wanted to buy some refills. There was a major problem though. Nowhere on any of the products was a brand. I searched the binder and the papers, and couldn’t figure out who made the products. I searched Target’s website. Nope. I couldn’t believe it! I had now graduated with a Master’s in Strategic Communications and branding and marketing were a major part of that degree. This seemed like the biggest mistake a company could make! How can you not brand your products so that people can buy again? I was forced back to the drawing board on my planner search, which was so frustrating because I thought I found the perfect system for me and keeping my family on schedule. The other frustrating thing was that it was February, and most planners start in January. I didn’t want to have a whole section that I’d never use.
Enter Passion Planner
(Full disclosure: If you buy off my Passion Planner link, I may receive credit on a future purchase.)
So I did what anyone these days does when they need suggestions: I turned to my friends on Facebook. A few of them suggested a Passion Planner. I had seen them before, but wasn’t sure if they were really for me, because I’ve never really needed an hour-by-hour daily agenda before. But I absolutely loved the goal-setting and monthly reflecting that was built into the Passion Planner. I was going through a hard time personally with some post traumatic stress, so journaling and focusing on the good things in my life seemed like a great fit. I bought a compact undated planner, so that I could start in in March, and not feel wasteful.
It was an absolute perfect fit for me, even though it was really hard to sit down and complete my first Passion Roadmap. It was valuable to see what was really important to me, and to break out steps to make those dreams a reality. The monthly reflections were just as valuable as I hoped they’d be. Taking time at the end of every month to see what had gone well was an amazing way to take stock in what was going well and what I had to be grateful for. It’s been a great tool for my mental health this year.
That’s why I bought a dated Passion Planner for 2019 without hesitation. I’m glad that the dated layout is a bit more cohesive than the undated, and am excited to try it out. I think it will feel a bit more intuitive. I chose the red one, because I have felt very connected to the Phoenix bird for the last six months or so, so it felt like the right choice, even though there’s no artsy design, like my undated. 2019 is all about growth for me and my business. I went WAY out on a limb, and bought stickers and Washi Tape to jazz up my spreads. (Follow me on Instagram to see what I end up doing with those.)
My Advice to You
Whatever your goals are for 2019, I encourage you to write them down on actual paper. There is value in it.
Buy a planner that makes sense to you and makes you happy. It only becomes a chore if you hate looking at it.
If you’re lucky enough to have Target want to sell your product, brand the f@$k out of that s$!t.
I liked the Bullet Journal idea…I love writing and put my goals in it is a such nice idea…that make it a kind of compromise thing 😀.