Few catchup topics discussed:
1- A’s bday present of the Blossom Hobonichi A6 April start! This was her main present. She has been enjoying it, and if she lets me I will share some of her layouts in the future.
2- Follow up – networking & E from Boston — thank you so much to those of you who wrote in wanting to connect with E! I started a group email thread so hopefully there will be a little mini accountability group born out of her question.
3- Future networking options: Not 100% sure, but I am going to investigate Mighty Networks as a potential platform. Stay tuned!
New segment: PLANNER PEACE!
A listener who goes by “A” wrote in with her version of current description of her “imperfect planner peace”, and I thought this would be a fun segment to include a listener’s peace setup from time to time on the podcast! So if you are currently there – send me a note (or a Speakpipe, you can simply click at the icon towards the bottom of this post).
Here is A’s description of her current planner peace:
“I’m currently really happy in my Erin Condren Daily Duo for daily to-do lists, schedule, and writing out the day’s dinner plan. I’ve been in the Daily Duo for about a year now and its two column format really works for me (left side–where am I supposed to be?; right side–what should I be doing if I have free time).
About two months ago I added the Makselife Flagship 12-month vertical planner. I’m loving their goal setting system. I feel like it’s really easy to see what areas of life I am devoting a lot of energy to and which ones I might be neglecting (purposefully or not). I feel like their goal setting system makes it easier for me to see my progress and also cut myself some slack. Have you been relaxing on a beach? It’s okay! Fun and Recreation is a goal category on par with Financial and Work/Learning.
The final piece of my planner puzzle isn’t a planner at all. It’s the Sunday Basket from Organize 365, which I’ve been using religiously every weekend for a year and a half (with a couple missed weekends when on vacation). I used to go through my mail every 3-4 weeks, so having the Sunday Basket gives me a place to corral mail, reminders, and to-do ideas and a routine time to go through them all at one time. Tasks that I select from the Sunday Basket to work on for the week now go on my Makselife “Weekly Actions” page. It’s perhaps not as efficient as the Organize 365 dumplist, which has you sort like actions with like (all phone calls in one list, all errands in another). But I love seeing how a mundane task (like doing research on swim lesson options for my kids) actually DOES connect to a goal category (Family & Relationships) and my current focus there.“
Love this, A!!
New Releases in the Planner Universe
1- Erin Condren has revealed their themes! Click here for a ‘sneak peak‘. Personally I am loving both Harmony Neutral and Colorblends. There do not appear to be new layouts shown here but it will be interesting to see if anything new & innovative is on offer with future reveals!
2- Simplified has released their new covers and 2022-23 line! And apparently they changed the paper to a bright white 80 lb paper for all products, including dailies.
Don’t worry, I ordered a congac Dapperdesk so this change will not go undocumented or unreviewed 🙂 Curious to see how heavy it will be with that thicker paper!
Today’s episode sponsor: PrepDish (which I truly use almost every week!).
The founder, Allison is offering listeners a free 2-week trial to try it out. So this is a great way to see if the plans will work for you! Check out PrepDish.com/plans for this great deal
6 Comments
Just listened on a walk and was feeling envious of your daughter loving to plan. My older son would be a huge NO to anything involving a planner or….writing anything by hand, ever. My younger son has now requested planners for Christmas TWO years in a row, so I was really excited. But that’s about as far as he’s ever gotten. Similar to last year’s planner, his 2022 planner is probably sitting 95% empty. He just “forgets” to use it. When I remind him, he says he wants me to “help” him with it….so I guess I could try to carve out a little time each day or week to sit down with him and help him get in the habit. He’s 12, so he’s perfectly capable of doing it, but definitely no consistent use is happening yet, sadly.
if it makes you feel better – she more is into writing what she did (like a diary/journal) than planning ahead. And the artistic parts 🙂
I am finding my planner peace with Google calendar, Todoist, and the Erin Condren Daily Duo. I feel like I am finally finding my groove after much trial and error with this hybrid planning approach.
Google calendar allows me to see the big picture of my family’s schedule (myself, husband and three kids; color-coded to my heart’s desire!). Todoist allows me one place for notes and to-do’s on-the-go. Finally, the EC Daily Duo allows me to pull information from both digital tools and plan my day. It keeps me on paper throughout the day, and more focused that way.
We also have an EC weekly whiteboard displayed in our kitchen.
I hope my kiddos are interested in paper planners when they are older, too!
Love your podcast! Look forward to it every week 🙂
ooh love this!!! Thank you!!
Just a note about academic year planners, I’m not sure about everyone else, but here in the Northeast, schools release the “short calendar” around late March/early April, which has all the main start dates and vacations and holidays. Since many of our closures fluctuate based on religious holidays (Rosh Hashana/Yom Kippor, Diwali, Eid) they are not always predictable. That might be the reason the academic planners are released at this time of year.
Ahh makes sense!