Using a planner is a great way to stay organized, but I think it can also be a wonderful way to express your creative side. When you create a beautiful place to keep track of appointments, projects, lists, and to-dos, you’re more likely to stay on top of them. While I love the Erin Condren Life Planners and the Ban.do Agendas, my planner of choice at the moment is an extra large Moleskine with weekly pages. The left page holds Monday through Sunday, while the right page is lined for notes and lists. I loved this format for school because I had plenty of room to write assignments and due dates, and also room to brainstorm, take notes, or write myself reminders.
When I decorate my planner, I usually start by picking out a few washi tapes I want to use and then finding some coordinating pens. I also use a lot of rubber stamps in my planner – from alphabet stamps, to birthday stamps, to random stamps like a baseball player to mark my brother’s baseball games. Above, I’ve gathered three washi tapes – the green grid tape is from the Target Dollar Spot, the polka dot tape is made by Scotch (can be found at many home & office supply stores), and the pink zig-zag tape I purchased in a set from HomeGoods. As you can see, you can find supplies to decorate your planner with at many different places!
This is what my planner generally looks like on Sundays when I’m planning for the week ahead. I’ll decorate the top section where there’s a small month label that I usually try to cover up! I used these Lawn Fawn alphabet stamps for “August” and “Mom > Work”, and I used Target Dollar Spot alphabet stamps for the “Bro & Me” and “First Day of School” labels. I also used these date stamps for the location-pin and arrow. (I also use these “my week” stamps a lot!)
I like to put a “workout log” on the right page to write track my exercise throughout the week. I find that if I write out each day and leave a space, I’m more likely to actually work out! I don’t want to look back and see an empty workout log… plus, it feels good to write out what exercises I did. Like a little pat on the back!
As the week goes on, I write in more appointments, to-dos, and events, but my life is pretty day-to-day right now. I like to capture the big-picture for the week and fill in the details later.
I hope this post gives you a little inspiration for decorating your planner! It’s one of my favorite Sunday routines – sitting down with a cup of coffee and craft supplies to plan while listening to music.
What are your favorite ways to decorate & use your planner? Which kind of planner do you use?
XOXO
